Many Iowans leave their dogs and cats outdoors much of the time during the warm months, but this week’s severe weather serves as a reminder that those pets need solid shelter, especially during storms. Pam Wiese, at the Humane Society, says Iowans can take other proactive steps to protect their pets, should they become separated in the case of a terrible storm. “We have learned from Katrina and many of the tornadoes, that microchipping pets is really a great way to insure that if there’s any way possible to get them back, you can,” Wiese says. “It’s a permanent form of ID, it doesn’t twist off or leave in high winds and it’s a much better way to permanently identify your pet than any other way that we know.”

Wiese says some animal shelters in the state offer microchipping of pets for as little as ten-dollars. “It’s great to have a collar and tags on your pet as well,” Wiese says. “Joe, on the street, may find him and bring him back but if he’s got a microchip, no matter if he’s caught in winds or under a building or stuck in mud or whatever, we will be able to find that microchip, and in fact, even if he’s deceased.”

Microchips aren’t just for dogs and cats, either. They’re only about the size of a grain of rice and can be implanted into every sort of pet from parrots to horses.

(Radio Iowa)