FAR BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY!
January 7, 2013
In South Africa, 1 in 3 pets goes missing in its lifetime - that is a SHOCKING statistic!!! And without proper identification, 90% of them will never return home. And still owners do not have collars with tags on and do not microchip their pets! Even if your pet never leaves your home and garden, all it takes is for someone to leave an access gate or garage door open for a second... It could be the one of your friends or family, a visitor or petsitter, it could be one of your domestic staff, or a garden service, an emergency service or armed response person, and sadly, it could be a criminal breaking in...
YES, all it takes is that ONE SECOND where someone is not vigilant and one of your beloved pets could escape.
The risks are compounded if you travel with your pets or take them for walks outside your property! What if you are hijacked or have a car accident with your pets in the car. What if your pets chase after a guinea fowl, hare or other animal on a walk? When a pet goes missing it usually is an accident or oversight, not a malicious or negligent act!
YES, all it takes is that ONE SECOND where someone is not vigilant and one of your beloved pets could escape.
The risks are compounded if you travel with your pets or take them for walks outside your property! What if you are hijacked or have a car accident with your pets in the car. What if your pets chase after a guinea fowl, hare or other animal on a walk? When a pet goes missing it usually is an accident or oversight, not a malicious or negligent act!
When a pet is lost, the owners are often wracked with regrets and guilt... AFTER THE FACT is sadly often a little too little too late! Putting a collar with a tag on AND microchipping your pet is INEXPENSIVE but EFFECTIVE! A microchip for dogs & cats gives the best protection with permanent ID that can never be removed or become impossible to read.
Microchipping your pet is simple and safe, quick and more-or-less painless (similar to them getting a vaccination). The Microchip, about the size of a rice grain is injected (without anaesthetic) beneath the pet's skin between the shoulder blades. This is a FOREVER from of identification and as along as YOU make sure all your details are updated on the data base every time you move home or change phone numbers, your chances of having a happy reunion should your pet go missing, are maximised! Your pet has a unique number which, when scanned by the microchip scanner, identifies the pet and links back to your contact information!
It has (since 2010) become mandatory for breeders of KUSA registered dogs to microchip puppies! All reputable animal welfare rescue shelters also microchip each and every animal that they rehome. Almost every vet and animal welfare shelter now has microchip scanners and can identify animals that are found and then reunite them with their owners!
So don't be an irresponisble, apathetic or blasé pet owner! Without a collar and tag, and microchip your chances of being reunited with your missing pet are slim at best ... pet identification (by means of collars with tags and Microchips) should be mandatory and not optional!
Microchipping your pet is simple and safe, quick and more-or-less painless (similar to them getting a vaccination). The Microchip, about the size of a rice grain is injected (without anaesthetic) beneath the pet's skin between the shoulder blades. This is a FOREVER from of identification and as along as YOU make sure all your details are updated on the data base every time you move home or change phone numbers, your chances of having a happy reunion should your pet go missing, are maximised! Your pet has a unique number which, when scanned by the microchip scanner, identifies the pet and links back to your contact information!
It has (since 2010) become mandatory for breeders of KUSA registered dogs to microchip puppies! All reputable animal welfare rescue shelters also microchip each and every animal that they rehome. Almost every vet and animal welfare shelter now has microchip scanners and can identify animals that are found and then reunite them with their owners!
So don't be an irresponisble, apathetic or blasé pet owner! Without a collar and tag, and microchip your chances of being reunited with your missing pet are slim at best ... pet identification (by means of collars with tags and Microchips) should be mandatory and not optional!
Posted by Dido Panagiotopoulos. Posted In : Missing Pets
