The City of Havre is making it easier and more affordable for pet owners to register their dogs, with a new initiative aimed at encouraging microchipping. Microchipped dogs will now be free to register with the city. A microchipped pet is the easiest way to reunite with your furry family member if they get lost.
All pet owners need to do is submit a copy of their rabies certificate from their vet, including the microchip number, along with their current address, phone number, and email. This information should be sent to Peter Federspiel at pfederspiel@ci.havre.mt.us.
Erik Johnson reports - watch the video:
Peter Federspiel, an animal control officer and the manager of the Havre Animal Shelter, emphasizes the importance of microchips.
"A microchip can be the critical link between losing a pet and finding it years later," he explains. The Havre Animal Shelter is typically at capacity year-round, and Federspiel notes, "Most shelters around the state are at or over capacity. Keeping any animal out of the shelters is super important."
When animals are brought into the shelter, they are immediately scanned for a microchip. Whether or not a pet has one can mean the difference between minutes and days in reuniting a pet with its family.
Microchipping is offered by all veterinarians in and around Havre, as well as directly through the shelter. The procedure is quick and simple. It is the size of a grain of rice and involves injecting a microchip into the shoulder blade under the skin with a needle.
While the typical cost for microchipping is around $50, Havre residents can have their pets microchipped at Havre Animal Shelter for just $15. The microchip creates a database linked to owner contact information and rabies vaccination records.
Federspiel recommends checking the chip annually to ensure it’s functioning properly, although most microchips last between 15 to 20 years without needing replacement.
"It's important to understand that a microchip is like a VIN number for a car," Federspiel explains. "It's just a number, not a GPS device. If your dog wanders off, the only way to find them is if someone picks them up and scans the microchip."
Federspiel shared a story highlighting the value of microchipping, "There's a family whose home is down in a coulee, and you can't see their house from the highway. Their dog goes up and waits for them to come home on the highway. The dog ended up here once, where we microchipped it. That same dog was brought to Billings, Great Falls, and Butte. People just traveling through kept picking up this dog and dropping it off at shelters all over the state."
