Would Your Pet Be Found?

We hear a lot about kids being kidnapped and killed, and the importance of fingerprinting and keeping them safe from dangerous situations. However, what do we do to insure the safety of our pets?

Each year hundreds of thousands of pets go through the pound, humane societies and rescue groups. Many of these animals never make it to their previous owners because there was no way of tracing them. These unclaimed family members will be adopted out to others or euthanized, depending on the facility and the situation.

Other times our pets are kidnapped for profit. A large amount of animals are stolen to be sold to pet stores, labs, or dog fighting rings to be used for either bait or fighting. Even when these criminals are caught, many of the dogs and cats never make it back to their rightful owners.

Living in the desert, we also see many pets that are hit by cars and killed by other animals or other elements. Without proper identification, even if the remains of the animal are found, the grieving family cannot be notified of the pet’s demise.

So, what does it take to prevent yourself from being in this painful, precarious position of not knowing where your pet is? The secret is to put identification on/in your pet.

Identification can take many forms. The most common is putting a tag or collar on the animal which identifies the pet, home phone number, and address. The problem of tags and collars is that they can be removed, lost, or not put on at all.

Tattoos are another form of identification which is permanent but harder to trace. Because addresses and phone numbers change, it is recommended that a social security number or an AKC (American Kennel Club) number be used. The three locations that tattoos are placed are the inside of the right thigh, ear, or lip. It is found that ears are not a good location for tattoos because the ears can be cut off. This is most commonly seen in research labs and dog fighting rings. The lis is less common and harder to read with time.

The most recent form of identification of our pets are microchips. These are small electronic devices that are implanted under the skin, usually between the shoulder blades. By using a scanner, the microchip will emit a signal that will give a specific number.

So, what is the best type of identification? None by themselves stands alone. Ideally the best is using several methods. Anything visual helps the general public and deters the criminals. The microchip, on the other hand, requires a scanner and usually cannot be detected otherwise. It is a way of identifying your dog if stolen, that the criminal is unaware of. It is best if tattoos and microchips are registered with one or all of the national registries, so that the owners can be traced even if they move. Most pounds, humane societies and rescue groups have scanners, so they can easily find the owners with this system.

Submitted by Animal Health Services of Cave Creek