The thought of losing a pet can be devastating to some people. Unfortunately, though rare, this does happen. It may be something purely accidental or it may be malicious. There is no real way to ever prevent this from happening, but there are some ways to make finding that furry friend easier.
HomeAgain Makes it Easy to Find a Lost Pet
One way to make finding a pet easier is with the HomeAgain service. This is a complete pet recovery service that involves a microchip and a network of lost pet specialists and veterinary clinics. The service is available nationwide including through a veterinarian in Cedar Rapids, IA. Animal clinics will have the HomeAgain logo either on their door or on display somewhere inside the clinic.
So how does this service work? First a pet is implanted with a microchip device. This device is very small, as it is only about the size of a piece of rice. Much like any other injection, the microchip gets inserted under the skin between the shoulder blades of the pet. There is no surgery or anesthetic required for this procedure.
Once the microchip has been inserted between the shoulder blades of the pet the microchip is then scanned and entered into the database of HomeAgain pet owners. Each pet and each microchip has its own unique ID so there will never be any sort of confusion as to whom the pet belongs to.
The microchip is read by passing a scanner over the shoulder blade area. There is nothing painful about this process as the scanner only emits a small scanning signal to read the ID. The information is then retrieved from the national database. This database includes all of the contact information necessary to bring the pet and pet owner back together for a happy reunion.
Only Have HomeAgain Inserted By a Vet
Not every veterinarian in Cedar Rapids offers the HomeAgain program so it will be necessary to first do a search to see which ones offer this service. The cost of the HomeAgain procedure varies from clinic to clinic. In addition to the cost of the procedure, there is a small annual cost associated with the HomeAgain service.
For peace of mind though, this service is well worth the cost. There is hardly any known drawback of using microchips to track pets, and the overall cost is very minimal. The lifespan of the microchip lasts for the entire life of a pet, so there is no fear of ever having to go through the procedure again. Once a pet is entered into the national database, any veterinary clinic that is part of the network can easily scan the chip, and they will know whom the owner is and how to get into contact with that pet owner.
Abbie’s Animal Clinic is a full-service animal hospital as well as a veterinary clinic. As a veterinarian in Cedar Rapids, IA, Dr. Clark promotes the use of HomeAgain. He has more than 20 years of experience in veterinary medicine. One of the specialties offered by the clinic is pain management and health treatments for small pets.
