A great idea that needs some attention — and could save a pet’s life
By Gina Spadafori
January 14, 2009
I hate to see such a great idea get buried in the comments …
Jason Marrihew of the American Animal Hospital Association on how he keeps his pet’s information accessible:
It was a pain to find the proper paper work that had Slinky’s microchip information.
Once I found it, I created a contact for him in my cell phone. It has Slinky’s picture, microchip number, vet’s phone number, 24 hour care and the number to the ASPCA Poison Control.
That is such a great idea I can’t stand it. Now … if I can just find that microchip information here on my desk, I’m going to do exactly the same thing for my crew. Assuming I can find my cell phone, that is …
I saw that too and am going to do it. Probably will also create a Gmail contact with the same stuff (maybe a bit more). So nice to have someone else do the hard thinking for me. :O)
Comment by Lori — January 14, 2009 @ 11:03 am
I have done similar for my dogs, only they aren’t exactly contacts in my phone. ASPCA Poison Control is it’s own contact, as are my vet and e-vet. I do have a note stored on my iPhone (in “Notes”) that lists all my pets with AKC registration numbers, birthdates, and microchip numbers. I decided it would be easier to have it all that info in the palm of my hand the night before I was going to a CERF clinic, and since then I have been adding to the info that I think I might possibly need to know.
Comment by Jess — January 14, 2009 @ 11:04 am
Thanks for sharing Gina. :)
Comment by Jason Merrihew — January 14, 2009 @ 11:51 am
Excellent idea, thank you! I think I’ll start sharing that in my first aid classes.
Comment by Therese — January 14, 2009 @ 12:57 pm
Great idea! My only worry would be that if my phone was ever lost or stolen, someone would have a lot of access to my pet’s info. I think I will create a Gmail contact for dog ID numbers and such, but still put the remaining items in my phone.
Comment by Jillian Koeneman — January 14, 2009 @ 2:22 pm
Great idea but to take it one step further…I wrote about high tech disaster preparedness tips. You can put all your pet’s medical and related info into a flash drive. I prefer mine in the waterproof kit but you can also attach the smaller contained ones onto the tag ring on a collar.
Comment by Ark Lady — January 24, 2009 @ 1:41 pm