The Columbus Academy of Veterinary Medicine is an established local association of Central Ohio Veterinarians. Its members reflect all aspects of veterinary medicine from small and large animal veterinary practices to academics and research. All the members share the common goal of creating an organization to promote veterinary medicine and safeguard its interests on a local level. The Academy is a vital source of continuing education hours offered at no charge to its membership. It is an important link between the veterinary community and the public it serves.
For most pet owners, our pets are valuable members of the family. It is a grim fact that every year thousands of pets are lost and never found. Collars that have vital identification tags can sometimes be lost, leaving the pet stranded. The microchip identification system described below can help reunite pets with their owners.
A tiny microchip is injected under the skin between the shoulder blades of your dog or cat, much like a vaccination. Although the size of the needle is larger than that usually used for vaccinations, most pets handle the injection well. If you are concerned about the microchip injection, a common time to have the procedure done is while your pet is under anesthesia for another procedure, such as spaying, neutering, or a dental. Registration material is then mailed into a central database and entered into the nationally accessible system.
Every microchip has its own identification code, that is read by a handheld scanner. This code is linked to your contact information. A network of animal shelters and veterinarians throughout the country (and, in some cases, even outside the country) use the scanners for otherwise unidentifiable pets. If the scanner picks up a code, it can then be fed into the AKC national database, which is available at all times. You can then be immediately contacted to retrieve your lost pet.
Microchipping is a great way to ensure that if your pet is lost or stolen, it will have a better chance of being returned without being adopted or euthanized due to lack of identification.