Protect Your Pet - Pet Tags Just Make Sense

According to UK’s largest missing pet database and pet recovery service, almost 200,000 pets have been reported missing between 1999 and the present date. Thanks to the organization’s tireless volunteers, many of them have been reunited with their owners, but this indicates how often pets are likely to get lost.

Pet tags form the first line of protection against this misfortune. Attached to the body of the dog or cat through the collar, pet tag companies make tags available in a variety of materials in interesting designs and colors. They may be stainless steel, acrylic or brass. The contact number of the pet parent and other information are etched on the tag. The tag may indicate whether the animal is micro chipped or not. The veterinarian’s contact details may be given on the reverse of the tag as well. Around eight lines of engraving is offered on most pet tags. They also come in interesting shapes such as with the outline of a paw, or a shape of a bone. The collar of the animal can be slid through some of them. The pet tag cost is a few dollars only.

Next in the line of pet safety is the pet tracking device called the pet tracking chip which is a microchip implanted in the body of the animal, just under the skin, usually between the shoulder blades, where it cannot be reached by the mouth of the animal. This can be scanned for an identification number, which is recorded in a registry against details of the pet owner, the address, etc. This information can be retrieved by matching the scanned identification number with the details in the registry. Most veterinarians have a handheld scanner which is programmed to read the microchips of most manufacturers (a universal scanner). Pet recovery services also have them. Implanting the chip can be done by a veterinarian during a routine visit and costs nothing extra. This saves this life microchip is a safe device and causes no harm to the body, even though it is implanted in it.

An additional benefit of the pet tag:

Along with your pet’s name and your phone number, the pet tag can display its microchip ID as well! The scanning would not be really required, then, just checking the ID number with the registry would give the details of the owner.

April 4 has been ‘tagged’ as Every Day is Tag Day, a day to remind and encourage pet owners to tag their pets or microchip them. So, if you cannot microchip, please at least get them a tag, and keep your pets safe!