01483 455355
Emergencies
Modern technology triumphed this week! It's not very often that happens....
Mrs Blunt and her daughters had found a very spritely Cocker Spaniel. He was unhurt and lively but his tag on his collar was missing and he was clearly lost.On bringing him to the surgery we scanned him for a microchip. Much to our surprise he had an unusual six digit chip originating from the USA! European chips have a longer chip number so are always easy to recognise.
Ella quickly located the chip manufacturer from the data base on the internet and one phone call to Texas gave us Bailey's name and his owner’s details. Unfortunately he was still registered under his old American address but with some quick thinking and phoning local vet practices we had Bailey reunited with his very worried owner within half an hour! Some impressive detective work all round!
It is always worthwhile having your pets microchip checked regularly (we always check at booster time) and make sure that you inform the chip database if you ever move house or change phone numbers. If you are unsure what details your pet's microchip holds (a common occurance as paperwork wanders over the years!) then it is easy for us to check on the database once your pet has been scanned.
If your pet is not microchipped it is a really good idea. Cats constantly loose collars and dogs are very good at losing their tags in the undergrowth out on walks.
A microchip is the size of a grain of rice and is implanted via an injection under the skin over the shoulder blades. Its painless with some local anaesthetic cream and lots of treats most pets don't even seem to notice. Most importantly it’s not expensive either and one chip lasts for life. If ever lost every veterinary practice, rescue charity, RSPCA and Police station have a chip reader and will scan any pet - if chipped it is a simple process to reunite them.
Modern chips can also take a pets temperature which is ideal if they are very small or wriggly (or both!). You can now also buy microchip reading cat flaps which you can program to only allow your cat through! Great if your cat is being bullied or you have lots of cats coming into your house and stealing food. Soon to be released are feeding bowls that will only allow a programed pet to eat out of that bowl by reading the chip - fantastic if you have a diabetic or kidney patient who has to eat only a certain type of food in a multipet household.
If you are interested in getting your pet microchipped please contact the surgery to book an appointment on 01483 455355 or for more information
Enjoy the sunshine!
Louise
