How A Microchip Saved A Life

This is Al. Al disappeared from his home on April 19th. Al has been gone before, but has returned after a short period of time. What brought Al home this time wasn't his memory of where he lived. Lisa, Al's mom, got a phone call from a vet hospital on June 25th. They called her because they scanned him for a microchip. Al had one so he was reunited after spending 10 weeks in the mountains. We don't know what adventures Al might have had, but some of them left him injured - too injured to get back home on his own. When Al was found, he was being circled by three juvenile and two adult hawks. His luck was close to running out. A kind stranger discovered him and took him immediately to a vet hospital for help. The vet techs scanned him, his number popped up and Lisa got a phone call she had all but given up hope of receiving. Thanks to his microchip, Lisa was reunited with her beloved cat. Al is lucky - only 3% of lost cats ever return home. Only 3 out of every 100 cats who get lost ever find their way back home.

There is a misconception that cats can always find their way home. Sometimes cats get sick or injured. So what happens when your pet is too injured to make their way home to you? If they end up at a pet hospital or at the shelter, they will be scanned for a microchip. That microchip could mean the difference between life and death for your cat. Even if your cat wears a collar with ID Tags, collars can come off. They can fade over time. In case they aren't wearing their collar when they get lost, make sure that your pet is also microchipped. Every animal that winds up in an animal shelter is scanned for a microchip upon arrival. If chipped, they can immediately contact you so that you can retrieve your pet. Without any way of identifying your pet, the shelter is forced to either adopt your pet to someone else or euthanize it due to overcrowding. Microchipping is simple, safe and relatively inexpensive. The procedure only takes seconds - the chip is implanted between your pet's shoulder blades with a shot and lasts the lifetime of your pet.

Where can you get your pet microchipped? At your next vet appointment, ask your vet to implant one. If you don't want to wait for your next vet appointment, you can get one done at your local shelter for a small fee. Once you call the microchip company and activate the chip, you have peace of mind knowing that your pet will be returned to you if lost.

LISA AND AL REUNITED










AL'S BATTLE SCARS









MORE OF AL'S BATTLE SCARS









Thank you, Lisa, for sharing Al's story with us! And congratulations to Al on making his way home. Thanks also to the kind woman who found him and didn't just leave him there!