Our clients and beloved patients quickly become a part of the extended Orange Park Animal Hospital at Oakleaf “family.” It breaks our hearts to imagine this extended family going through the heartbreak of being separated. If your pup or cat gets loose, we want to ensure a reliable way to reunite you with your furbaby! Just as vaccines protect from life-threatening diseases, microchipping also provides protection from the unthinkable.
This procedure involves placing a small (“micro”) electronic chip underneath your pet’s skin. The chip is about the size of a grain of rice. It is very safe, straightforward, and relatively painless. It is not considered a surgical procedure and doesn’t require anesthesia. Our primary veterinarian, Dr. James Gillen, will simply place the microchip under the skin behind the neck similar to any other injection during a routine visit or when completing another standard procedure (like neutering or spaying).
If you can’t find your pet, the chip will do the tracking for you. It works like this:
Microchips work! The AVMA further notes, in a study of 7,700 pets, around 22% and 1.8% of non-microchipped dogs and cats, respectively, were reunited with their parents. However, more than half of microchipped dogs and almost 39% of microchipped cats had a joyous reunion with their parents. If you just adopted or “inherited” a new pet and are unsure if he or she is chipped, we urge you to contact us. We can scan your pet to check for a chip. Likewise, if your pet isn’t chipped yet, we can easily do that during your next visit! Contact us today.