Inexpensive, high-tech microchip helps pet parents find lost animals
Betsy and her pet parent Tracy Daddario are new to Milwaukee.
"She's a Shih Tzu, Rat Terrier; she's a mut," Daddario said. "She has run away once before."
But in their four years together, she's been scared to get Betsy micro-chipped.
"Because I thought it hurt, so I was afraid to hurt her," she said.
Daddario overcame that fear Monday at the Wisconsin Humane Society and watched as a microchip was quickly and painlessly put into her furry friend.
"Hopefully I don't ever have to use it, but I guess it'd be nice if someone does pick her up," she said. "They can scan her and I can get her back.
"It's all pet parents worst nightmare is having your dogs get stolen like that," said Angela Speed, VP of Communications for the Wisconsin Humane Society.
Speed said all stray dogs and cats brought to the facility are immediately scanned for a microchip, which is the size of a grain of rice. The chip's specific number is connected to a pet owner's information.
"We had one case where we reunited a cat with her owner a year after she went missing," said Speed.
All dogs and cats up for adoption at the shelter are micro-chipped too.
It's one of many services offered to pet owners during vaccine clinics for $25, a small price to pay for a lifetime of peace of mind.
"It can make reunions happen," Speed said.
The Wisconsin Humane Society recommends that microchips be a secondary form of identification for your pet. Speed said the first should be a collar and tag because it has direct contact information.
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