If you’re anything like me, then you understand the love between a human and their dog. I personally tend to like dogs better than humans anyways (don’t worry- only halfway kidding), so the thought of something happening to Drake is heart wrenching. Unfortunately I have experienced the devastating feeling of him being lost and I refuse to ever go through it again. Although he was only gone for about 5 hours, I’ve never felt so scared and helpless.

The sad truth is that most people who have a pet go missing, are not as lucky as I was. In fact, 1 out 3 pets do end up lost or missing and of those pets, only 1 out of 10 of them are actually reunited with their owner. Scary, right?

The best shot you have, although not 100%, is to microchip your dog.

A microchip is about the size of a grain of rice and is placed into your dog’s (or cat’s) shoulder blades. The “chip” has a specific, one of a kind number that is associated with your pet. When and IF your animal goes missing and is found, a scanner can then detect the microchip and identify them! The word “found” is important to note. The microchip does not hold a GPS, therefore in order for it to work, your animal must be found by someone.

Crazy I know, and not completely “lost proof”-  BUT this little electronic rice-sized chip is what saved Drake and reunited me with him! By implanting your animal with a microchip, your odds of finding Fido are raised by 2.5 times! Some states have even begun to make this a law. Shout out to Nevada!

Collars are important, but they can easily fall off (like Drake’s did) or break. Microchipping your dog is your best bet if they become lost; it is the first thing that any vet or shelter will do upon finding an animal, dog or cat. For roughly, 20 bucks and no more than a few minutes of your time, you can increase the probability of finding your dog tremendously. Bottom line, if you ever have to endure the torture of losing a pet, it’ll be best money you’ve ever spent and you’ll be thankful you did.

Don’t let your dog be on next neighborhood “LOST” sign.

Call you vet today and schedule an appointment.

Jessica Gilley

South Blogger I am a born and raised Texas girl, who’s obsessed with animals, coffee, and now… blogging! On top of all of that, I am also a first grade teacher. However, the countless and hilarious kid stories will have to be shared elsewhere, because although I love my job, my biggest passion in life is animals! I’ve loved animals, dogs in particular, ever since I can remember… sometimes more than people. “I just want to drink coffee and save the animals,” is my motto! And trust me… I have gone to EXTREME lengths to try and “save” animals. Between stray dogs, abandoned dogs and shelter dogs, (and the occasional cat) I’ve tried to help them all. However, I’ve come to learn, that my biggest goal can’t be to save every animal. Instead, to simply try and spread the love of animals to the world. If I can warm even just one person’s heart to the amazing companionship of an animal, then that’s one less homeless pup. Dogs are incredible and it is so exciting to finally be able to express my craziness about dogs and well… not seem so crazy!