Thanks to modern technology, if your dog goes missing these days, you may not have to go out and staple posters to telephone poles in your neighbourhood.
And we’re not talking about social media, where lost pet notifications are fairly regular.
It’s microchip technology, and the Chatham-Kent Veterinary Hospital hosted a chip clinic on the weekend. With the help of 24PetWatch, the local branch of the OSPCA put on the clinic. For $25, pet owners could bring their animals in to get chipped.
It involved vet staff injecting a microchip under the skin between the pet’s shoulder blades, and provides peace of mind for owners.
Robyn Brady of the OSPCA said the chips are about the size of a grain of rice. She could not stress strongly enough how helpful they are should a pet go missing.
“This is extra important. I can’t tell you the number of times we have an animal brought into the shelter without a chip,” she said. “It’s pure luck posting to social media if the owners are found.”
And with a chip, things are quite simple.
“If an animal has a microchip, it’s just the matter of a phone call,” she said.
The chips aren’t just for canines.
“Cats, dogs rabbits, any pet, really,” Brady said.
The clinic ran for four hours on Saturday and 59 pet owners took advantage of it.
