3 Essential Pet ID Tips for Floridians
-3 Essential Pet ID Tips for Floridians-
As Florida’s pet-friendly real estate team, we strive to ensure your beloved pets are safe at home and at play around the Greater Tampa Bay Area neighborhoods.
Did you know that the summer months are particularly important for pet safety and pet ID updates? Yes, summertime brings an increasing number of families moving between homes, more outdoor events, summer vacations, hectic visits from houseguests, and out-of-sync daily routines. Now add booming thunderstorms, frightening fireworks, and loud firecrackers being randomly set off in our Tampa Bay neighborhoods. These factors make summer a scary and potentially dangerous time for our furry friends.
Pet Safety and Identification for Dogs and Cats
A dog or cat getting loose or lost is a pet parent’s worst fear. Whether your home is located in Hillsborough, Pinellas, or Pasco County, here are important ways to protect your pets and ensure they have proper identification in case they are ever lost.
- MICROCHIP: Top of the list is having your pet microchipped with a reputable microchip company. Your veterinary can walk you through the details of implanting the microchip and the associated costs, typically ranging from $20 to $75 in Florida. Importantly, be sure to properly register the microchip with your current address and contact information. Also, remember to ALWAYS UPDATE and provide any new contact information to the microchip company and your veterinary. When an implanted microchip is scanned at a veterinary clinic or shelter, it will display the contact information you’ve provided in the past, which means you must personally update the information if you have moved to a new home or if your phone number has changed. As real estate professionals, we encourage our customers to update registered microchip information upon selling and buying a new home.
- COLLAR WITH TAGS: Visible identification is essential in ensuring your pet is returned home safely in the event of becoming lost. In addition to a sturdy and colorful collar, be sure your pet always where’s his or her tags with up-to-date contact information. ALWAYS ATTACH the rabies tags and other collar-identification tags provided by your veterinary during your annual visits. These county tags are critical for identifying and keeping your pet safe if lost. If the metal jingling bothers you or your pet, simply attach a small plastic tag between any metal tags to muffle the noise. Many pet supply stores offer ways to customize plastic tags with your personal contact information, such as your cell phone number.
- RECENT PHOTO: In the age of smart phones, it seems we all have plenty of pet photos ready for sharing, but be sure to ALWAYS KEEP a recent photo showing your pet wearing his or her current collar. Share the digital photo on social networks like Facebook or Nextdoor to quickly alert neighbors. Of course, be prepared to also print the most recent photo and hang or post around your neighborhood with lost-and-found information.
Pets are dependent on you for protection, which is why it is also important to have appropriate fencing or use a leash in addition to maintaining proper identification as listed above. We hope these tips help keep your pet safe this summer and throughout the year.
