If you are a pet owner then you know the thought of your pet being lost is one of the worst scenarios that can happen to any pet owner. Sometimes to many pet owners, while they do what any responsible pet owner does, it seems like no matter what, their dog or cat are the ones to try and sneak out the front door or out of the yard at the worst possible time. While most of the time they usually never get further than the front yard before you reach them, it’s the time that they may get further than that or the time that you may not realize they are out that worries you the most. This is when having adequate collar identification comes in to play as well as any other recovery assets such as HomeAgain will all work together to provide a safe return home for your pet.
With over 2 million rescued pets, it’s no wonder why the HomeAgain microchip and recovery system has become one of the most trusted resources in reuniting lost pets with their owners. If anything like this terrible situation is going to happen with any of your pets, you want to have the best resources already in place to have the best chances of a safe retrieval of your beloved pet. One of the most ironic things is that this system is one of the simplest systems yet provides one of the largest impacts on the overall safety and security of your beloved pet. Overall, the small investment to have this microchip put in place provides a level of protection for your dog or cat that will never need replacing nor will ever not work when you may need the system to work its power the most.
For the endless amount of people that have friends, family or a pet sitting service watch their pets while they are traveling, a scenario of their pet getting out while they are being watched is something that stays in the back of your mind and you think about time to time. Again, while the odds of something like this happening is not likely, if in the off chance that it does, your pet is ready to be rescued from wherever they may end up rather quickly when the HomeAgain process is put into action. As with many other examples, it is better to be prepared ahead of time with the right tools then to be in the middle of a situation trying to get an action plan together, or planning after the fact. Everyone has a lot going on in their lives, so when you can lessen the stress for any situation, then that in itself is a great benefit.
So How Exactly Does HomeAgain Work?
1. If your pet goes missing, you immediately notify HomeAgain either through the website or the hotline. You want the system to activate the alert as soon as possible. |
2. After receiving notification that your pet is missing, the HomeAgain network sends out an alert to clinics, shelters, and volunteer pet rescuer’s with-in a 25 mile radius of where your dog or cat was lost. The system can help locate your pet with all the resources working together. |
3. Once found, your pet is scanned for a microchip and the company is contacted. |
4. When the microchips ID number is input into the system, your contact information will be available, and you will be notified to make arrangements to reunite with your pet. |
5. Pet and owner are the reunited. This is the end result that everyone is after. Period. |
How Is The Chip Implanted?
This could not be a simpler process. A veterinarian positions a microchip for pets that is only about the size of a grain of grass, beneath the surface of the dog or cats skin between the shoulder blades. The process is similar to a shot and does not need any sort of anesthetic and the materials are composed of biocompatible materials that will not degenerate over time.
The best part is that the HomeAgain microchip is a permanent ID. It needs no energy source so therefore it will last the lifetime of your pet. To read the microchip, a scanner is passed over the shoulder blade area of your pet. The scanner provides the necessary power needed to the chip to be able to transmit the microchip’s ID code to be able to identify the pet.
The only dog & cat micro-chipping product that is on the market today that has the patented anti-migration feature to help ensure that the microchip will stay in place so that it may be easily located and scanned is that of HomeAgain. This is a key safety feature to make sure that if the chip should ever need to be scanned, the chip will be in the location it should be to make the scanning process quick and easy.
If your pet gets lost and is taken to an animal shelter or veterinarian, they will scan the microchip to read the unique dog or cat ID code. This is the number used by HomeAgain to identify the pet and retrieve your contact information, which is used to contact you and reunite you with your pet. In addition, if you’re adopting a pet from a shelter they might already have a microchip which is wonderful.
Is It worth The Investment?
With over 14,000 pets that are reunited with their owners every month, you can be the judge. The statistics do speak for themselves at how effective having an implanted microchip can be for any pet however. While unfortunately there is no fail safe system that can guarantee nothing ever happening with a beloved pet in regards to being lost, it is better to have as many bases covered that you possibly can so that the chances are lessened by the highest possible percentage.
The most important part of the microchip system is registering the chip. This is the most important aspect of the recovery system. If your pet should need the system to go into to action for them they need to be registered in the database so when they are located and they microchip is scanned, your information will come up right away so your pet has the best chance of being returned to you. Also, make sure your contact information remains up to date so contacting you remains simple and easy.
There are even additional scanners that you can get to maximize the resources in action. The phenomenal stories of pet owners providing a scanner for their local police department, fire department, canine or cat clubs, etc. is fantastic. The more resources that a community has at its disposal allows the community to work together efficiently when situations arise like a dog or cat going missing yields more results in a happy ending more often than not..
As a pet owner, you can also encourage your immediate friends and family to sign up to be a pet rescuer with HomeAgain. When a beloved pet goes missing in the zip code radius that they sign up with they will get an alert. This puts more and more people on the lookout immediately when a lost pet situation arises. When those friends and family have their immediate circle sign up, and so on and so forth, you can see the amazing impact this can have when you have massive group efforts enacted when needed.
The Best Practices
While the HomeAgain microchip recovery system is simply amazing and is another phenomenal asset in the overall protection for your pets, this should only be thought of as exactly that, an additional asset not a replacement. Make sure to always keep your pet registered, maintain regular veterinarian visits and the proper collar and identification tags on them at all times. You want to always have every accessory and resource working together simultaneously to maintain overall safety at all times.
When you are someone that enjoys traveling, the safety and security of your pet is something that is always in the back of your mind no matter where you are in the world or what activities you are taking part in. When you can effectively add an additional layer of safety for your pet, and slightly lessen the worry while you are away, it makes it worthwhile just for that aspect in itself alone. Any pet owner will agree that you can enjoy yourself more when you know your pet is safe and secure while being away.
Make sure when you are traveling as well that the house sitter or pet sitter that will be keeping an eye on your pet, keeps their collar and tags on them at all times and has your contact information readily available should you ever need to be contacted. As like most things, while you may not be able to prevent every situation from happening, when you have the tools, practices and resources working together simultaneously, the impact of the situation can be drastically reduced.