Sign up for the paNOW newsletter

SPCA using microchips to reunite pets with owners

Aug 20, 2015 | 4:31 PM

The Prince Albert SPCA is working to make sure pets can be reunited with their owners immediately after an unexpected separation.

A microchipping clinic, sponsored by Carlton Honda, is being held at the SPCA from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Executive director John Morash said they’ve already booked over 50 appointments and are expecting more people to drop in.

The SPCA highly recommends owners get their pets microchipped  as prices have been dropped from $30 to $20 for the three day clinic.

“It makes it a lot easier to identify your animal if it’s ever lost,” Morash said. “I think the situation with the northern fires brought it to light for a lot of people.

“You never know what’s going to happen and if in the event that you get separated from your animal, microchipping is the best way to reconnect.”

When thousands of people were evacuated from northern Saskatchewan earlier this summer due to fires, the SPCA looked after many pets and fostered out many more. When the evacuation order was over, returning pets to owners proved to be quite difficult without proper identification. That’s why the staff at the SPCA is pushing to get as many people as possible to microchip their animals.

“One hundred per cent of the animals that had city licences and 100 per cent of the animals that had any type of identification on them were returned to their owners almost immediately,” said Morash.

Morash said a microchip, about the size of a grain of rice, is inserted below the skin in the middle of the animal’s shoulder blades.

“We can scan for that, it brings up a barcode,” said Morash. “It doesn’t matter where your animal gets lost. It could get lost in Vancouver and they can still trace it through the database to that owner and call you immediately.”

“It’s the best way to make sure because it can’t fall off, it can’t get damaged in any way. It’s what we highly recommend that people do.”

The ID information on the pet’s microchip is registered in a North American wide database. The procedure is approved by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.    

If people are interested in microchipping their pets, or are looking for more information, they can visit the SPCA located at 1125 North Industrial Drive, across the bridge, in Prince Albert.

asoloducha@panow.com

On Twitter: @alex_soloducha