Microchipping

Microchipping your pet is a simple procedure which involves the injection of a small chip the size of a grain of rice.

The chip contains an individual number which will be linked to your pet alone. This number is recorded with the veterinary clinic that implanted it and when you register your pet with the local council. This is a legal obligation for all dogs. Currently it is optional for cats, but we strongly recommend it.

There are a couple of extra things that microchipping can provide:

1. At Marshall and Pringle, we use Thermochips as standard.
When scanned they read the pet’s body temperature. This is great from the animal’s perspective as it means no more thermometers up the bottom! Even better when they are not feeling well.

2. Registration to the New Zealand Companion Animal Register (NZCAR).
This is an optional extra but again we strongly recommend it. The NZCAR is a nationwide online database which all vets, police officers, animal control officers and councils have access to 24/7. It was created around the time of the Christchurch earthquakes due to the massive displacement of animals that occurred. It enabled a lot of lost pets to be reunited with their families. It is really important that if you use this service, you keep your registered details up to date. You can do this by following this link Companion Animals Home » Companion Animal Register

Microchipping can be performed by a nurse or vet during a consultation, or when the pet is under anaesthesia for desexing. We often recommend if microchipping a puppy or kitten we wait until their second visit, so they do not associate any negative feelings with the vet visits. The injection is tolerated well in almost all pets with a bit of food bribery!