Cebu City residents can have their dogs and cats microchipped at an affordable rate with the Cebu City Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF).
Ivan Rey R. Tan reported in SunStar Cebu on Sept. 30, 2022, that the Cebu City Government provides a “perpetual registration” package for P600, which covers the microchip tagging, vaccines and vitamins.
Microchipping does not only benefit humans but also animals. Embedded below the shoulder blade, the microchip is safe for the animal and allows humans to track it down following the radio frequency waves emitted.
Many pets escape through a door or gate left open. While animals can retrace their tracks to return home, some dogs and cats, especially coveted breeds, are nabbed by the unscrupulous to be fenced as pets or aphrodisiac.
Scanning the microchip of an animal enables the authorities and rescuers to identify the owner, determine responsibility (especially in cases when the animal has bitten a person or destroyed property) and guide potential fosters or adopters of the found animal.
The Cebu City DVMF said it has already microchipped 2,000 animals since 2013. While the P600 perpetual registration package is considerably cheaper than the rates of private veterinary clinics, it is still a hefty chunk in a household budget.
Yet, responsible guardians of dogs and cats are aware that keeping a pet demands time, resources and emotional investment.
Microchipping is just one of the ways to look out for the welfare of the animals one takes in as a family member.
During the community lockdowns and work-from-home setups responding to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, many persons took in cats and dogs at home, assuaging uncertainty, anxiety and boredom.
With school and work resuming in face-to-face settings, pandemic pets are faced with possible negligence or neglect.
In urban settlements, where space is a premium, pet guardians must balance their pets’ welfare with the health and wellness of other persons they share space with, such as neighbors and transients.
Before deciding to accept or give a cat or dog, one must consider the residence of the potential guardian and determine if it can accommodate a dog or cat, specially one that is of a certain size and requires daily walking or exercise.
Many pets are abandoned as soon as they mature and lose their cuteness. Some tenants readily leave behind a pet when they move and learn that pets are not allowed in the new residence.
Guardians must re-home a pet they are unable to bring with them because a domesticated cat or dog has grown used to the rituals of feeding and shelter it has been conditioned to accept as habit. An abandoned animal may turn semi-feral, attacking or biting strangers it mistakes as intruders.
An essential public service that the Cebu City DVMF should offer are neutering services that are free or subsidized.
The overpopulation of dogs and cats, especially on the streets where the wandering pose hazards to pedestrians, motorists, and to themselves, is best addressed by spaying females and castrating males. Neutering also improves the well-being of the animal and prolongs its life span.
In the domestication of animals, humans have command responsibility to foresee and plan how to respond to the vulnerabilities of a dependent cat and dog in society.
This world will be certainly much better if humans saw their deep and timeless connection with other sentient beings, erasing their discrimination in favor of pure-bred pets and against mongrels.
We must choose to adopt the homeless animal rather than shop from animal breeders; to safely neuter and not to abandon unwanted puppies and kittens near highways to be reduced to roadkill; and to treat all sentient beings with respect and care.