DAVAO CITY – The City Veterinarians Office (CVO) here is offering free microchipping services for the proper identification of pets.
In a statement Monday, Dr. Gay Pallar, chief of the CVO animal husbandry and disease control division, said they launched the microchipping services on Feb. 17 as part of the CVO’s complimentary services for pets.
Microchip implant must be performed only by a licensed veterinarian, and owners need to provide their microchips, regardless of the brand, Pallar said.
The microchips are rice grain-sized and implanted through injection between the shoulder blades of the animal.
Once embedded, the microchip becomes a permanent identification of the pet. The owners’ information is linked to the pet identification, making it easy to identify and recover lost or stolen pets.
“We launched the microchipping of dogs and cats for registration here in Davao City, in coordination with non-government units that donated microchips and also the detector for microchips,” Pallar explained.
She said the PAWSitivity Project Philippines, Inc. and Bantay Hayop Davao earlier handed over microchip scanners and free 20 pet microchips to be given to deserving indigent pet owners.
Meanwhile, Pallar said the city government would conduct simultaneous anti-rabies vaccination and free castration in the barangays during the observance of Rabies Awareness Month in March.
Since January, the CVO has vaccinated 13,549 animals here.
With the availability of vaccines, the city targets to vaccinate 120,000 animals this year. (PNA)
