AKC Companion Animal Recovery Unveils New Microchip Options for Veterinarians

-- AKC CAR adds ISO microchip to programs --

Raleigh, NC – AKC Companion Animal Recovery (AKC CAR), the nation’s largest and only non-profit pet recovery service, announces the addition of an ISO microchip to its product line as well as two new microchip incentive programs – Free* Microchip or Prepaid Enrollment – giving veterinarians more flexibility in providing permanent identification services for their clients’ pets. AKC CAR’s launch of these new options coincides with exhibiting at the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando, FL on Jan.16-20, 2010.

AKC CAR’s new ISO microchip – the accepted microchip for pets traveling to and from the European Union and Canada - is especially important for veterinarians with clients in Canada, near the border, or who travel throughout North America and Europe with their pets.

**** NORTH AMERICAN VETERINARY CONFERENCE ATTENDEES ****
*** MICROCHIP/SCANNING TECHNOLOGY
DEMONSTRATION AT BOOTH 221 ***

-- Monday, January 18 from 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. --

Witness the ProScan 700 scan and read various U.S. microchips
See a variety of microchips including the new ISO microchip
Watch cutting-edge delivery systems in action
Talk to pet recovery experts on how these new microchip programs will benefit veterinarians and pet owners

“We believe that giving the veterinarian community multiple incentive programs as well as two widely distributed microchips with a variety of delivery systems will ultimately benefit pet owners,” said Tom Sharp, CEO of AKC CAR. “To date, AKC CAR has enrolled more than 4 million animals and helped reunite more than 370,000 lost pets with their owners. Having more options for veterinarians will translate into more enrollments which means more animals being safely returned home.”

The new AKC CAR ID SYSTEM programs allow veterinarians to customize their complete microchip systems by choosing the incentive program, microchip, and delivery system that will best suit the needs of their practices and their clients.

Step One – Choose your program:

Free Microchip Program* – With a low, up-front investment of just $10 per microchip and earning points towards a free box of microchips, this is the most economical way for veterinarians to purchase microchips in bulk. After 25 microchips have been enrolled in AKC CAR at the standard enrollment price, for example, the veterinarian can order a free 25-count box of AKC CAR microchips (just pay shipping and handling). In this program, veterinarians are responsible for tracking client enrollments (a $19.95 lifetime fee per pet paid by the owner) to receive free microchips. Ultimately, each enrolled microchip pays for itself.

Prepaid Enrollment Program – The best value package on the market comes with AKC CAR microchips and discounted prepaid enrollments. For only $15.50 per microchip with lifetime enrollment, this option allows veterinarians the freedom of not tracking enrollments while offering clients a single-price service that includes lifetime pet recovery enrollment for their pet.

Step Two – Choose your microchip and delivery system

Once veterinarians choose a program, they select their microchips – the currently available 128 kHz microchip or the new 134.2 kHz (ISO) microchip. Delivery systems for implanting the chips include the “Solo Plus Microchip,” an all-in-one device that will deliver the 128 kHz or 134.2 kHz microchip or the “Duo Microchip” two-part delivery system for the 128 kHz microchip. AKC CAR continues to offer its ProScan 700 multi-system microchip scanner, which reads all of the microchip types commonly found in U.S. pets today, including 134.2 kHz (ISO).

For microchipping to be the most successful, the pet must be enrolled in a pet recovery service. AKC CAR Pet Recovery Service benefits for owners include:

Pet Recovery Specialists on duty 24/7 for 365 days
Lifetime protection with no annual fees
No hidden charges to update pet owner contact information
AKC CAR collar tag for visual pet identification
Text messaging to alert owners when pets are found
Participation in AAHA’s petmicrochiplookup.org tool

For more information on AKC CAR’s microchip programs and lifetime recovery service call 800-252-7894 or go to www.akccar.org.
*Plus shipping fees.