What if your Pet Becomes Lost in a Crisis?

We urge you to consider microchip identification to assist in pet retrieval should your pet become lost. The animal shelter system of Los Angeles (and most other areas as well) scans each animal received (living or dead) for the presence of an identification chip.  A central registry is contacted and the owner notified.

There are three microchip identification systems (Avid, Infopet, and HomeAgain).  Shelters use “universal scanners” and can read all three systems.  Over 60,000 pets have been recovered through the HomeAgain system, the system used by our hospital.

HomeAgain had just launched a new educational program focussing on sterilization, vaccination, and chip identification when the World Trade Center disaster occurred. With this crisis, many people have considered the possibility of evacuation of their homes and what it might mean should they become separated from their pets due to a crisis.  The microchip provides a means for the identification of recovered animals so that they can reunited with their pets in a timely fashion.

For more details on the HomeAgain system visit:

www.HomeAgainID.com

• A chip can be purchased at our hospital for $30 with the registration fee of $10.00 being paid separately.
   
• Microchips are included in our puppy wellness package. We usually implant the chip at the time of the last vaccines or during sterilization surgery.
   
• Microchips may be purchased on-line at the above web sit for $49.95 which covers the chip, registration, processng fees, and a $1 donation to the e-Tales campaign (see web site) and a $5.89 credit towards your account at our hospital. (You may still buy the chip on-line if you are not a client at our hospital but other hospitals may charge differently – see your vet’s office for details.)