Microchips rock! I love them. There’s no feeling quite as great as finding a microchip in a stray dog and getting him back home to his grateful family.
But the corollary is also true: There’s nothing as frustrating as finding a stray dog with no microchip. And nothing is more depressing than finding one with a microchip...that’s not registered to anyone. What a waste of a great opportunity!
The problem with microchips is that implanting one is NOT enough. Though shelters, veterinarians, breeders and even pet shops implant them in as many pets as they possibly can, the sad reality is that as many as 25-50% go unregistered.
That’s either because the new owners aren’t informed of the need for registration, because they don’t want to fork over $15 to $25 a year for registration, or because they put it off and forget about it.
This last possibility seems like it reigns supreme in my practice. Though every pet that goes out the door with a brand new microchip gets to hear me deliver my speal to his owners, owners don’t always heed my warning: NO registration means NO microchip!
When the next year rolls around, about a third of these owners haven’t yet registered the chips. And it only takes one call. So what’s YOUR excuse??
Dr. Patty Khuly