Prince William SPCA Microchip Program Reaches Milestone
Sponsors 25,000 Microchips at the Prince William County Animal Services Center
The Prince William SPCA is proud to announce that its Friends of the Shelter microchip program has reached a milestone. As of March, 25,000 microchips have been donated to the Prince William County Animal Services Center, a division of the Police Department. Every cat or dog adopted from the shelter since 2014 has received a complimentary microchip. Strays that enter the shelter system and are redeemed by their families also receive microchips before departing. If you adopted or redeemed a pet from the shelter, your pet was microchipped with this program. The collective value of the donation exceeds $250,000.
Microchips offer families reassurance and play an important role when pets get lost. Accidents happen, doors or fences are left open, screens break, and pets can bolt on a simple neighborhood walk. One of the best tools in recovering a lost pet is a microchip since readers are readily available in all shelters, vet clinics, and many police stations. Microchips are a cost-effective way to give families piece of mind. We are thrilled at the success of this program, which supports our vision to see all companion animals live healthy and happy lives in their forever homes.
The microchip program uses SmartTag Microchips that are registered at the time the pet leaves the Center. Microchips carry an identification number that is unique to each individual pet. While they do not serve as tracking devices, microchips can permanently and positively identify pets, linking them back to the owners. If a pet gets lost and is taken to a vet clinic or animal shelter, it will be scanned for a microchip to reveal its unique ID number. That number will be called into the pet recovery service and the owner is contacted using the information on file with the pet’s microchip. There is no battery or moving parts, so there is nothing to keep charged, wear out, or replace. The microchip will last the pet’s lifetime.
In addition to sponsoring microchips, the Prince William SPCA’s Friends of the Shelter program also provides the Center with medical equipment, foster care supplies, adoption fees, and promotional support totaling more than $75,000 annually.
The Prince William SPCA was established to benefit the animals of the greater Prince William County, Virginia, area. This all-volunteer organization is dedicated to protecting animals from cruelty, neglect, and abandonment, and stopping the unnecessary overpopulation of companion animals. The Prince William SPCA is not affiliated with or mandated by any local, regional, or national animal welfare organization including the ASPCA. They receive no local, state, or federal funding to support their work. They rely entirely on donations to fund all of the programs offered in the local community. Donations are tax-deductible and may be mailed to: PWSPCA, PO Box 6631, Woodbridge, VA 22195, or made online at pwspca.org/donate/.