Vet says tech can be a pet’s best friend
Dr. Carolyn Cannon, DVM, of the Millerton Veterinary Practice, with her patient, pup Sadie (whose owners are Candie and Eric Fredritz of nearby Sharon, Conn.), strongly encourages all pet owners to invest in the low-cost and safe microchipping process that tracks a pet’s identification and location if the pet gets lost. It can be the one thing that quickly and reliably reunites animal and owner with the least amount of headache and heartbreak. Photo submitted

Vet says tech can be a pet’s best friend

MILLERTON — Lost pets have been a heartbreaking problem since the days when a young caveman appeared at the entrance to his home, a sabre tooth tiger trailing behind him as he begged to keep the creature who eventually, sadly, wandered off, never to be seen again.

Through the ages, owners of stray critters have tried everything to find them — from word of mouth to posters to newspaper ads to email appeals such as those sent out regularly by Ancram town Supervisor Art Bassin to online pet lost and found sites. One of the last recently allowed an appreciative owner to retrieve the now locally famous Austrian German shepherd named Andy, who was nearly lost to an icy pond in Ancramdale. Andy was featured in the Jan. 21 issue of The Millerton News for the heroic rescue that saved her life by a Columbia County Sheriff’s sergeant. Unfortunately, such methods are often hit or miss, and depend on a great deal of luck.

But according to Dr. Carolyn Cannon, DVM, of the Millerton Veterinary Practice, these days technology provides a reliable means of retrieving a lost pet — through implanting a microchip. 

“If your dog [or cat] is microchipped, we can find out who owns that dog [or cat] within minutes,” said the veterinarian.

Rather than acting as a tracking device, the scannable chip stores an identification number used nationally to identify the pet. Because there are no power sources nor moving parts, it generally lasts the lifetime of the animal. 

Dr. Cannon said many places, including veterinary hospitals, the Humane Society and most animal shelters have scanners to read the devices, so the chances of getting a missing dog or cat back are very high, as long as the device’s registration is current.

The procedure embeds a tiny microchip about the size of a grain of rice in the loose skin at the animal’s shoulder using a simple syringe that contains the chip. It takes just a few minutes with the patient returning home that day. The simple procedure is frequently done when a pet is being spayed or neutered. 

The initial cost is approximately $70, which includes the device, its insertion and the first year of registration with the tracking organization. 

Cannon added that with some companies, including the one used at her hospital, “you get not only all of this help finding your dog [or cat], you also get a little bit of health insurance if something happens to your dog while it’s away. You also get free access to the animal poison control hot line, which costs $75 every time you call. That’s a big plus and I try encourage people to do it for that reason alone.”

That service can be critical, she said.

“If [a pet] eats a little piece of chocolate or more commonly now it’s that xylitol gum, you have to call animal poison control because they have very specific formulas depending on what type of dog you have or how much they weigh,” said Cannon. “It’s really wise for people to understand the benefits.”

She added that many animals adopted from shelters already have the microchips implanted because the chip companies often donate them, but unfortunately some owners do not pay the annual $20 fee that keeps the registration current, so often they are not activated. Some pet owners also neglect to provide updated contact information to the microchip companies when they get a new phone or if they move, which can result in owners and chipped animals who get separated from each other from ever reuniting. And that, said the doctor, is not only a tragedy, but a preventable one.

For more information on how to microchip one’s pet, call 518-789-3440.  

Latest News

From left, young Hunter Conklin admired the turkey his grandfather, Millerton resident Larry Conklin, took at the start of the 2020 spring turkey hunting season. Photo submitted

HARLEM VALLEY — Since the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced the start of spring turkey season on Friday, May 1, hunters across the Harlem Valley have been coming out of the woodwork to talk turkey and prepare themselves for another exciting season hunting these wild birds.

According to the DEC website, New York state has two turkey hunting seasons: one in the spring and one in the fall. This year’s spring season began Friday, May 1, and runs through Sunday, May 31, leaving all of upstate New York north of the Bronx-Westchester County line open for turkey hunting. Hunting hours are restricted to one half-hour before sunrise to noon, and each hunter has a season bag limit of two bearded turkeys, or one bird per day. 

Keep ReadingShow less

MILLERTON — Come Tuesday, March 21, voters in the village election will have the chance to select their next mayor and two of their village trustees, as a total of four candidates vie for the positions.

Debbie Middlebrook

Keep ReadingShow less

MILLERTON — Reaction regarding a profane message written on a dirty window on the front door to Steed Real Estate last month, done at the hands of village Planning Board member Peter Greenough, with his wife, Deputy Mayor Christine Bates, watching, has been mixed. The episode was caught on a security camera, and Greenough admitted to his having written the obscenity. He said it was all in good fun.

Some agree, and have said that the message, “F*** Ron,” was nothing more than a joke. They feel that all should be forgiven and forgotten. 

Keep ReadingShow less