Pet Microchips Can Lead to Unexpected Happy Endings

When I adopted Jack it was under duress. I was unemployed, broker than a three-legged dog and besides, I already had a cat at home. Somehow I got wrangled into visiting the local animal shelter with a friend. Of course, I became smitten with a gangly tiger look-alike with heaps of personality and a nose kissing fetish. My friend and I both went home with new pets that day. I didn't want to adopt Jack, but my friend insisted. And if I didn't take him, what would his fate be?

The process for adopting Jack was much different than when I had brought Jojo, my other cat, home. The shelter required many more shots and screening than in the past, and they also required that all pets be microchipped.

I'd heard of microchipping before but didn't know much about it. Installing the chip, which is about the size of a grain of rice, requires a painless injection into the scruff of your pet's neck. Not only are chips used in house pets, farmers also use them to keep track of and recover missing livestock.

The microchip is like a radio frequency ID tag. It contains information on the pet's owner's name, address, phone number and e mail address. Should the pet get lost and wind up in a clinic or shelter, a scan of the animal's body turns up the owner's information so they can be reunited.

About a year after I brought Jack home, Jojo crashed through a window screen and ran away. He was missing for days, but luckily my neighbor's dog sniffed him out from under a bush. I decided it was time to get Jojo microchipped too.

Over the years, Jojo escaped via several different methods. Each time I called the microchip people to report him missing, I never heard anything back. Usually because he was hiding in a bush somewhere eating lizards and loving life. He never went far enough to be picked up by animal control. I always wondered what would happen if there was a hit on his chip. In a strange turn of events, I did find out.

Before we were married, when my husband and I moved in together we suddenly found ourselves living in a three ring cat circus. He had three cats and I had my two. All the cats got along well except for Jack. He was ready to fight to the death so we had to keep him apart from the others. He had his own bedroom at night when the other cats roamed the house. Then in the morning we would let him out and keep the other cats locked up. It wasn't an ideal situation by any means, and even though the violence was curbed, all the cats were stressed out. One started licking off all her hair, another was marking his territory. After a year of trying to make it work I tearily broke down and surrendered Jack to the Humane Society. I was terrified that he'd be in a kennel for ages then eventually put down.

As luck would have it, he found a new home in less than two weeks. Several months passed and I had a phone message from his microchip manufacturer telling me he had been recovered. Recovered? But I hadn't lost him. I called them back and they put me in touch with a woman named Samantha.

Apparently, Jack had escaped from the people who adopted him. Living as a stray in an unfamiliar neighborhood, he had taken a liking to Samantha while she was outside in her boyfriend's yard. After following her around, she took him home and fell in love with him. She'd been taking care of him for several weeks and had even gone out and gotten his shots updated. Her vet scanned him for a microchip which listed my contact information. When I called her, she was very upset that I was going to take him back, but I explained my situation to her and in the end we were both relieved. Jack had found a loving, stress free home and I felt great knowing he was loved to bits.

Having my pet microchipped was an invaluable tool in recovering him after an unexpected separation. In my case, it brought me unforseen peace of mind.