Pet Microchip Gives A Return For The Money By VALERIE KALFRIN vkalfrin@tampatrib.com Published: Jun 9, 2004 TAMPA - For three months, Philip Van Ham had no idea where Bella was. He first found the newborn feral cat in his back yard two years ago. He hand-fed her and adopted her, soon learning the tricolored feline wasn't intimidated by his great Dane and Pomeranian. Every morning, Bella woke Van Ham, a Clearwater accountant, about 6 a.m, but on Feb. 23 she wasn't there. ``I searched high and low for three weeks. I went to all the shelters. Nothing,'' Van Ham said. ``My pets are like my kids. Every night I'd wonder, `What happened to Bella?' '' A local shelter returned Bella safely to Van Ham in May, thanks to a microchip Van Ham had asked his veterinarian to implantbetween her shoulder blades. The microchip is part of the American Kennel Club's Companion Animal Recovery program. The AKC established the nonprofit program in 1995 to reunite lost pets with owners, officials said. 200,000 Pets Found, Returned The microchip does not hurt the animal, the AKC says. It is about the size of a grain of rice and encoded with a number. A veterinarian injects the chip like a vaccine. The AKC records the owner's registration information in a national database. If a stray animal is returned to a shelter or veterinarian's office, someone using a handheld scanner can read the chip, call the AKC's hot line - 1-800-252-7894 - and find the owner. According to the organization, it has registered more than 2.3 million pets nationwide, including dogs, cats, horses, birds, ferrets and chinchillas. It has recovered about 200,000 lost pets. AKC statistics show that more than 166,000 pets in Florida were enrolled in the program as of May 1. More than 17,000 have been recovered. The cost of the procedure varies by veterinarian. Enrollment in the database is an additional $12.50 and lasts for the life of the pet, the AKC says. Updating an address is free. The AKC will register any permanent form of identification, such as microchips or tattoos, in the database. Because tattoos can fade or blur over time, the organization endorses microchips. It recommends the HomeAgain Microchip Implantation System, which includes a yellow collar tag. It's Worth The Peace Of Mind Pet owners can find a veterinarian who uses HomeAgain through the American Kennel Club's Web site, www.akccar.org/index.cfm. There are more than 35 such veterinarians in Tampa, the site shows. Through the Web site, owners can pay to have HomeAgain implanted using a vet of their choice and enrolled in the database for $63.50. Van Ham, 40, said he decided to have a microchip implanted in Bella after losing Kyle, a purebred cat he had owned for about eight years. The procedure is worth the peace of mind, he said. ``Just look in the `lost' section of the newspaper - people running ads for months,'' he said. ``It's depressing.'' Bella was found about a block away from Van Ham's home, a bit thin but unscathed. ``I still can't believe she turned up,'' Van Ham said. ``She's got a cold from being in the animal shelter, but she's doing great. It's pretty amazing.'' Your Safety appears weekly. If you have an idea or comment, call reporters Valerie Kalfrin or Thomas W. Krause at (813) 259-7800.