Some owner's choose to hang a medallion on the collar or attach a plate to the collar that provides the owners name and phone number. Other collars can be ordered with similar information woven into the fabric. Tattooing and electronic identification offer permanent means of identifying a pet. Tattoos usually are placed either in the ear or groin area and can contain short messages such as a traceable serial number or phone number. Tattooing must be done in a veterinarian's office under sedation.
Some owners have the procedure done when the animal is in the veterinary office for other surgery.
Tattooing provides proof of ownership, and also can help a person trace an owner if the pet is lost. Dr. Cory Langston, head of community practice at MSU's veterinary college, said electronic identification requires a small chip be injected under the animal's skin between the shoulder blades. The process requires no anesthesia and is used for dogs, cats, horses, birds and more. It's becoming more routine for animal shelters and animal control officers to have the scanner that is needed to detect this electronic identifier. Currently, only a serial number is placed on the chip, but this number is unique to the chip so the animal can be traced effectively.