Most Lost Animals Never Make It Home ...

600milliondogs.org
12 minutes ago
3 min read

A registered microchip is only as useful as the information linked to it.

Today is National ID Your Pet Day, a day dedicated to helping companion animals find their way back home if they ever become lost.

It serves as an annual reminder to check collars, ID tags, and microchip information so companion animals can be reunited with the people who love them.

After disappearing in 2014, Sierra was found 12 years later in a Florida shelter, more than 1,400 miles away from where she was last seen.

Staff scanned her microchip and were able to reconnect her with the guardian who had never stopped wondering what happened to her.

Without that microchip, Sierra could have remained just another unidentified stray.

A registered microchip is only as useful as the information attached to it.

Here are five ways to use National ID Your Pet Day to better protect the animals in your care:

1. Update Microchip Information

Millions of microchips are registered with outdated information.

If you have moved, changed phone numbers, or switched email addresses, take a few minutes to review your registration.

A microchip cannot help if the contact details attached to it are no longer accurate.

2. Check Tags Before They Fail

Identification only works when others can read it.

Most people do not notice a problem until a tag is unreadable.

Examine collars, tags, and attachment rings for wear.

If engraving is fading or hardware is damaged, replace it now rather than after an emergency occurs.

3. Add a Second Contact

Lost animals are often found when guardians are at work, traveling, sleeping, or unable to answer their phone.

Adding a trusted family member, friend, or veterinarian creates another path home if the primary contact cannot be reached immediately.

4. Prepare Before Fireworks Begin

One updated tag can make all the difference after a holiday escape.

National ID Your Pet Day falls just days before one of the busiest periods of the year for lost animals.

Fireworks send many dogs and cats into panic.

Confirming your animal's identification before holiday celebrations begin is one of the simplest ways to improve the chances of a reunion.

5. Create a Recovery File

Keep current photographs, veterinary records, license numbers, and microchip information in one place.

Searching for documents after an animal disappears wastes valuable time.

Having everything ready allows you to act immediately if the unexpected happens.

Accurate records help turn lost animals into found ones.

Sierra was fortunate.

She had a guardian looking for her and a microchip that connected her to her past.

Millions of dogs and cats are not so fortunate.

They are born without identification, without protection, and without a home waiting for them.

The world's 600 million stray dogs and 87 million stray cats give birth to over 1 billion homeless puppies and kittens every year.

Tragically, those who survive, also reproduce and give birth to another generation of homeless strays - thus repeating the cycle of suffering, every year.

Many animals never experience the security of a permanent home.

This is why our mission is to end the #1 cause of suffering and death for dogs and cats — overpopulation — by developing a permanent-lasting birth control Cookie that will only need to be eaten one time, and it will in effect spay or neuter — without surgery.