By Capt. Joseph Anderson
Fort Belvoir Veterinary Treatment Facility
Far too frequently, the veterinary clinic receives phone calls and faxes from pet owners who have lost their dog or cat. Maybe it escaped from their backyard while they were at work, or ran out the door when their landlord let in the repair man, or even broke loose from the leash when they were on a walk.
Any pet can become lost at any time, even those that are kept strictly indoors. Without identification, approximately 90 percent of those will never return home. Many end up in already overcrowded animal shelters and, if not adopted, run a big risk of being put to sleep.
It is estimated that 10 million pets get lost and 9.6 million dogs and cats are put to sleep in animal shelters every year in the United States.
There is a way to help prevent your pet from becoming another statistic and the following true story helps show how it’s possible.
A short while back, Sgt. Jason Zizzo, a Fort Belvoir Soldier, brought a cat to our clinic he had found wandering the parking lot in front of his apartment. The cat appeared to be a well-fed stray. It was a male that seemed to be in good health, but had no collar and was somewhat dirty. It purred upon arrival and wanted to spend its days sunbathing in the window and snuggling.
One of our technicians ran a special microchip scanner across the cat’s back. The scanner emitted a tiny beep indicating this stray actually had an owner.
We placed a call to the microchip company and gave them the cat’s unique microchip identification number. Moments later we had the owners on the phone and told them at their beloved pet had been found.
Their story was an all too familiar one. They had recently moved to Delaware and, while passing through the area, stopped at a gas station. When they opened their car doors, their pet escaped and ran off.
He was a strictly indoor housecat. Suddenly, he found himself outdoors. Scared and unfamiliar with his surroundings, he ran too fast for the family to stop him. They believed he was lost forever.
Fortunately, because they chose to get the microchip for their pet, the reunion was a happy one.
A microchip is the only guaranteed way a pet’s identification will always be available. Identification tags can break or become worn out. Collars can snap and fall off. Tattoos can be hard to read or even find.
At the Fort Belvoir Veterinary Treatment Facility, we strongly encourage getting your pet a microchip. Microchips are safe for dogs, cats, horses, or almost any other pet.
The procedure is simple. No sedation or anesthesia is required. Using a special needle, a microchip about the size of a grain of rice is injected underneath the skin of a pet’s back.
This single microchip lasts throughout a pet’s life and transmits a unique identification number that can be read with a universal reader that virtually every veterinary clinic and animal shelter nationwide owns.
Veterinary clinics carry a variety of microchips from different companies that offer very similar services. Rest assured, the scanners can read microchips regardless of the chip’s manufacturer.
The Fort Belvoir Veterinary Treatment Facility charges $15 to place the chip and to register a pet in a database. With the fee, a pet’s identification number is permanently maintained and will always be ready in case he or she ever gets lost. When pet owners relocate, they can call the company with updated contact information.
To schedule an appointment for your pet to receive permanent identification and prevent him or her from becoming another statistic, call 703-805-4336.
The Fort Belvoir Veterinary Treatment Facility is at the corner of Theote and Warren roads and is open Monday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
