Microchip

Many dogs and cats are destroyed at shelters because their owners can not be found. The HomeAgain Microchip Identification System is an excellent method of insuring that your pet has a chance of being reunited with their owner. This system is available at our hospital and takes about as long to put in place as a vaccination.

How Does the Microchip Work?
Permanent identification is provided by a tiny microchip that can be implanted quickly and safely in your dog. The microchip, approximately the size of a grain of rice, is encased in bio-compatible glass. It has no active parts. It is programmed with a unique, unalterable code number that can be identified with a hand-held scanner (similar to the hand-held scanners used in grocery stores).

Implantation of the microchip is similar to a vaccination. Using an injection, the microchip is inserted between the dog’s shoulder blades as part of an office examination. The identification number is read when a scanner passes over the microchip. These scanners are in use at thousands of veterinarians’ offices, animal shelters, and animal control agencies around the country.

When your lost dog is brought to us or one of these other locations, the identification number is retrieved and called in to the AKC Companion Animal Recovery Program. The database network is expertly managed by the American Kennel Club, Inc. (AKC), an organization with more than 100 years of experience in maintaining animal registries. The AKC presently maintains the nation’s largest high-tech database of purebred dogs. This database is accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, through a central 800 number. You are contacted immediately and every possible step will be taken to reunite you and your dog.

AKC Companion Animal Recovery will enroll dogs identified with a microchip from any manufacturer. However, the AKC has formed an alliance with Schering-Plough Animal Health, marketers of the HomeAgain Companion Animal Retrieval System. The AKC recommends the HomeAgain system, which uses the Destron microchip.

HomeAgain provides safe, lifelong identification and enhances the chances of retrieving a lost dog. This system is available through Providence Veterinary Hospital and other veterinary hospitals. Schering-Plough Animal Health has more than 40 years of experience in animal health.

About the Scanners
Schering-Plough Animal Health is distributing scanners to veterinarians and animal shelters across the U.S., creating a nationwide network for identification. There is no universal scanner available (one which reads all microchips). However, the HomeAgain scanner can identify the presence of most microchips from other vendors. If a scanned dog is identified as having a microchip from another vendor, the AKC will make every effort to locate an appropriate scanner to read the microchip.

Lifetime Dog License In Pennsylvania
You can get a Lifetime license by coming to the shelter/wellness clinic and getting your dog microchipped. We then fill out a special form. You will have 30 days from that point to go to your county courthouse and get your permanent, Lifetime license. You will never need to register your dog again or pay another license fee.

Other Resources

Info on Microchip as a Lifetime License – License is required for all dogs in the state of PA; not cats.  

License Your Dog in PA

We use the home again microchip

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