What is HomeAgain?
HomeAgain is an advanced pet identification and retrieval system. A microchip with a unique identification code is implanted between the shoulder blades of the pet. The pet is enrolled with the HomeAgain Pet Recovery Service. HomeAgain maintains a national database and is available 24-hours daily, 365 days a year. When a lost pet is found, it can be scanned at an animal shelter or the clinic of a participating veterinarian. The animal’s identification number is called into HomeAgain (1-866-PET-ID24), and the pet owner is notified immediately.
Pets enrolled in the system also receive collar tags to wear with their HomeAgain identification number and our toll-free number. The tags alone help identify lost pets, but tags/collars can come off easily. A microchip provides permanent identification that remains in place.

Who recommends HomeAgain?
A growing number of veterinarians and animal shelters throughout the United States also recommend HomeAgain.

Is there proof the system works?
More than 3,160,033 pets are enrolled with the HomeAgain Pet Recovery Service. HomeAgain is responsible for reuniting more than 277,275 lost pets with their owners.

What if a pet is lost and HomeAgain can’t reach the owner?
HomeAgain asks anyone enrolling their pet in the program to provide alternate contacts, which may be relatives or a veterinarian. The HomeAgain Pet Recovery Service will call them if the owner cannot be reached. It also is imperative that pet owners make sure their phone numbers are kept up-to-date with HomeAgain.

How big is the microchip?
About the size of a grain of rice. You cannot see the microchip after it is implanted in the dog or cat.

How are pets microchipped?
The procedure is simple and similar to administering a vaccine. The microchip comes preloaded in a sterile applicator and is injected under the skin between the shoulder blades.

Is microchipping safe?
Extensive testing and long-term studies have shown the HomeAgain microchip is safe for pets.

How much does HomeAgain cost?
Swanson's Streamway Dog Park and Daycare charges $30.00 for the microchip implant. Enrollment in the nationwide database is the client's responsibility, and costs an additional $17.50.
Assistance animals - dogs that assist the handicapped - can be enrolled in the recovery program for free. Some shelters may offer discounts for microchipping to people adopting shelter animals.

Why is microchipping the preferred method of identifying pets?
All pets should wear collar tags imprinted with their name and the phone number of their owner or veterinarian, but tags can come off. Tattooing pets with a number - often the owner’s social security number - is another method of identifying pets, especially dogs. However, veterinarians and pet rescue experts say tattoos can blur over time, making them difficult to read, and they can be altered. It’s possible that duplicate tattoo numbers exist. A microchip provides a permanent form of identification with a unique number that cannot be altered.

What’s unique about the HomeAgain scanner?
The scanner provided to animal shelters is called the Pocket Reader EX™ and is manufactured by Digital Angel, Inc. In independent field trials conducted by the American Humane Association, the Pocket Reader EX™ provided nearly 100 percent overall accuracy in identifying and reading different microchips and was the best of the scanners tested.
How can pet owners enroll their pets with HomeAgain Pet Recovery Service?
They can contact a local veterinarian participating in the HomeAgain system, who can implant the microchip, provide the collar tag at time of implantation, as well as an enrollment form for the HomeAgain Pet Recovery Service.
 

For more information about HomeAgain, call 1-800-521-5767 or contact the HomeAgain Pet Recovery Service at 1-866-PETID24 (1-866-738-4324).

This information was supplied by the official HomeAgain website. For more information, visit www.homeagainid.com