Adoption & Pet Care

Your Pet Needs a Tag!

The following are common types of identification that can mean the difference between life and death for your best friend. Remember, with each of these methods, it is imperative to keep information up to date.

ID tags

All cats and dogs need to wear collars with city licenses and rabies vaccination tags. Personal ID tags are essential backups. The tag should include the owner's name, address, telephone numbers (day and evening) and the pet's name. Also:

• If you are willing to pay a reward, put the word "reward" on the tag.
  If you are traveling, put a temporary tag on your pet with the contact information of someone who knows how to reach you.
• For cats, use a specially made collar that has a short piece of elastic sewn in it. These collars allow the cat to escape if it gets caught on window blinds, furniture, fencing or other objects.
• Tag your cat even if you never let it outside. It could slip through an open door and quickly become lost in the neighborhood.

Tattoos

A tattoo is a permanent ID system that involves marking a code on the pet's skin, usually on the belly or near the groin. The finder calls a database and uses the code to obtain the owner's current address and phone number.

A tattoo is an invaluable ID should a pet be stolen for research, since laboratories will instantly know the animal is not abandoned, but a beloved pet.

If your pet has a tattoo and is particularly furry, you may want to regularly shave the area where the tattoo is.

Microchips

American Humane encourages everyone to make sure their pets are wearing ID tags and to take the added measure of security by having their pets microchipped.

Microchips are tiny capsules injected painlessly under an animal’s coat. Each chip contains a unique ID number that can be read by a microchip scanner and matched with owner information in a comprehensive database.

Microchips are effective and safe, and provide excellent backup identification for pets.

You may have heard reports about microchip implants causing malignant tumors in dogs and cats.

The AVMA cites that the majority of the mice and rats used in microchip research were ones used for cancer studies and that they were likely to develop cancer, regardless of the injection of microchips. And, according to the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association (WSVMA), the studies reported were conducted in rodents and did not meet a sound scientific approach necessary to begin issuing product safety warnings.

American Humane agrees with the AVMA’s assertion:

“… the risk that your animal will develop cancer due to its microchip is very, very low, and is far outweighed by the improved likelihood that you will get your animal back if it becomes lost.”

For more information about this issue, visit AVMA.

Please, for your pet's sake, show you care by properly identifying it.