 |
 |
|---|
What would you do if your pet were lost?
Thursday, September 01, 2011 |
One important step now could save you time and spare you heartbreak later.
If your cat or dog were lost and brought to an animal shelter, how easy would it be for the shelter staff to find you to reunite you with your pet? What if your pet were lost without a collar or tag? As important as tags are, they can fall off, and pets can end up outside without them. Every year millions of pets get lost, and many without proper ID are never returned to their homes and families. See if you can guess the answers to these questions about lost pets. What you learn might surprise you.
Q: How many lost dogs without identification are returned to their homes?
A: Only 15-20% of dogs who are lost without identification ever make it back home.1
Q: How many lost cats without identification end up being returned to their homes?
A: Lost cats without ID fare even worse than dogs. The sad truth is only about 2% of them are returned home.1
Q: How many pets are brought to animal shelters each year?
A: Shelters take in up to 12 million pets a year.1
Q: How many lost cats are reported by their owners to be “indoor-only” cats?
A: About 41% of cats who get lost are considered indoor-only cats.2 Cats are sneaky! They can easily slip outside without their owners realizing it until it’s too late. That’s why all cats need identification, regardless of lifestyle or house rules.
Q: How many animal shelter pets are euthanized?
A: About 75% of shelter pets are eventually euthanized at the shelter,1 not having found their owners or new homes.
Q: How many microchipped lost dogs are returned home?
A: More than 52% of lost dogs with registered microchips are reunited with their owners.3 That’s more than twice the return rate of the total shelter dog population. Microchipping works!
Q: How many microchipped lost cats are returned home?
A: Microchipping makes a huge difference for lost cats. More than 38% of lost cats with registered microchips are reunited with their owners.3 That’s almost 20 times more than the overall shelter cat population!
Q: Can all lost pets’ microchips be read by every microchip scanner?
A: In the past, some microchip companies provided shelters and veterinary clinics with scanners that could detect only their own microchips. Two trends are changing that.
First, more companies now produce microchips whose ID codes conform to an international standard. Second, more companies are now providing universal scanners that can detect and read microchips from all of the pet microchip providers — not just their own.
The resQ® Pet Identification System from Bayer uses both universal scanners and microchips that conform to the international standard. Click here to learn more about resQ® or to find a veterinary clinic in your area that offers the resQ® microchip.
1Facts About Animal Sheltering. ASPCA website. Available at: http://www2.aspca.org/site/DocServer/AFacts_About_Animal_ShelteringFinal.pdf?docID=9283. Accessed July 26, 2011.
2Lord LK, Wittum TE, Ferketich AK, et al. Search and identification methods that owners use to find a lost cat. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2007;230(2):217-220.
3Lord LK, Ingwersen W, Gray JL, et al: Characterization of animals with microchips entering animal shelters. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2009;235(2): 160-167.