QUINCY, ILL. -- The recent tornado and aftermath in Joplin, Mo. has taught us a lot about disaster preparedness.
More than a thousand pets were brought into the Joplin Humane Society but not very many of them had a microchip.
But why is it so important to microchip your pet?
"When I was in Joplin I saw all these animals, and very few of them had any ID on them, and no way to contact their owners," says Quincy Humane Society Executive Director Sally Westerhoff.
That's when Westerhoff decided it was important to have a micro-chipping clinic here in Quincy. It doesn't have to be just dogs and cats. You can micro-chip almost any pet.
"A good form of identification is your pet's ticket to a quick return home...The advantage of the micro-chips is of course they can't fall off, they can't be taken off and removed," said Westerhoff.
Greg Ahsell brought his dog Duke to the clinic Saturday.
"He's gotten loose a couple of times and we're always worried about him losing his collar with his tags. So, we just thought this would be a good way that he'd always have something on him. So if he was found, they'd know how to get him back to us," said Duke's owner Greg Ahsell.
The micro-chips are about the size of a grain of rice and go in the muscle behind your pets neck.
"We register them in a database at the shelter. Which also registers them with the company 24 Petwatch," said Westerhoff.
Westerhoff says Saturday's event went so well, she hopes to have another in the fall.
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