Rabbit lovers across Windsor-Essex are now able to have their long-eared friends microchipped.
The Windsor-Essex County Humane Society held its first-ever three-species microchip clinic this week. Previous clinics had concentrated on dogs and cats, but this was the first clinic to offer the service for rabbits, which are now one of the three most popular domesticated pets in North America.
A microchip is a tiny device that will bring up a specific number when it is run under the proper type of scanner.
"Microchips use radio frequency identification technology to communicate with microchip scanners," according to a release from the humane society. "Humane societies, vet clinics, and municipal pounds have scanners capable of reading microchips. When the chip is scanned, the number is matched in a database to determine the owner’s contact information so the pet can be easily returned."
At this week's clinic, a total of 72 cats, dogs, and rabbits were microchipped, and are now protected by permanent pet identification that won't fade or be lost over time.
Animals adopted from the humane society are already microchipped. However, pet owners who got their furry friends elsewhere and would like them microchipped can visit the official humane society website for the date of the next clinic. Animals brought to the humane society to be spayed or neutered can also get microchipping through the humane society's public veterinary clinic.
