Chip away resistance

For clients who believe their pet won't get lost or feel a collar and tag sufficiently identify their pet, Paige Phillips, RVT, a Firstline Editorial Advisory Board member, suggests sharing these examples of how a microchip can save the day—and their pet's life:

• Collars and tags can be easily removed—purposefully and by accident.

• At an emergency veterinary hospital, doctors and team members can stabilize the patient, provide pain relief, and bandage wounds without input from the owner. But, if an animal requires additional treatment, it might be euthanized if the team can't contact an owner to authorize further care. Of course, they exhaust all other efforts first, says Phillips, Director of Nursing at Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas in Cary, N.C.

• The registered contact information for microchips is often easily updated with one phone call or online visit. And even if the information is out-of-date, the registered name can still be helpful.

• "Microchips make team members' jobs easier," says Phillips. "We positively identify more pets and reunite them with their owners, and animal control euthanizes fewer pets."