Katie Wright
9/14/2011
When my dog went missing on our wedding day, I became a firm believer in the microchip.
It was an eventful day, but he made it down the aisle.
The text read: OUR RINGBEARER IS MISSING.
If I am honest, I had become the typical self-absorbed bride that day. I was worried whether my divorced parents would get along, if it were going to rain, and whether my husband knew better than to smash the cake in my face.
Tristan wasn't much better. He was downtown at the shave shop with his groomsmen getting pampered, knocking back a few Jack & Gingers and reminiscing about his single days, I'm sure.
Nobody was focused on Walter. After all, we had left him under the watchful care of the caterers, the wedding planner, and the DJ. I think you know where this is going.
Walter displays more of a saunter than a sprint, so I knew he couldn't be far. An hour prior to our big ceremony the text messages started flying. Chaos ensued as our 15-person wedding party frantically assembled a search and rescue team.
I tried to remain calm and on schedule, but let's admit it; this is an owner's worst nightmare. Halfway into our search my husband-to-be received a call from the Bucks County SPCA.
Our curious English bulldog had been found sitting in the middle of Owen St., four blocks from where he’d last been seen. The police officer described the crime scene as peaceful and the perpetrator as “lethargic, making no attempt to escape.”
I tell this story because it has made me a firm believer in microchipping our dogs. Even if you’re religious about your dog’s collar and tags, they can fall off, or worse yet, be taken off.
In our case, Walter’s collar never made it on that morning. Thankfully his microchip served as a permanent form of ID. The chip is about the size of a grain of rice. It’s inserted under the skin between the shoulder blades using a needle and syringe, similar to the process of giving a shot. In fact, it will take longer to do the paperwork than it will to implant the chip.
Once in place, the microchip can be detected with a handheld scanner, common to most vets and shelters, which produces a code unique to your dog. When entered in a database, so long as you’ve registered the microchip with the provider, the system will locate the contact information of the owner.
The microchip costs approximately $50-$75 and lasts the life of the dog. I recommend a company called resQ. There are no registration or annual fees once you’ve paid for your vet to implant the chip.
I laugh whenever I come across Walter’s discharge papers dated 9/18, but I thank my lucky stars that he was microchippe.
Source: http://oldtownalexandria.patch.com/articles/its-a-ruff-life-why-i-say-i-do-when-it-comes-to-microchips#c
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