Celebrate National Pet Microchipping Month with a splash

To show clients and the community how microchips are a quick but permanent solution to identification issues, team members at Ottawa Animal Hospital in Holland, Mich., volunteer one Saturday in June to block off the back parking lot and set up a Chip and Dip clinic.

While pets enjoy a free bath, team members talk to their owners about the benefits of microchipping, answer questions, pass out literature, and also provide free registration.

“So people don’t go home and forget to register, we have them fill out a form while we microchip their pets,” says Donna Bauman, CVPM, practice manager.

“We enter their information online for them and then mail or e-mail them their confirmation.” Besides boosting compliance with updating existing microchip accounts, this also allows team members to list their hospital as the veterinary contact and collect e-mail addresses.

Bauman says the microchip clinic has become so popular that they’ve expanded it to include silent auctions, exotic pet petting zoos, and pony rides. “People start calling us in spring to find out when the next one is,” she says.