PET ID suggestions

[itsapita]

We are "new" RVers, as in it's been about 18 years since we sold our MH so we're not truly new, but this is a whole new ballgame!

I work with our local Humane Society, and have had MANY animals come through our system that were lost by travelers. Of course the ones we know were traveling had proper ID/microchips and went "home". That said, when we purchased our 5th wheel and decided the pets were coming too, I was worried.

So on the topic of ID, here is what I suggest from a person who tries to return lost pets to their home.
ALL animals in your RV should travel with ID- EVEN IF THEY NEVER GO OUTSIDE. What if you are in a wreck and your pet runs off or is taken to a vet and you are unable to identify them? NO excuses.
#1 TAGS- is best chance of your getting a call about your found pet, put MORE than your number on them, perhaps a friend/parent/child/siblings phone number as well as yours. MUCH more important than your pets name. In fact I would leave the name off.
#2 MICROCHIP- Our shelter does them for $35 which includes registration, so shop around, no need to pay big bucks. IF the TAG is lost and the animal goes to a humane shelter or vet the odds are they will scan them, but remember good Samaritans often find lost pets, assume stray and keep them if no tags(refer to #1 thing to have on your pet). NOTE- be sure to keep your microchip info UP TO DATE with your current phone number and back up contact! Also a microchip identifies YOU as the OWNER, if someone finds your pet and you do not have positive proof, you may not get them back. Even pictures may not be enough. (note keep pics handy just in case)
#3 GPS I purchased the TAGG.com system for all 3 of our traveling pets, it was only $89 with the coupon code of TIFTHHS (disclaimer-that is a discount code from our humane society)and TAGG is also available from Camping World(no affiliation except a customer) which includes 3 months of tracking. I love these, and keep them on my pets even at home. Note, they are kind of large (not heavy) for a tiny/teacup pet, but I think you could thread a harness through them so that it wasn't around their neck. (picture a ladies sports watch and you can imagine the size of the unit that clips to the collar.)
Those are the 3 most important things I can think of. Yes state and local laws differ and would be almost impossible to post. But as long as your pet is leashed, up to date on shots, and not vicious I think you are in good shape...and PICK UP AFTER YOUR PET! LOL

SuZ

[Queen_s_Castle]

On our dogs' tags in place of their names I have REWARD4RETURN printed. In the event one of them should become lost, hopefully the finder would be more motivated to make the effort to contact me than drop him/her off at animal control, keep my dog themselves, or even just walk away all together. If my dog's plight doesn't appeal to their finer nature I'll appeal to their wallet.

[CatandJim]

Pawz4me wrote:
....

IMO the very best place for pet tags is Boomerang Tags. I have stainless steel tags from them for all of my pets. Three of the tags are almost ten years old and still look brand new. The engraving doesn't fade out like it does on many tags.

I have bought tags from Boomerang and I like them a lot! One of the best features is you can have them engraved on both sides. Ours have both sides done, one for our home information and one that has traveling information, i.e. a description of our motor home, it's tag # & state, and our cell numbers.

I have ALL of our phone numbers on each of our dog's tags. I want to be contacted if our dogs are lost, heaven forbid that happens but if it does, I want whoever finds them to call us. Between that and the information that can be obtained by their microchips, we hope to have it covered.

[itsapita]

gajd33 wrote:
Anyone ever use these guys called RoadID? https://www.roadid.com/c/RoadID They have tags for pets and people.

Thank you, I know some runners this would be good for! I've saved this link along with the boomerang tag link.

[Pawz4me]

gajd33 wrote:
Anyone ever use these guys called RoadID? https://www.roadid.com/c/RoadID They have tags for pets and people.

I know runners and bikers who use Road ID.

IMO the very best place for pet tags is Boomerang Tags. I have stainless steel tags from them for all of my pets. Three of the tags are almost ten years old and still look brand new. The engraving doesn't fade out like it does on many tags.

[itsapita]

Dog Folks wrote:
Well said.

One minor point, Microchip should be number 1. As an animal control officer most strays I found did not have a collar on even though the owners claimed that the animal wore one when lost. (Some of those claims could be a fear of getting a ticket.)

In any case,a microchip is the best form of identification.

LOL that's what they ALL say (they don't want the AC's to give them a ticket!) But yes, the microchip is the ONLY form of permanent ID (besides tattoos), especially if your pet is stolen! (or they really do slip their collar)

That said, as far as getting a pet returned to you quickly TAGS with all the info you can think of to on them is still #1 in my book. LOL my pets also have tattoos, but most people would not look for those unless they were lost locally.

[itsapita]

Go Dogs wrote:
Another tip about name tags. Don't just put your home phone number on the tag. If you're traveling, what good will it do if you lose your pet, and they call an empty house?

That's why I suggested a phone number of a friend or relative, hopefully if your pet becomes lost you would let them know somehow. Wow you must be one of the few without a cell phone, GOOD for you!

Susan

[gajd33]

Anyone ever use these guys called RoadID? https://www.roadid.com/c/RoadID They have tags for pets and people.

[Francesca_Knowl]

Go Dogs wrote:
Another tip about name tags. Don't just put your home phone number on the tag. If you're traveling, what good will it do if you lose your pet, and they call an empty house?

This occurred to me, too, and it's especially important since we don't have cell phones.

I want to insure that a Good Samaritan would at least have enough info to look around a bit before heading for home/the shelter with the dog.
My solution was to go to Walmart's ID-tag machine and make a tag that says:

Millie from Hadlock
Traveling with Francesca
Grey Kia with small trailer


She does also have a tag with my home phone on it, and of course a chip and tag to match, but this eases my mind when we're traveling.

[SSki]

All good tips, in addition to his microchip and tags, my dog wears a collar with his name and our cell phone number embroidered on it.

[Go_Dogs]

Another tip about name tags. Don't just put your home phone number on the tag. If you're traveling, what good will it do if you lose your pet, and they call an empty house?

[Dog_Folks]

Well said.

One minor point, Microchip should be number 1. As an animal control officer most strays I found did not have a collar on even though the owners claimed that the animal wore one when lost. (Some of those claims could be a fear of getting a ticket.)

In any case,a microchip is the best form of identification.