Animal Health Solution - a Henry Schein Animal Health magazine for veterinary professionals
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1412519
11 October 2021 | Product and Promotions Guide Animal clinic or animal shelter? For veterinarians, few things are as important as keeping pets together with their families. But functioning as an animal shelter can take valuable time away from providing medical care. Yet, this scenario occurs in veterinary practices every day as the finders of lost pets bring them in to have their microchips scanned. Then, vets are expected to keep and care for the animals until (hopefully) they're reunited with the owners. "What if there was a way to remove or minimize the role of the vet in the pet recovery process?" White said. "Think of the time veterinarians could take back to practice medicine." Detecting a better way As the operator of an animal rescue shelter, White saw the issues with traditional microchip systems first-hand. "I was frustrated by seeing so many microchipped pets that I couldn't reunite with their families," he said. "Every day, I would get 30 or more calls about lost pets that were microchipped, but the owner information on file wasn't current. There was no way to connect the pet back to its owner—which is one of the pet health industry's biggest issues. I had to find a better way." Inspired by the GPS technology that some car manufacturers use to locate stolen vehicles, White created a new pet recovery platform that solves the challenges of the past, reunites more pets with their owners faster—and frees up more time for veterinarians to practice medicine, instead of attempting to find the owners of lost pets. A key priority when developing this solution was to eliminate or minimize the need for a veterinarian's or shelter's involvement. Instead of relying on a chip scanner or phone operator to sort through multiple chip databases, White's idea was for the pet finder to perform a simple Google ™ search. "Imagine if there's no need to visit a vet or shelter to scan a chip, or no reason to make a lengthy phone call. Instead, you simply Google ™ an ID number stamped into a stainless steel ID tag, so it's easily legible," White said. "Then in a matter of minutes, the owner privately receives a text and email of the pet's location, with a Google Maps ™ illustration pinpointing the exact spot." From this vision, Save This Life was born. The entire pet recovery process typically takes three to five minutes. About 90 percent of the connections are made via text and email. But a toll-free number is also stamped on the ID tag, if the pet finder has no web access and/or prefers to call. "While this innovation solved most of the issues with traditional pet recovery systems, we needed to do more," White said. "What if a pet owner wants to proactively search for the lost animal, instead of waiting for someone to find it and Google™ or call?" So White took the next step and created a team of Dedicated Pet Recovery Specialists. With this service, a pet owner can call toll-free and have a specialist contact animal shelters and rescues within a 25-mile radius. Owners also receive a lost pet alert poster that can be copied and posted in the vicinity. It's the first concierge-style service of its kind in pet recovery. "We believe a microchip is more than just a series of numbers. It's about saving a life," White said. By solving traditional microchip challenges, Save This Life has served millions of owners and pets over the past nine years. "At the same time, we're giving veterinarians more time back to take care of pets and their owners." If a lost pet arrives at a clinic with a Save This Life chip and ID tag, a quick Google ™ can reunite the family. The veterinarian doesn't need to conduct an extensive search or care for the animal for a long time, hoping the owner will be found. As important as vaccinations Particularly as a new wave of pets has been adopted during the COVID-19 crisis, microchipping can become a new standard of care. Just as veterinarians will automatically vaccinate a puppy or kitten, microchipping can be part of every new pet's protocol of care. The Save This Life Microchip and Pet Recovery System is a 21st century solution that reunites more pets with their owners faster, while freeing up more time for veterinarians to focus first on pet care. For more information, visit www.savethislife.com. 1. American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). 2. AVMA.