Permanent Identification For Your Pet

​                                    Most of us put collars on our dogs and we might even remember to put ID tags on them, their license from the town, and maybe the rabies tag from our vet. However, we also know these items wear down, collars can fall off, and in some cases even pose a health hazard to our dogs.
             When dogs play with each other they can get tangled up in each other’s collar, they can get stuck on a fence, ID tags fall off some times. My guys swim and the salt water can harm them too. I am not telling you to not have collars or ID tags on your pets but think about your pet and its lifestyle.
              My big boys play rough so when we are home they have no collar on which makes me nervous because I like to have ID tags on my dogs. I recently discovered these http://store.petsafe.net/keepsafe-collar. These are safety breakaway collars. I have not tried them out yet but they will be ordered soon and I will be giving a product review on them. I would suggest watching the video on their website.
             My cats do not wear a collar. They are indoor only cats and I feel no need to have a collar on them, again this is for safety reasons. Yet, I do understand why an indoor only cat as well at an indoor-outdoor cat would have a collar on, identification is important. Again I would suggest a safety breakaway collar for a cat just like the ones for the dogs. Here is one site that has the safety collars for cats http://www.coastalpet.com/products/product/scc01.aspx?style=07001.
     It is important to know that these collars are designed to “break away” or “break open” when a pet pulls on them so I would not use it all the time but they do have a place and a purpose.
     Having ID tags is important and key to getting a lost pet returned home and so are microchips.
 We promote the use of Home Again microchips here at Companion Veterinary Health Center. They are an ISO9000 chip and can be used in dogs and cats. They are injected under the skin and have an anti-migration feature to them to help them stay put in your pet.
       HomeAgain Microchips do require an annual membership but with that membership there are perks and they can save you lots of money. They offer a Lost Pet Recovery Network - this is why you should upload a photo of your pet to its HomeAgain account. If your pet ever goes missing, HomeAgain makes a listing in a national lost pet network with its photo and your contact information is listed with it. HomeAgain offers Rapid Lost Pet Alerts – these are real-time lost pet alerts to people in your area such as vets, shelters, and PetRescues. Another feature is Personalized Lost Pet Poster – you can create your lost pet poster on HomeAgain and start your search faster with the help of their easy template. 24/7 Lost Pet Specialists – when your pet is found, HomeAgain is contacted and validates that it is your missing pet and contacts you to arrange the reunion. 24/7 Emergency Medical Hotline – Telephone assistance from licensed ASPCA Veterinarians. Travel Assistance for Found Pets – Up to $500.00 in pet airfare when your cat or dog is found over 500 miles away (certain restrictions do apply). You also have access to Animal Poison Control when your pet has an active membership and one phone call is about a $65.00 value.
   In the case of a missing or stolen pet your pet’s microchip will ensure you are indeed that pets owner. It is a unique ID# no other pet in the world has the same microchip number, even if the microchip is not a HomeAgain, all the companies have unique numbers and never duplicate them.
    Please check out HomeAgain at  http://public.homeagain.com/ to reach out to them for any reason. You can also register a non-HomeAgain microchip with them and get full HomeAgain benefits.
     Please call us today at 860-779-6070 to schedule you pet’s microchipping appointment.
Thank you for reading this today. Nancy