Did you know that 1 in 3 pets in the United States will go missing in their lifetime? A recent study showed less than 20% of those missing pets without a microchip are ever reunited with their families. It’s one of the greatest fears a pet owner can have – your dog broke off his or her leash and ran out of sight, or your cat snuck through the front door and is now nowhere to be found.

No matter how great we are as pet parents, the fact will forever remain that pet’s still just get lost sometimes.

In the event that your dog or cat does get lost, a lost and alone dog or cat is highly likely to be approached by someone that want’s to help them find their way home. Dog and cat collars with ID tags aren’t always the most reliable way for someone to be able to identify your dog or cat in the event they become lost. ID tags are not failsafe and can sometimes fall off or break while your pet is missing. That’s why the Animal Clinic of Billings offers and recommends microchips to all our feline and canine patients.

Call us today to schedule an appointment to microchip your cat or dog and make sure they don’t become another statistic!

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MICROCHIPS

Microchipping is safe, easy, inexpensive, and practically painless for the animal. The microchip itself is roughly the size of a rice grain and is embedded underneath your dog or cat’s skin near their back, and will stay there for life.

Identification microchips are encoded with your dog or cat’s vital information. The microchip contains a very small metallic “bar code” within it that’s surrounded by an inert membrane to ensure it remains non-reactive when placed under the skin.

Once the microchip is in place, we register your contact information with the bar code number of the chip.

Then, if your pet should ever become becomes lost, all animal care facilities including shelters, veterinary hospitals and pounds will scan the animal using a microchip reader over the skin and be able to quickly and easily find all of your contact information.

Additionally, microchips are internationally recognized, which should provide you with the added peace of mind knowing that you can travel anywhere in the world and know that your pet’s chip can be read by a universal scanner.

So whether it happens anywhere within the United States or abroad, if your pet is lost, you can help get reunited by microchipping them.

PROTECT YOUR PET

Thousands of pet dogs and cats are lost every day, and millions are lost annually each year, and industry figures project that 8,000 pet dogs and cats are found and returned home every day because of microchips.

Microchipping your pet is the safest, most simple, permanent, and effective way to prevent this tragedy from befalling your beloved companion. Microchips are extremely safe, require no registration fees and no annual membership fees. Regardless of the type of microchip, our veterinarians recommend that every dog and cat should have a microchip ID implant. 

Looking for a lost pet? Click on the link below to search the Universal Pet Microchip Lookup: www.petmicrochiplookup.org

City License

The City of Billings takes pets’ vaccination status seriously and unlicensed pets shall be subject to civil penalties. We encourage pet owners to take advantage of this service  we offer so their pets get their annual exam and vaccines they need. Additionally, you will avoid city fines by remaining current on their city license.