Last weekend, one of our dogs slipped out of her collar to go chase an unidentified critter under the shed. We got her back in a hurry (luckily she was more obsessed with the critter than running away) but if you’re a pet owner, you might know that feeling of panic of having your dog or cat run loose without their collar or tags.
Fortunately, the Madison Police Department has a new tool to help reunite human and animal friends in those situations.
What It Is
Lost Dogs of Wisconsin, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping dog owners find their missing pets, recently donated a pet microchip scanner to the Madison Police Department. Microchips are tiny transponders, about the size of a grain of rice, that are inserted under the skin of a pet, usually between the shoulder blades, by a veterinarian or animal shelter.
How Microchips Work
Just like in science fiction movies, the microchip is a unique identifier containing information about the animal and contact information for its owner. The information goes into an online registry, and is revealed when a scanner is used to detect the frequency of the microchip. That can come awfully in handy if a dog or cat is found that’s missing their tags.
The chip is designed to work for 25 years, and usually bonds to the animal’s subcutaneous tissue within 24 hours and stays put.
Get Chipped!
The scanner will be kept at MPD’s Central District, and will be available for officers throughout the city to use. But it doesn’t work if your pet doesn’t have a microchip, so be sure to make sure they have one, and that your contact information is kept up to date in case you move or change phone numbers.
And even if they are chipped, make sure they still wear a collar and tags. No matter what fascinating creature is under the shed.
