A microchip is a small device implanted under your pet’s skin that stores an ID number. This number helps reunite you with your pet if you’re ever separated. Some people choose not to get microchips because they think, “My pet is not the type to run away.” But natural disasters, moves, and other unexpected issues can cause you to get separated from your pet. Here are some stories from Upstate South Carolina of separated pets and their owners (names changed) who are very glad they had microchips.
Eightball: Rescued Twice
In February 2013, Cary was involved in an Upstate organization called Freedom Fences, which built pens for dogs who were chained to trees. During a build, some neighbors told her a dog who had once been chained to a tree was now wandering the neighborhood. The dog was hurt, unneutered, and had heartworms. Cary took him home to care for him—she had him neutered, brought him back to health, treated his heartworm, and named him Eightball, due to his black-and-white coloring.
Cary couldn’t keep Eightball, so she found a couple with two other similar dogs who were willing to adopt him. But then the couple divorced, and the wife took their three dogs to three different shelters. The shelter ran the microchip and matched the dog to Cary. In November 2013, almost a year after rehoming Eightball, Cary got a call that her dog was found—a dog she didn’t even consider missing. But Cary had a big heart and didn’t want Eightball to suffer more. She rescued him, again—this time from a shelter. She then told her friend Lauren about his story, and Lauren adopted him. Eightball now lives a happy life with a loving family. His microchip ensured he was returned to a person who truly cared about his well-being, and he didn’t become one more pitty-mix dog in a shelter.
A Not-So-Nice Neighbor
Isabel’s cat, Jojo, wandered a few yards down the block. A person in the neighborhood did not recognize the cat and assumed she was pregnant (she had a round belly) and lost. The neighbor called Animal Control. When Animal Control showed up, Jojo had returned to her own yard, but she was still captured and taken to a shelter. The shelter checked for a microchip. Sure enough, they found the cat belonged to Isabel—and was registered at the exact address she’d been picked up from. Thankfully, a microchip prevented an accidentally arrested cat from being forever gone.
We hope these stories have inspired you to have your pet microchipped. Animal Clinic of Woodruff provides on-site microchip insertion and scanning. Make an appointment today to ensure your pet is protected and will always be returned to you.
