Microchipping

Every pet parent should have a plan in place for their pets in case of an emergency. In the event of a natural disaster or a fire, things can get hectic, chaos happens, and sometimes our pets get lost or left behind. Even when life is normal, something as ordinary as leaving the gate to your yard open can result in a missing pet. It is now common practice that when a stray pet is brought into a shelter or a veterinary clinic, one of the first things they do is scan the pet for a microchip.

Microchipping is a method of providing permanent identification for your four-legged friend that can’t get lost, stolen, or damaged. A microchip is a safe, simple form of identification that can significantly increase the chance for a happy reunion between you and your pet. A microchip is about the size and shape of a grain of rice. It is injected beneath the surface of your pet's skin between the shoulder blades in a process similar to a vaccination. The procedure takes only a few minutes and can be completed during any visit to Hartselle Animal Clinic.

Each chip has a unique registration number that is linked with your pet’s name, owner’s name and contact information in a national recovery database. Stray pets are routinely scanned at most animal shelters and veterinary offices. If the pet has a microchip, then the appropriate pet recovery center can be contacted, and they, in turn, will contact you to arrange for a reunion with your pet.

We use the Pet Link microchip. We will register your pet initially, and you will be required to create a Pet Link account with your contact information and keep it updated in the event that your contact information should change. Hartselle Animal Clinic highly recommends microchipping both indoor and outdoor pets in the Hartselle community. We love happy endings to stories about lost pets, so please consider microchipping your pet today.