Identification
Microchipping and Tattooing In Cats and Dogs for Identification
None of us want to think about our special family member, whether it be a cat or a dog, getting lost but unfortunately for millions of pets a year this is a reality for them and their human family members. For many, they get returned home safely to the loving arms of their family but for others, they end up lost in the street where they can either be hit by a car, severely injured and left to fend for themselves or have a human officer pick them up where they sit and wait in a cage for someone to come and save them. Don't let these sad stories be the legacy of your beloved cat or dog. Let us help you in giving your pet a way to find its way home to you! We offer two types of identification, tattooing, which generally goes into the right ear, and microchipping, which is placed under the skin.
Tattooing
Tattooing needs to be done under sedation so we generally recommend having it done while your pet is being neutered, spayed or is already going to be under sedation for treatment. A unique combination of letters and numbers will be put in the right ear of your pet. How does it work? Each clinic has it's own three identification letters, for example, TYU and then the fourth letter stands for the year it was done, for example, X. Then, the numbers afterwards stand for the order of which the dog or cat was done of that year, for example 587. Now together that would read at TYUX 587 which means that the cat or dog was tattooed at Cat and Dog Veterinary Hospital in 2009 and was the 587th patient to be tattooed. If your cat or dog is lost within BC, the SPCA or another clinic can look that information up and get in contact with the hospital it was done at so that your loving companion can be returned to you. This is also why it is very important to keep the clinic uptodate on any phone number or name changes. If you are traveling outside of BC with your pet or don't want to sedate, your best option may be to have a microchip implanted on your pet.
Microchipping
Microchipping is a quick and relatively painless procedure that implants a microchip, about the size of a grain of rice, under the skin. Microchipping is an international identification procedure that allows any country that has a scanning device to be able scan your pet and look up valuable information that will get your pet home to you quickly and easily. Microchipping can also help when the ownership of a cat or dog is in dispute.