Posted on: Monday, July 12, 2004
Implanted microchips ensure identification of lost animals
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
David Yoshida blames aerial fireworks for the 1999 disappearance of his dog Chewee and credits a microchip with reuniting him with his Lhasa apso — four years later.
Hawaiian Humane Society photo Yoshida searched the neighborhood, put up reward signs and called veterinarians from Waipahu to Wai'anae but found no trace of his dog.
"I thought he got hit by a car," Yoshida said. "Or if someone had found him, they might have decided to keep him."
The next year, Yoshida and his family moved to Waikele and pretty much gave up hope of finding Chewee. Then in December last year, he got a call from the Hawaiian Humane Society saying that they had his dog. "They found him as a stray in 'Ewa Beach" and used the microchip to trace him to his owners, Yoshida said.
• A microchip containing owner information is implanted under the skin between the shoulders of a cat or dog. The chip is about the size of a grain of rice and can be scanned at most veterinary clinics like a grocery store scanner reads a bar code. • During August, 17 veterinary clinics across O'ahu are offering to implant microchips for $5, compared to the usual fee of about $25. • For a complete list of participating clinics, call the Hawaiian Humane Society at 946-2187 or check online at www.hawaiianhumane.org under News and Events for July or August. • If you already have a microchip in your pet, you may want to make sure your contact information is up-to-date, which helped reunite some owners with pets who were gone for years. To update, call the Hawaiian Humane Society at 946-2187, ext. 227. Source: Hawaiian Humane Society Last year, the society was able to return about 1,100 lost cats to their homes, many of them through microchips.
Humane Society President Pamela Burns said the microchips make a big difference. "When your pet is missing, you feel so helpless and frustrated," she said. "Animals leap, slide and climb out of their house or yard, and out of their collars."
The tiny identification tag — about the size of a grain of rice — is implanted beneath the skin of a cat or dog between the shoulder blades. When an animal is scanned, the code links to owner information, so the the pet can be returned to its home.
Richard and Melanie Albano of Foster Village lost their dog Lilo in January, then found her less than three months later. The pit bull-ridgeback was frightened by the weather and slipped her collar and tags.
"My dog gets freaked out by thunder and lightning," Richard Albano said. "She ran away one day after a bad storm."
After a few weeks of searching, he was ready to give up. By March, he was looking forward to the birth of their first child and thinking of packing up Lilo's dishes and doghouse.
"My wife said, 'Hold on, she's going to come back,' " he said. Melanie Albano was convinced that the dog would be back after the baby was born.
Their son arrived in mid-March. The Humane Society called with Lilo less than a week later.
Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.
Yoshida recalls 1999 as an especially bad year for illegal fireworks in Waipahu. He said Chewee, who was about 5 years old, got so rattled by the racket that he climbed a 2›-foot fence and ran off.
David Yoshida's Lhasa apso, Chewee, was scared away from home by fireworks in 1999. Four years later, the Humane Society had located Chewee and were able to identify him by scanning a microchip.
Next month, the Humane Society will work with local veterinarian clinics across O'ahu to offer microchips to cat and dog owners at a discounted price of $5. Humane Society spokeswoman Jacque Smith said the annual promotion helps reunite lost animals with their owners.
Tracking pets with microchips
