Peace of mind in a microchip

Given everything we’ve had to deal with in the past week and all the work we have to do to prepare for the coming rains and floods. (They are officially no longer freak occurrences but seasonal events), worrying about our pets seems like an indulgence. But there is no point in pretending that we don’t think about the animal members of our families. Knowing that they’re safe helps to clear our heads and keep us focused on the work at hand.

The last thing you need at a time like this is to realize that your dog or cat has wandered out of the house and hasn’t returned. After you’ve gone around your neighborhood with a flashlight, knocking on neighbors’ doors, looking under cars and calling your dog until your voice is gone, what can you do? You can hope that he’s been rounded up and taken to the city pound—that is, if your city has a dog pound. But how would the pound know that the dog lives with you?

The Veterinary Animal Identification Device or VetAID is a microchip that can be injected into your dogs and cats (and birds, horses, lizards, pigs, goats and other animals). It is programmed with a unique ID number, and unlike collars it cannot be lost, altered or removed.

The chip can be read using a special scanner. This way if your wandering dog gets caught and winds up at the city pound, they’ll know that he has a human and they can alert you.

Microchips are injected between the shoulder blades of the animal. The procedure is similar to any vaccination and does not require anesthesia. The chip itself requires no care—it does not pass out of the body and is guaranteed for the life of the animal. There is virtually no danger of an allergic reaction.

After having your pet microchipped, you can fill out a VetAID Recovery Program enrollment form for him. If he ever goes missing, you can alert the program, which then alerts all enrolled veterinary clinics and establishments to be on the lookout for your pet. When they find him they can verify his identity by scanning the microchip. They inform the program, which then contacts you to collect him.

Now that the technology is available, the next step is to put the system in place. The non-profit VetAid Recovery Program is working to equip government pounds and private shelters with microchip scanners and software databases.

“Our objective is to be able to identify lost pets from strays and re-unite these pets with their owners,” says veterinarian Mayem Yao. “Hopefully, in the near future, we can equip government pounds so that every time they capture a stray pet, they can just scan the pet for a microchip. If one is found, they can go through the VetAID database and contact the proper owner of the pet.”

A VetAID program was scheduled for launch at the Cebu City Pound this week; it has been rescheduled. The recovery initiative is patterned after an American program called Home Again which helps reunite lost pets with their owners. “We’re hoping that other local government units will follow suit,” Yao adds.

Apart from the permanent identification feature, the microchip can also record the pet’s medical history. This allows government units to determine if a pet has really been vaccinated for rabies, and ensure that the health record has not been falsified.

“Currently there are efforts by city governments to register pets and check if they’ve gotten their rabies vaccines,” Yao explains. “But the only thing they can do is check a vaccine record to see if the shots have been updated. Who is to say that the records shown them are really for that particular pet? That’s another use of the microchip — they’re able to ascertain that the vaccine records match that pet.”

“We are also working on creating a database online that allows owners to view their pets’ vaccination records on the internet. This will alert them when their pets’ vaccines are due.  Most people lose their pets’ health records so this is going to be a very convenient set up. We are hoping to have the system up before the end of the year.  We hope other veterinary clinics will get involved in this project.”

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For inquiries, contact the VetAID hotline, 0917-8RESCUE or visit www.vetaidonline.info.