Local Animal Shelter Offers Low-Cost Microchips

Without identification of some kind, a lost pet will have a hard time making it's way home to you. Many of the pets featured in this week's Please Take Me Home column were lost and their owners never found (see attached photos of pets in need of a new family to love them).

Collar identification tags with phone numbers are key to ensuring pets get home safely. But these days, many people take the added step of having their four-legged family members microchipped. The simple, inexpensive process involves injecting a small chip under a pet's skin; the chip contains contact information. If the pet becomes lost and is brought to a shelter or vet office, the animal is scanned for identification.

I wanted to find out more about microchipping a pet, so I asked Michelle Velarde, kennel supervisor at Southwest Communities Animal Shelter, for some information. Here's what she had to say:

Q: Will microchipping hurt my pet when injected?

"It can cause some discomfort for some animals, but for the long term the advantage outweighs the discomfort."

Q: Can the chip float around in the body?  

"It can, but usually it doesn't. We insert it underneath the skin between the collar bones, but it can migrate. When we scan we move the (scanner) wand across the neck and down the legs."

Q: How long does it take to microchip an animal? 

"Just seconds, almost like a vaccination."

Q: How effective is microchipping for finding a lost pet? 

"If the owner registers the microchip and keeps their (personal) information current (with the microchip company), then it is 100 percent effective. All vets and shelters scan for microchips, but if the owner fails to register the microchip it is useless."

Q: Do you have personal experience with pets being returned to their owners as a result of a microchip?

"Yes. We get a lot of cats and dogs in at the kennel everyday with microchips and that's their ticket home. A lot of times they have lost their collar with ID tags or license, but the microchip can't get lost."

Q: How much does microchipping cost?

"The shelter will microchip your pet for $20. If you are adopting a pet, this fee is included and so is your first year's microchip registration fee of $14.99. After that, you must remember to renew and update your information to ensure that your lost pet can be returned to you."

The shelter recommends and uses Home Again Microchips; check the website for more information: www.homeagain.com or call 1-888-HOMEAGAIN.

Shelter hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mon.-Sat.; Wed. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; closed on Sundays.