Microchip Animal Identification

The Iowa City Animal Care and Control Center would like animal owners to know about Microchip Animal Identification. Every year thousands of pets are lost or get loose from their homes within this general area. Statistics show 1 out of every 3 family pets will be lost. Unfortunately only about 1% of the animals entering the shelter have some form of identification. We can't get them back home if we don't know where they came from. Without identification, we must rely on owners to look for their animals and reclaim them.

The current reclaim rate of animals from the shelter is 53% of dogs and 16% of cats. These animals have all been owned by someone so the reclaim rate should realistically be somewhere around 80% for both dogs and cats. But, pet owners often think their pet will come home on its own or is lost forever and don't always put the effort into locating the animal.

Although animal licenses are required to be on your animal's collar, animals do lose their collars or get out when they are not wearing a collar. Microchip identification can help. Most animal shelters, veterinarians, and research labs now scan all animals coming into their facilities for microchips. If an animal has a chip, the scanner will display a number that belongs specifically to you and your animal. State and local laws require that an owner be notified immediately if any form of identification is found.

Microchips can be implanted by your veterinarian. The procedure is similar to your animal receiving a vaccination. The injection is given into the nape of the neck—no surgery is required. This is generally an inexpensive, painless procedure that may save your animal's life. Please contact your veterinarian or the animal shelter today about microchipping your animal for the permanent identification you can rely on.