It seems like with every passing day, there’s new national holiday of some kind—National Watermelon Day, National Friend Day, and National Relaxation Day all fall during the month of August, for example. But August 15 is National Check Your Microchip Day, which is pretty important when you think about it: making sure your pup is not only equipped with a microchip but that the chip also contains the correct identification and owner information is essential to your dog or cat’s wellbeing and safety.
The news of National Check Your Microchip Day, first reported by Dogtime, offers pet owners an annual poking to peep their dogs’ and cats’ chips without having to set a calendar reminder.
Because microchipping works: The success stories for microchipping dogs and other pets abound. According to MicrochipID, “Over 200,000 microchip scanners have been placed with animal care givers across the United States. Nearly all found dogs get scanned for a microchip.”
It’s a pretty easy process, though, and can cost as little as $25, depending on where you decide to have your pet microchipped. Usually, a veternarian implants the chip with a special hypodermic needle, between the animal’s shoulder blades. It involves some mild discomfort, but both PETA and the AKC have stated that the benefits vastly outweigh the mild discomfort of the procedure.
Bottom line: National Check Your Microchip Day is easily one of the new annual holidays we really should start celebrating.
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