Good Pet ID and Travel Info

[BarkAvenue]

I am new to irv2 and posting on forums,however not new to traveling with pets. Jack R had interesting post "did you loose a cat?" that got me to thinking about traveling with our pets.
The reason for my post is to simply share information that has worked for us over the years. Part of this came while traveling with a senior diabetic dog over the years and learning the hard way.
For those of you who travel with "fur family" and your pet has a micro chip make sure you know the brand of the chip, the microchip number of your pets chip and also the phone number to call in case of emergency.
Generally speaking the chip info will be your family information for while you are home and also your Vet....if your pet is lost while you are traveling and heaven forbid it should be on the week-end, they would not be able to reach your vet and if only a home phone number is listed, they would not be able to get ahold of you either.
Our little dog is chipped but in addtion to this she wears two red bone shaped id tags all the time.
The information on these tags is as follows:
Her Name....
"Traveling in"
Make of our motorhome and RV Lic plate Number
Two cell phone numbers we have while traveling.
Second tag
Her Name
Traveling In" the make and Lic plate of the tow vehicle she could be traveling in.
Again two cell phone numbers
As I said in my other post we found a dog in Grand Tetons NP and took a while to find owner as tag was outdated and had no "travel info" on it.
In addition to this we try to find out the name and phone number and location of the Vet nearest to where we are staying. Often times this is miles away however we have that info on hand should an emergency occur and they have, always in the middle of the night.
In addition to this we also carry current photos of our pets, should get lost, describing them and
we have current photos to show around.
I hope this information will get you thinking about how best to keep our little family members safe while traveling with us.
Funny how two little tags can make all the difference when needed.
Many people do not think to check a pet for a microchip, simply see they do not have any outside id tags and let it go at that.
With info on the tags RVer would know what RV and Lic Plate to look for right away.
Safe travels.

[decodancer]

I work in a vets office, we do not have a scanner to check for ID and you're right people look for tags first. The rabies tag that your dog wears can be used to trace you. Just be sure that your vet has your cell phone numbers. I know firsthand how often tags fall off as many of our clients return for replacement tags. One great solution is a collar with phone number embroidered directly on. Tatoo your SS# on the pets inner thigh or ear if you want to be really careful.

[smlranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by decodancer I work in a vets office, we do not have a scanner to check for ID and you're right people look for tags first. The rabies tag that your dog wears can be used to trace you. Just be sure that your vet has your cell phone numbers. I know firsthand how often tags fall off as many of our clients return for replacement tags. One great solution is a collar with phone number embroidered directly on. Tatoo your SS# on the pets inner thigh or ear if you want to be really careful.

Frankly, I'm surprised that any modern vet practice does not have the ability to scan a pet that might be chipped. Most of the vets in our area will install the chips and have the scanners. If someone brings a lost/found pet to your practice, do you contact a local animal shelter to see if they can scan the animal for a chip (assuming you have no other means of identifying the owner)?

In this age of identify theft, our vet does not recommend the SS# tatoo.

[Hipshot]

I have ID tags on the Idiot Yorkie listing home info, MH info, toad info and mine and wife's cell phones. I also carry copies of her, Idiot Yorkie not wife's, papers and recent photos.

[decodancer]

We would of course get a lost pet to someone who could check for a chip. This practice has adults coming in with their pets that can remember visiting with their parents as young children. We don't even have a computer but do have a very experienced vet who does not take advantage of her clients wealth, more than I can say about the big medical centers. We always refer if the pet needs a procedure that we cannot do. As far as the SS#, losing my identity is worth getting my dog back and nobody is looking at her inner thigh while she is in my arms.