• DVM360_Conference_Charlotte,NC_banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Conference Coverage
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

AVMA's 'Check the Chip' Day Urges Vets, Pet Owners to Ensure Microchip Data Is Up to Date

August 15, 2016
Jared Kaltwasser

Lost pets are returned home at higher rates when the animals have a microchip, but the AVMA says that information is useless if it's out of date.

A microchip is only as good as the information that it contains.

That’s the message being sent today by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), which on Monday is marking “National Check the Chip Day.”

The point of the exercise is to remind pet owners to log on to the American Animal Hospital Association’s petmicrochiplookup.org and verify that the registration information for their pets is current.

Pet owners who find old or incorrect information are encouraged to contact their veterinarian or the manufacturer of the chip in order to update the information. The AVMA has also created a “Check the Chip Day Toolkit," that contains microchipping information and resources for vets to share with their parents.

“Microchips are very effective for identifying lost pets and reuniting them with their owners,” said Thomas Meyer, DVM, president of the AVMA, in a press release. “But microchip registration needs to be done, and done correctly.”

Advertisement

An estimated 10 million dogs and cats are lost or stolen each year in the United States. A study in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association found that only 22% of lost dogs entering shelters were returned to their families. However, among microchipped pets, the rate of reunions jumped to 52%.

Among cats, only about 2% of shelter entrants were returned to their owners, versus roughly 40% among cats with microchips.

That same study also highlighted the importance of accurate information. Among the cases where the owners of a microchipped animal couldn’t be found, 35% percent were due to incorrect or disconnected telephone numbers. In 24% of cases, owners didn’t respond to a letter or telephone message, thus, it's unclear whether the information was accurate.

Another way authorities are improving the accuracy of microchip information is by writing it into local animal control regulations. Last year, Galveston County, TX, replaced its existing pet license regulation with one predicated on microchips. Instead of issuing paper licenses or collar tags, most cities in the county now require microchips, which can be purchased from the county for $20, or from a private veterinarian. The linkage of pet registration and microchips gives pet owners an extra incentive to keep their information current, since doing so is necessary to be in compliance with county regulations. The change has also had the effect of increasing overall pet registrations by 71%.

“This is exactly the result we were hoping to see by making microchipping the method of pet registration,” said Amber Adams, manager of the Galveston County Animal Resource Center, in a press release. “Unlike tags attached to collars, microchips can’t fall off, meaning ownership information stays with your pet should they get lost.”

Related Content:

Personnel Management
Veterinary-owned management companies: Why not?
Veterinary-owned management companies: Why not?
How to be the practice of choice
How to be the practice of choice
Why difficult conversations are the most important ones to have
Why difficult conversations are the most important ones to have

Advertisement

Latest News

CE: Why tapeworms matter

Freshpet and Petco partner launch fresh pet food subscription

AAHA Con heads to San Diego

VHMA announces latest class of CVPMs

View More Latest News
Advertisement