Picking a pet ID tag for your Koolie is like buying insurance – you do it with the devout wish that you’ll never need it. The “possible price” of not having a pet ID tag is more expensive than the “real cost” of buying the pet tag itself.
The kind of pet ID tag that you buy is important, so take five minutes or so to consider it. Whimsically choosing a collar tag just because it’s inexpensive or pretty usually proves to be unwise, down the road.
Think about the following prior to picking any pet identification tag for your Koolie:
1.What is the amount of risk to your Koolie?
Lost Koolies are very common – we’ve all noticed “Lost Dog!” signs setup around the city, or dead Koolies lying on the edge of the road. If your Koolie is a master at tunneling under the fence, or cannot resist following a smell, or youthful and vigorous, or isn’t well trained, the chance of a missing Koolie is high.
But losing your Koolie isn’t the only concern.
Sometimes Koolies are stolen. A pet thief may take Rover or Spot hoping to get a reward for its return, or to use in dog battles (even small or gentle dogs are at risk – they can be used for “bait”), or for use in cult rituals.
And what is the risk to your Koolie if something were to happen to you, the owner?
If you’re a senior citizen with a Koolie, particularly if you live by yourself or are in poor health, there’s a good chance that at some point someone else will need to care for your Koolie, perhaps with short notice. And anyone can be struck by disaster or tragedy that leaves you incapable of caring for your Koolie.
In this case, will your Koolie’s new or temporary steward know that Rover hates cats, or needs medicine, or even whether or not Max is potty trained? A pet ID tag that contains more than your name and phone number would be extremely helpful.
2.What amount of danger are you ok with?
Some Koolies are just more important to their owners, and the chance of losing that particular animal warrants a specific, higher priced type of pet identification tag. Risk is directly proportional to value.
Realize that there are multiple ways to determine the value of your Koolie. It may be monetary (e.g., a purebred Koolie) or occupational (e.g., a guide dog).
But for most Koolie owners, the companionship attachment they have to their Koolie determines its value. For many people, Koolies are like family, impossible to replace and dearly loved.
3.Based on your responses to the two previous questions, what do you need in a pet identification tag?
Pet identification tags come in varying shapes, sizes and materials and hold varying amounts of information. Some have artwork or logos, also. Usually pet ID tags are meant to be attached to a collar.
At a bare minimum, a pet identification tag should contain the phone number, name and address of the Koolie’s owner in a durable, legible format. Plastic tags are light but chewed easily. Stainless steel tags are durable and don’t rust or fade. These traditional kinds of tags can bought from any animal doctor or pet store. They’re inexpensive yet the amount of info they hold is limited to the size of the tag.
Fortunately, there are many more options of pet ID tags for your Koolie these days, such as tattooing, microchipping, digital display tags, voice recorded pet id tags, and pet registry websites.
One of the most recent entries in the pet identification market is the high-tech USB drive that hangs off your pet’s collar (or is attached to their kennel) and which holds 64MB of data (including complete diet and medical information). The small USB drive is encased in a sturdy plastic case and can be used in any computer, where it is easily updated and easy to print sections for sharing with your animal doctor or pet sitter. There also exist bluetooth trackers, but their range is low, because of bluetooth technological limits.
Don’t forget to check out these other articles about KooliesWas this post helpful? If so, please take a minute to Tweet and Share below on Facebook. I would also love to know your thoughts so leave me a comment 🙂
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