It could happen to anyone
Thursday, May 14, 2015
By: Wendy Welch

How microchips can make a macro difference

The wind was blowing. The door was ajar. Milkshake saw his chance. The world looked interesting to a tiny cat...

"We did everything-- shook the food bag, put up signs... it was awful," says Milkshake's human dad.

Dan was worried sick. He'd adopted Milkshake as a kitten. Milkshake had originally arrived at HSHV as a 1-pound stray kitty whose tiny eyes were crusted shut. And then... with some HSHV foster care love, Milkshake came to life. He was the most outgoing of his litter. He fought for his little life and showed himself to be a smartie. Still, the world was big. Dan kept hoping, kept searching, kept shaking that food bag. And he filed a lost report with HSHV.

More than a month later, a friendly woman appeared at HSHV with Milkshake in tow. Milkshake appeared to have traveled the world, but wasn't scared to return to HSHV. The woman expressed her sister would love this fuzzy, friendly chap -- that is, if we couldn't find his original owner.

Thanks to the microchip and Dan's filing a lost report with us, we immediately knew Milkshake already had a home and were able to contact Dan that minute. Just hours later, the two were reunited.

"He was really skinny, and he acted like he hadn't been pet in months," Dan says. "It was really funny; he just found the nearest room to plop down in and just kept saying 'Pet me! Pet me!'"

Now, Dan reports, Milkshake is looking good, gaining weight and back to normal.

"It's a miracle, though," Dan says. "We didn't think we'd ever see him again."

Does your pet have a microchip yet? 

The size of a grain of rice, a microchip is a passive transponder holding identification data which can be read by a scanner. Microchipping is a simple outpatient procedure, similar to a routine vaccine shot.  In just a few seconds and without the need for anesthesia, a veterinarian or technician places the microchip beneath the surface of your pet's skin, typically between the shoulder blades. The chip can be read by most veterinarians and shelters, and often makes the difference in whether a lost pet is returned home. All adoptees from HSHV are microchipped before they go home. Have a pet not from HSHV? Contact HSHV's Clinic for an appointment today, or come to one of our regular Low Cost Vaccine Clinics to get your precious pet microchipped!