Every year thousands of family pets — dogs, cats, birds — go missing. For many their fate will be a brief stay in a Council Pound or a shelter where, if their owners cannot be located, they will be euthanised. Others will ‘go bush’ and turn feral, suffering the rigours of what is usually a short and brutal life in the wild and, particularly with feral cats, decimating native wildlife in their efforts to survive.

It doesn’t have to be that way. If they have a microchip implanted your lost pet can usually be reunited with your family within hours. Implanting a microchip in your dog or cat is one of the simplest of all services offered by veterinary clinics. It’s quick, completely safe, requires no surgery or anaesthetic and there are no follow up costs or hospital visits. Once the chip is there the animal is protected for life and any vet, Council or shelter can easily read the chip and locate the animal’s family within minutes.*

Microchipping is also very inexpensive. Many vets, including Alpine Animal Doctors, treat microchipping as essentially a not-for-profit service. The one-off fee covers the cost of the chip and registration on national databases. Many Councils will also offer a discount on annual registration fees for pets that are microchipped.

We strongly urge all of our clients to take advantage of this inexpensive, simple procedure that helps you find your pet should they get lost.

Most microchips are implanted in dogs and cats, the two species most likely to wander, but we can also microchip other species, from pet birds and rabbits to horses and livestock.

In the Alpine Shire it is a Council requirement that all dogs and cats must be microchipped before they can be registered.

If you have any questions or concerns about microchipping your pet(s) we have prepared a comprehensive article and FAQ which details the pros and cons and explains the benefits of microchip technology. Please see Keep Spot Safe, our microchipping project for all Alpine Shire pets.

*Provided that the owner’s address/contact details are kept current on the registration database.

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