Does your dog have a tattoo?

[Kfamr]

Simba does. It's a "S". So we say it's for Simba, but really i have no idea why it's there.

Here's a pic of it, it's in his ear.

[Cookiebaker]

Did you do that or was it like that when he was a puppy? Could it be a way that they told the puppies apart??

[Logan]

tattoos are used, like microchips, to identify dogs. Our local Golden Retriever rescue group tattoos all of it's rescue dogs so that they can be readily identified if they are ever lost. Probably the shelter you got Simba from, KayAnn, did the same thing. It is not uncommon. In our case, with all the hair a Golden Retriever has, I think microchipping is probably a safer bet. But for a short haired dog like Simba, tattoos should be fine.

Logan

[aly]

Another reason to tattoo is to signify that the animal is altered. That way if they get lost, whoever finds them will know they are fixed and they won't have to put them under to find out. I know on males its easy to tell, but on females you can't always find the spay scar. Reece has the tattoo that says he was neutered, which I think is silly for a boy cause you can just look and tell

Here are pics of his tattoo (its on his lower tummy near his leg):

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

Drake hasn't been tattooed. He is microchipped though.

[COCatMama]

Juneau has an ear tattoo, his former owners must have had it done. When me and the ex adopted J, the SPCA put a microchip in right then and there He also has a tag on his collar with his name, address, and phone #, but i will have to change all that as I moved eh!

[ramanth]

Nope.. no tattoo on Kia. But she's been begging to have "BAD to the BONE" tattooed on her forearm.

[Ann]

Yup, Tina has one in her ear. I prefer that biiiiiiiiig-time over micro-shipping.

[TopSpoT]

My Icey is neutered (we got him from TLAC in Austin) and he has the same tattoo as your boy!

[jennifert]

Nope.. no tattoo on Kia. But she's been begging to have "BAD to the BONE" tattooed on her forearm.

OMG< Kimmy, that was too funny!!!!! I burst out laughing when I read that!!!

[aly]

Originally posted by TopSpoT
My Icey is neutered (we got him from TLAC in Austin) and he has the same tattoo as your boy!

Reece was neutered at TLAC too!! I think they did a bad job on the tattoo, its sloppy and big, but ohh well. I didn't know you used to live in Austin. Isn't it awful there at TLAC? I always cry as soon as I pull into that parking lot.

[primabella]

oh, that's so cool
is it really important to have your dog micro-chipped or tatooed? can someone please tell me how they micro-chip a dog? thanks..

[TopSpoT]

Well, I didn't live in Austin. We drove to Austin from AL to rescue my little Ice Man from death. He was only 3 months old. 20 hr round trip drive, but it was WELL WORTH IT! TLAC is actually the Hilton compared to our shelters. Seriously, I bragged on that shelter for months. That tells you how bad they are down here.

[aly]

WOW!!!!!!!! You should come to the humane society where I work. I think you'd REALLY love it.

Thats great that you drove all this way to rescue the poor baby. What a lucky boy!! Next time you feel the urge to drive 20 hours, let me know and I'll scope out the shelters for ya

[COCatMama]

they put your name address phone number etc in the chip and inject it into the fleshy bit near the head of your dog, it's just like a regular shot, quick and easy.
That way if your dog runs off, a vet or the SPCA can scan your dog and find out where you live etc. I also have a tag on my dog's collar with his name, address and phone # in case he runs off and a regular person finds him, this did happen once.