MICROCHIPS & ANIMAL TRANSPORT SERVICES (EUROPE AND OTHER COUNTRIES)
What is a microchip?
Up until a decade ago losing a dog meant there was no way to even know where to start looking. Most lost-dog cases ended up with a broken heart as most efforts were in vain. We could only hope that it hadnt lost its doggie ID tag or else had somehow found its own way home. The possibility also existed of an identification tattoo, but they were susceptible to change or disappearance which weakened their viability as a permanent solution, not to mention it being a cruel method.
With the invention of microchips this difficulty was overcome; its painless, just like a simple vaccination, and it ensures our being able to find our lost pet.
The microchip is a small capsule the size of a grain of rice which is injected beneath the animals skin at the nape of the neck. Veterinarians and corresponding authorities use a scanner to read the digital information in the chip. When a dog goes missing and it has the implanted chip, if someone finds the dog and takes it to a vet, then the chip can be scanned, its owners information retrieved, and the dog can be reunited with its home. The chip is permanent and cannot be removed or altered. And its use helps to return dogs to their owners and reduces the number of stolen and abandoned dogs.
Travelling by plane with your pet – a Microchip & passport for your animal:
Try not to expose your pet to long trips; choose short and, if possible, non-stop flights. If you are travelling in the summer, take morning or late-afternoon flights—this will avoid heat exhaustion from high temperatures. In winter take mid-day flights as temperatures will be more reasonable.
European Union Passport:
The EU passport for Pets has a unique number (based on the country of origins ISO code), as well as the owners details, identification number, and address. The passport also lists the pets name, species, breed, sex and age, as well as its microchips number and anti-rabies vaccination; it also contains a certificate of treatment for intestinal worms and parasites as required by certain countries. The passports information is in English and in the language of the country where it was issued.
This passport replaces the health card that was formerly used to identify the health of an animal. The passport is obligatory for all those wishing to travel with their pet outside of Spain to other EU countries, as well as to non-EU countries which recognize the passports validity. Within national borders the old health card is still valid for those animals not permitted to leave the country.
How do I get a passport?
From veterinary clinics with a registered veterinarian of the Official College of Veterinarians. The vets particulars must be included in the passport by way of a signature and the clinics seal.
The vet will then proceed to register the animal with the General Registrar of Animal Identification in the corresponding autonomous community.
Pets less than three months of age do not require a rabies vaccination, however, to be able to travel, it must be shown that the animal has lived in the same place since birth and has not been exposed to other animals with rabies. Young animals still weaning are allowed to travel with their mothers. The entry of animals of less than three months is subject to the authorization of the destination country.