Lost Pets
When pets wander from your premises, they are usually only a few blocks from your house. Immediately putting up sign boards on utility poles in your area is the quickest and fastest way to get the message out to neighbors. Be sure your phone is monitored at all times, or take your cell phone while you are out looking. Most of the time, someone will call within a few hours regarding information about your pet’s whereabouts.
Dr. Frace answers the phone after hours by forwarding the main phone line to his cell phone. Most every weekend he gets a lost pet call with one of our rabies tags on the collar, but no owner’s information. Please keep your pet’s collar information up to date and a collar on your pet, so we can connect with you should this ever happen. We have a new company pet ID tag that is unique, with our business card on the back and your information on the front, with a picture of your pet in the likeness of a California driver’s license. Visit Pet ID for Me to take a look at the tag and place an order with a favorite photo of your pet on the front.
Rabies Tags
When we vaccinate for rabies, we issue a hospital rabies tag with a number recorded in the computer. We can retrieve this number to match it with your pet.
Microchip Indentification
This is the best was to permanently identify your pet. These are used in all species of animals, from whales to birds. The chip beams a number to the appropriate scanner and that number is recorded in our office computer and your pet’s file. We recommend that you also record this number with the company that manufactures the chip, along with your contact information. Remember to contact them with new information, such as an address change with a move or new phone numbers.
The chips are installed in the fascia below the skin over the shoulder blade. These chips are not tracking devices like LoJack for a car — that would require a battery pack be installed under the skin with the chip. Microchips work like transponders in airplanes, beaming a number back to the control tower when activated.
We use American Veterinary Identification Devices (AVID) chips. This company was the original company to develop microchips for animals. They are the industry leader in microchip systems worldwide and are the specific chip used in quarantine qualifications for animals going to places like Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand. AVID chips operate at a frequency of 125 Hz.
Other chips are:
- Home Again—125 Hz
- 24-Hour Pet Watch—125 Hz
- Banfield’s ISO or double chip system—134.5 Hz or 125 Hz
- AVID Friendship—125 Hz
- ISO chips (International Standardization Organization)—134.5 Hz
- Trovan Unique chips—128 Hz (used by the AKC)
The problem with the current chip system is that chip scanners don’t read all the different chips. This means that ISO chips and the Trovan AKC chips could be missed if only the more common U.S. reader for 125 Hz is used.
Tattoos
These are not useful for two reasons: there is no common registry and blurring of the tattoo over time may render it unreadable. In the past, some recommended tattooing your social security or driver’s license number inside the ear or abdominal flank of the animal, but with identity theft so prevalent, a microchip is a better and safer choice.