Cat and Dog Microchipping in Irvine
Has your pet ever escaped from your house or backyard? Have they ever gone missing for days at a time? Even if you answer no to these questions, it’s important to consider the possibility that your pet might go missing one day. Millions of cats and dogs go missing every year, and many are never returned to their original owners. With a cat or dog microchip, your loved one has a better chance of being reunited with you if they happen to get lost. That’s why we offer cat and dog microchipping services here in Irvine to help companion animals and their loving owners stay together.
How Cat and Dog Microchipping Works
At Irvine Valley Veterinary Hospital, we use the Home Again microchip, which is almost identical in size to a grain of rice and contains a tiny transponder with its own unique ID number. Our cat and dog microchips are ISO-compatible; they are the world standard and comply with regulations for bringing your pet into the European Union.
Placing the microchip is a quick and simple process—your veterinarian will inject the chip under your pet’s skin, between their shoulder blades. Following this painless procedure, you will need to register your name and contact information into the Home Again National Pet Recovery Database with your pet’s ID number. This will ensure that your pet can be traced back to you if they get lost.
To read a microchip, animal hospitals and shelters use a handheld scanning device that transmits a radio signal to the chip. The chip will in turn transmit its ID number to the scanner, which will display the number on its screen.
We Recommend Cat and Dog Microchips
We recommend microchips for most, if not all, of our patients, because we want pet owners to be prepared for the unexpected. Pets that are not microchipped have a much smaller chance of being recovered. To increase your pet’s safety and the likelihood that you will be able to find them when they go missing, consider having them microchipped.