Comments on: Organizing pet information in case of emergency

By: Robin L.

Robin L. — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:32:49 +0000

I’m a little late to this party but I just read this post! My tip is to put the microchip numbers and rabies tag numbers into the notes section of your cell phone. Along with the phone numbers for your vet you should program the phone number for the microchip company. If your pet is lost you want to be able to call the chip company immediately from wherever you are.

By: Pamela

Pamela — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:00:27 +0000

I am commenting on item 1 and a comment about microchips in general.

I work in a shelter in animal intake and when an animal comes in we do scan for a microchip, but there are not different scanners for the different types of microchips. The two largest microchip manufactuers, AVID and HomeAgain have different number sequences, but they can both be read by the same scanner because they both emit the same radio frequency. In my many years of working in a shelter, I have never seen another type of microchip.

Also, because microchips are implanted under the skin, they do move around a bit. Each time you take you pet to the vet, have them scan for the chip to ensure it hasn’t moved. This doesn’t happen very often, but it is worth the precaution.

By: larochelle

larochelle — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:28:07 +0000

Courtney,
Breakaway collars are for cats and are designed so that the fastener opens if the cat gets caught on something. Its particularly good for those who tend to be climbers or outdoor.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-a.....ollars.htm

By: Marie

Marie — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:04:26 +0000

Here’s a really helpful site for finding lost cats. My neighbor used it successfully to get her boy Dylan back after more than a week.

http://catsinthebag.org/

By: Courtney

Courtney — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:14:11 +0000

I have flyers pre-printed in my emergency notebook. They list my pet’s name, my contact information, and have a photocopy of photographs from different angles. I take them with me when I go out with my pets – who knows if your pet suddenly runs off while on a walk? You may want to have copies of flyers to give people in the immediate area, instead of just asking “have you seen this dog?”

Also, look up hotels in and just outside your immediate area that take pets. People in New Orleans had to flee without pets because the emergency shelters wouldn’t take them in, and we are still seeing those pets in shelters up for adoption because the owners could not be located. Even worse, those were the lucky pets. If you get stuck in an emergency, and you care about your pet, take him with you!

One more thing – I have a dog first aid book in the toy box on top of my dog’s crate, and it has come in handy many times. The book instructs you when you need to get to the vet NOW, when you need to talk to the vet within the next day or two, and when you can take care of a minor injury or illness yourself. It pays for itself in vet visits and time.

Just curious, what do you mean by “break-away collars”? I would think any collar that could break away by pulling could be broken when you try to apprehend the dog?

By: Aimee

Aimee — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:35:15 +0000

Choose wisely when microchipping your pet. There are several different microchip manufacturers that each require different readers. Most shelters do not have the money to get one of each reader and will therefore pick one. Generally, the vets in the area, if responsible, will use the microchip that the local shelter has a reader for. It is good to double check though.

If you have microchipped your pet, do not forget to register the microchip with the company and regularly update that information. Also, if you move to a new city or state, you should check with your new vet to see if the microchip you’ve put in your pet can be read by the local shelters. You may want to get another microchip.

It is a VERY, VERY good idea to microchip your pet. When I worked in a clinic, the first thing we did when someone brought in a stray was to check for the microchip.

By: Jessica Eastman

Jessica Eastman — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:22:36 +0000

Good post. Inspired me to take five minutes to post a list of addresses of emergency vets in my area in the closet above our litter box. I don’t want to have to boot up a computer to find an address when there’s an emergency.

By: DeniseNZ

DeniseNZ — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:07:07 +0000

This is timely. One of my cats is currently missing and I’m getting some posters done today.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:18:25 +0000

Item 3 is incorrect. Yes, scars can help identify pets but no shelter or vet will test a stray animal’s blood for vaccines. Titers cost real money and have to be sent to a lab. And the presence of antibodies can’t tell you if the animal was lost yesterday, abandoned 3 years ago, was a feral that someone adopted and never bothered to get vaccinated, etc. You *do* want documentation of your pet’s vaccines so when you claim them they won’t have to give vaccines (mainly rabies) before releasing the pet to you.

Bruce, CVT

By: Minnie

Minnie — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:14:27 +0000

I have some advice too: put your emergency vet phone number in your cell phone! KNOW where the emergency 24 hour vet IS! My sweet pup got hit by a car, and luckily I had the phone number written down, grabbed it, and took off. I was pretty sure I knew where to drive, but I was lucky.

By: ClickerTrainer

ClickerTrainer — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:34:00 +0000

You can also post lost dog info on email lists such as: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9AmberAlert/ (must be a member to post) or for cats: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/g.....ber-Alert/