By Aimee L. Cook

Sandy - Pets are beloved members of the family, and they are also the most at-risk for getting lost. For anyone who has lost a pet, the stress of locating your four-legged friend can be unbearable. The odds of having a lost pet returned to you safely greatly improve if that pet has a microchip. 

In an effort to help families hold on to their precious pets, Subaru, the Humane Society of Utah and AVID Microchip offered free microchipping for one pet per family on Halloween. Five Subaru locations across the Wasatch front participated in the event, and Banfield Pet Hospital provided licensed veterinarians and technicians to insert the AVID Microchips in the dogs and cats. 

“We do these events because of Subaru of America and our retailers’ commitment to our ‘Love Promise’ program,” Barry Jellick, District 2 sales manager for Subaru, said. “We believe in being part of the community in setting an example. We want to build lifelong relationships and ensure the love is felt not just by our customers, but by all. Not because it’s good for business, but because it’s the right thing to do in our communities. Our customers love their pets, and this is an event that we can give back to our customers and the community by offering free microchipping to their furry family members.”

Overall, 708 pets received a free microchip that day, providing peace of mind to those pet owners. Subaru purchased 1250 AVID microchips for the event. The remaining microchips were donated to the Humane Society of Utah and will be implanted in some shelter animals before they are adopted. 

“We have been meaning to get our dog microchipped for a while and just had not gotten around to it,” Erick Cook said. “This was a great opportunity for us to get it done. We are grateful to everyone who helped make this happen.”

Participants have the option of only registering the microchip with the Humane Society, or paying a $20 fee to AVID to register the microchip with them. The advantage of paying the fee allows for AVID to contact the pet owner directly if their  pet is found; otherwise, calls have to be fielded through the Humane Society and only take place during business hours. 

The Humane Society of Utah held an event like this in February and plans to hold more in the future.