Microchips are a modern miracle when it comes to identification of pets. Inserted into the skin over the shoulder blades of dogs and cats and into breast tissue of birds, microchips can be a ticket home for a pet that's lost.
But competing microchips, incompatible scanners and too many registries have kept the technology from achieving its promise. Many pets have been reunited with owners because of microchips; many others have not.
At least one aspect of the problem is being addressed by the American Animal Hospital Association, which has created the Universal Pet Microchip Lookup Tool. Created to remove guesswork for veterinary hospitals and shelters, the free, Internet-based resource assists with microchip identification – helping reunite pets and owners by checking participating pet-recovery services' registries.
The AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup Tool can be accessed online at Petmicrochiplookup.org.
The association has been working with microchipping and pet-recovery industry leaders to develop this tool. Participating companies include AKC CAR, Home Again, Petlink by Datamars and resQ by Bayer.
The AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup Tool works by checking databases of participating pet-recovery services to determine which has registration information available for a microchip. Once a microchip identification number is entered into the tool, within seconds a list of registries with microchip registration information available, along with the registries' contact information, appear. The registry with the most recent update appears first.
If the microchip has not been registered with any participating pet-recovery service, the results default to the microchip's manufacturer or distributor. While the tool will not show pet-owner information from registry databases, it will identify registries to contact.
Pet tip
Loose dog? Don't punish it!
Punishing a dog for running from you is a surefire way to make sure it's even harder to catch next time. Wouldn't you keep running if you knew you'd be punished when caught?
If your dog takes off on you, kneel down and open your arms when calling to make yourself more inviting. If that doesn't work, try a command it knows well, like "sit" instead of "come." Many dogs know "sit" so well that they'll plant their rumps, and once they're sitting, you might be able to walk up and take their collars.
Another possibility is to catch your dog's attention and run in the other direction, enticing him to follow you. The chase instinct is very strong in dogs, and it may well work.
Remember, a loose dog situation is not about dog training, but about dog saving. When you have your dog safely back on leash, praise him, be grateful and make a vow you'll take the time to teach him this most important of commands.
Because next time he's out, you may not be so lucky to get him back in one piece.
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