Lost pets

One of the most stressful and heartbreaking experiences in life is to have a beloved pet go missing. It's an almost daily occurrence though, and fortunately in many instances, the separation is a temporary one, but many times it is not. The good news is the key to bringing a lost pet home safely begins with something as simple as a collar.

It seems just about every other day there is a post on the Next Door website about an animal in the New Orleans area that has been found wandering. The presence of a collar on a four-legged explorer or escapee lets the person encountering them know that the animal is not a stray, but in fact someone's family member.

Did you know that there is a three day hold on "stray" animals brought to the SPCA, but that animals with pet tags are held a mandatory seven days? (Via Parish Ordinance) All the more reason for your furbaby to have both a collar and ID tags. Of course, as mentioned in our previous post on pet microchips, these are just the first step to being able to ID your pet should you somehow be separated from them.

Preventative measures are certainly the best way to avoid having a pet go missing, but what happens when you don't even know your baby isn't in the house? In another recent post earlier this month - this one to Next Door, a family returned home to find the front door open and their dog not at home. A similar post just one week earlier told of a cat that had been let out during a burglary.


How to Find a Lost Cat or Dog - Infographic by Vetstreet

Often the animals are just out exploring (or hiding) nearby and can usually be located by alerting the neighbors, putting up photos, and or posting to social media. Bringing familiar noise-making items along when you search such as favorite squeak toys or treat package wrappers might help your baby find you. Always leave water out, and if it's close to feeding time you might try sitting outside with your baby's food bowl.

If it's been more than 24 hours, you will want to contact the Louisiana SPCA. Just recently the agency shared a post on Facebook about a dog that had been missing for over a month but was able to be reunited with her person due to her mom having filed a report. The sooner you sound the alarm when your baby can't be found, the better!

The LA/SPCA Lost and Found is open Monday - Friday from 9 am - 5 pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon until 5 pm. If you're unable to file a lost pet report with a photo in person, you can alternatively do so online.

Last month we told you there's an app for that - and apparently we missed one. Finding Rover is a pet facial recognition app you can download for free that helps families become reunited with lost animals. The app can also be used by someone who has found a pet that they would like to reunite with their family member(s). Finding Rover works directly with shelters and adoption centers as well to assist in reunions and adoptions.

We hope you never have to face the stress and heartbreak of a missing pet, but we hope these resources help you to take preventive measures as well as to be prepared should you have to locate a lost animal.


Resources:

LA SPCA Lost and Found

Next Door

Social Media such as Facebook and Instagram

Finding Rover



Useful Links

How to Find Your Pet When They're Lost

8 Things to do if Your Pet Goes Missing

Pet Microchips: What You Need to Know

August 15 is National Check The Chip Day, so this month on the Petit Pet Care blog we're providing you with the information you need about pet microchipping. If your fur baby already has a chip, now is the time to be sure your registry info is up to date. If your four-legged (or feathered) family member doesn't yet have a chip, read on - there are a number of good reasons for you to consider getting one.

It's a pet parent's worse nightmare - a fur baby gone missing. No one wants to ever be in that position and yet thousands of families experience this heartbreak every year; in fact, it is estimated that somewhere a pet is lost every seven seconds. Thankfully, technology has a solution that can help return lost animals safely to their homes.

A door or gate left ajar, even an open car window can provide an easy escape for a curious pet to dart out and to take off - usually to give chase after another animal, and end up well away from home. All it takes is a split second when no one is looking for a beloved family pet to slip out of eyesight or even be snatched up by someone.

Heartbreaking, stressful, traumatic, frightening, and yet preventable. Microchips are implantable computer chips that transmit an encoded number to a special scanner that allows a pet to be easily identified. They take moments to insert under the skin and last for the lifetime of your pet.

While many have questioned the health safety to animals of microchipping, it is a widely held belief in the veterinary medical community that the risk of cancer from chip implantation is "very, very low," and that the benefits outweigh the risks.

The process is quick and fairly simple; a vet places a tiny microchip about the size of a grain of rice under the animal's skin with a needle. It should  not cause your pet any more pain than receiving a vaccine. After implantation, you register the chip, which contains a special digital number that can be used to identify your pet and obtain your contact information.

Here's a great video from ExpertVillage with Jenn Fadal explaining all about the microchipping process:

According to the ASPCA, lost cats are less likely to be found than dogs. In a study conducted by the agency, it was determined that 15 percent of found dogs had been located through their implanted chips. Microchip ID Systems, Inc. claims that over 38 percent of cats and and 52 percent of dogs in shelters found to have chips have been reunited with their caregivers.

Dogs and cats are not the only animals which can be microchipped. Fish, ferrets, horses, alpacas, birds, even laboratory and zoo animals such as elephants and snakes can and do get chipped. If you travel with your companion animal(s) regularly, you will more than likely want to get them implanted with a microchip. In some countries, it is actually now a requirement that animals be chipped.

More and more, microchips are becoming an important identification tool for pet parents. Collars break, tags get lost, but chips are long lasting and the cost has gone down (on average around $10), making them more affordable. Chips are quickly becoming an essential part of disaster preparedness as well.

While chips and scanners can be purchased online, implanting them is not something that can or should be done casually. Believe it or not, anyone can learn in a brief online course how to implant a microchip. However, the only way to be sure a chip is implanted properly - and therefore will not migrate or cause problems - is to have it done by a vet or properly trained shelter personnel.

Because your fur baby's safety is paramount, always ask about credentials, and always choose an experienced hand. An improperly implanted chip can be difficult to get a read from in addition to causing unwanted medical problems. And again, once a chip is implanted it absolutely must be registered.

Microchips do not replace collars and tags, and most importantly they are not lowjack. They don't work with GPS, but they can interact with pet doors and feeding dishes to allow pets a little more independence.

If ever you misplace your microchip paperwork or number, all you will need to do is have your vet scan the chip to recover the digital ID number. You can then input the number in the online lookup tool for a national registry such as AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup to find out which company your chip is registered with. Note that you will have to contact that company directly.

While most shelters now have universal scanners to detect the three main chip frequencies commonly used in the United States, it is still possible for there to be an error reading a chip. Microchips are built to last 25 years, but like all things, it's possible for them to fail and that is how "Check the Chip Day" came about.

In New Orleans, the Louisiana SPCA is holding a Walk-in Microchip Clinic on Saturday, August 19, 2017, from 12-4 pm. They will implant chips for $10 or scan existing chips free of charge. If you would like more information on the clinic, you can visit the Facebook Event, or call 504-368-5191.

Even though microchips are an important means of protecting your four legged family member, a collar is still the best way for someone to identify that he or she belongs to someone should s/he somehow get away from you. And while a chip is one important tool in your toolbox, it should be noted that merely having a chip does not provide proof of ownership of an animal.

Useful Links:

Microchipping 101: Why is it Important to Microchip My Pet?

How Safe Are Pet Microchips?

Do Microchips Migrate?

The Facts About Microchipping Your Dog

Keep Your Microchip's Info Up-to-Date

Bonus Benefits of Microchipping Your Pet

Free Pet Chip Registry

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