Microchipping

Each year, thousands of pets go missing, and many don’t make it back home. According to the American Humane Association, only 2% of lost cats and 15% of lost dogs are reunited with their owners. Microchips greatly increase your chances of being reunited with your pet. Helena Veterinary Clinic recommends all pets be microchipped.

Your pet needs a form of ID that is reliable and can’t get lost, stolen or damaged. Even if your pet wears a collar and ID tag, collars can break off and tags can become damaged and unreadable. A microchip is a safe, simple form of ID that can significantly increase the chance that your pet will return safely. A microchip is about the size and shape of a grain of rice and is placed underneath your pet's skin between the shoulder blades. Microchip implantation takes only a few minutes and is very safe. Each microchip is unique and carries vital information about your pet—including your name, address, and contact information. When a microchip is implanted, the pet owner must register the microchip.

Registering the number on the microchip includes your pet in a national pet recovery database. Veterinary hospitals, animal shelters, and animal control offices across the country are equipped with special electronic scanners that can detect the microchip and read the identification number. If a lost pet is picked up by animal control or found by a Good Samaritan and presented to a veterinarian, a quick scan of the microchip reveals the identification number. A toll-free phone call to the pet recovery database alerts the microchip company that a lost pet has been identified. The pet owner can then be contacted and reunited with his or her pet! Please call us today to have your pet microchipped. It is a safe, easy procedure that may be invaluable to you and your pet.