Microchipping

Jacksonville veterinarian recommends pet microchips

Because your pet can become lost in a heartbeat, Dr. Venkat Gutta suggests microchipping for both cats and dogs. Pet microchips are easy and affordable at San Marco Animal Hospital in Jacksonville, FL.

What you need to know about microchipping

• Not painful – The device is about the size of a rice kernel. It is injected beneath the loose skin between the animal’s shoulder blades, using a sterile, single-use applicator. Implantation is quick and no more painful than a routine vaccination.
• Safe – The chip is made of biocompatible materials. It will not cause health problems or side effects, migrate, or degrade over time.
• Private – The microchip contains only a unique ID number, so anyone with a scanner cannot access your personal contact information. A veterinarian, animal control facility, or rescue scans it and calls the number into a national pet recovery database who notifies you. (It is important to keep contact information updated.)
• Reliable – Collars and tags can be lost, intentionally removed, or unreadable. A microchip stays with your pet for life, providing permanent identification.
• Cost-effective – Microchipping is an affordable one-time fee.
• Cats, too! – Most cats do not wear collars with identification tags. The return rate for a microchipped cat is 20 times higher than for those without microchips.
• Microchips save pets – The unfortunate truth is that most lost pets are not reunited with their owners. They suffer the perils of the highway, or end up in shelters and pounds where they may be euthanized. Scanning for microchips is routine at most impounding facilities in Florida, and virtually every rescue and veterinary office has a universal scanner, so you can be contacted promptly.

We hope you never have the anxiety of losing a pet, but if you do, a microchip may bring a happy ending. Call 904-399-5557 to schedule this service. We happily serve the Jacksonville downtown (32202 and 32207), Springfield 32206, Riverside 32204, Avondale 32205, and First Coast area. Walk-ins are welcome.