If your dog or cat became lost, wouldn’t it be nice to have a 20% greater chance of your pet being returned to you?  Then you may wish to consider having your pet microchipped.

A recent study found that microchipped pets who were brought to an animal shelter were returned to their owners in 3 out of 4 cases.  There were 53 shelters participating in the study, each agreeing to keep records of pets who were found to have a microchip.  Of the pets that had the chip, 73% of the owners were found.

Surprisingly, some animal microchips were not detected during the first scan.  Some required multiple scans, either during a medical exam or prior to euthanasia.  This finding reveals the need for shelters to scan dogs and cats multiple times for the presence of a microchip.

Another important finding of the study?  If your dog or cat has a microchip, it is imperative that you keep your contact information up to date.  If your phone number or address changes at any time, you should make the change in the microchip database immediately.  Sadly, 35% of the owners’ phone numbers were disconnected while 9.8% of the chips weren’t even registered.

So talk to your veterinarian about placing a microchip in your dog or cat.  After all, it only takes a moment for a family pet to become lost.  And your furry friend can only count on you to bring him or her back.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first cancer fighting medication for dogs.  This drug is manufactured by Pfizer Animal Health, Inc. and is named Palladia.  Palladia is the first cancer drug made specifically for dogs. 

Previously, veterinarians were forced to use cancer medication made for humans.  It was unknown whether treatment would be either effective or safe for canines, but vets had little choice in treating dogs with cancer. 

Palladia can be used to treat canine cutaneous mast cell tumors.  This type of cancer is found in one out of every five cases of skin tumors in dogs.  While some of these tumors can be removed, others can lead to death in dogs.  This drug works by cutting off the blood supply to tumors and by killing tumor cells as well. 

This is an exciting breakthrough for the veterinary world in treating dogs suffering from cancer.