Microchips
By law all cats and dogs must be microchipped and registered. Find out how we can help.
Microchips & How They Work
By law your dog must be microchipped and registered by the time they’re 8 weeks old.
Your cat must be microchipped and registered by the time they’re 20 weeks old.
All your details are taken and are registered on a database that will enable us to contact you promptly should we need to, and an email asking you to confirm your details are correct will be sent through to you. It is essential to keep your details up to date.
Please call your local surgery to book an appointment or book an appointment via Petsapp.
The appointment will be booked for a Nurse to place the microchip and will take no longer than 10 minutes.
The chip is implanted into the “Scruff” of the animal (the loose skin at the back of the neck). A needle containing the chip is placed under the skin and the chip is implanted using a plunger on the syringe.
We will make the procedure as stress free as possible for your pet, the nurses will make sure of this.
Microchips used at Donaldson’s Vets
The Microchips used at Donaldson’s Vets are obtained from a company called Virbac and are named Backhome, you can find detailed information regarding the microchip at:
https://uk.virbac.com/products/identification/backhome-mini-chips
The chip is approximately 1.25mm x 8.3mm and remains resting under the skin for the life of the pet.
The chip is coated with a parylene layer which helps to prevent migration.
Why microchipping is important
Here at Donaldson’s it is a regular occurrence that we receive a large amount of stray animals and are unable to trace the owner quickly as the pet doesn’t have a microchip. This can be general straying animals or quite often pets needing urgent medical assistance which we need the consent of an owner to carry out.
When an animal is microchipped we have instant access to the contact details of the owner and an address where the pet is registered and we are able to reunite owner and pet very quickly in most cases.