January 8, 2008
Small Animal Teaching Hospital offers discount on tracking devices for current patients
Purdue faculty and staff whose pets are currently active patients at the Small Animal Teaching Hospital can get a discount on microchip implants for their pet at a special clinic on Jan. 12.
The discount is in addition to the 10 percent off that faculty and staff receive for services at the teaching hospital. The savings could total more than 40 percent off typical prices, said Steve Thompson, director of the Pet Wellness Clinic in the School of Veterinary Medicine.
"In partnership with HomeAgain, we want to thank pet owners for supporting teaching and education when they obtain veterinary care from the Small Animal Hospital by offering this additional discount on microchips," Thompson said. "If a pet gets loose, a microchip allows rapid return of the pet, which has become a bigger issue since disasters such as Katrina when pets and owners were permanently separated."
Appointments will be required for the microchips clinic, which will be offered between 8 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Jan. 12. The microchip, which is the size of a grain of rice and injected just under the skin at the neck, can be read by scanners at veterinary offices and humane societies in the event the animal becomes separated from its owner.
Owners are allowed to bring up to three pets of all kinds, including dogs, cats, birds and rabbits. With the 10 percent discount and the special one-day savings, one pet will cost $36.90, two pets are $51.40 and three pets are $63.90, resulting in a savings of more than $15 per pet. The cost includes a records fee, an implant fee and the microchip. An additional registration fee of $14.99 for the first pet and $9.99 for additional pets is required by separate check or credit card instead of the usual $25 per pet fee to list the pet on an international registry, which will be taken care of at the teaching hospital.
The Small Animal Community Practice program and Pet Wellness Clinic are available to all West Lafayette faculty and staff for use as a primary care service for routine wellness, urgent and sick pet care for dogs, cats, small mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and other pet species.
For appointments or information, call (765) 494-1107 and talk to the receptionist.
Related Web site:
Veterinary Teaching Hospital: http://www.vet.purdue.edu/vth/introduction.html
Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu