How to Buy a Pet Identification Tag for Your Beagle

Choosing a pet ID tag for your Beagle is like buying an insurance policy – you do so 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 purchasing the pet tag itself.

The type of pet identification tag that you buy is vital, so take five minutes or so to consider it. Impulsively buying a collar tag just because it’s inexpensive or pretty often proves to be unwise, in the long term.

Consider this before picking any pet id tag for your Beagle:
1.What is the level of risk to your Beagle?
Lost Beagles are very common – we’ve all seen “Lost Beagle!” signs setup around the city, or deceased Beagles lying on the side of the road. If your Beagle is a pro at tunneling under the fence, or can’t help following a scent, or youthful and full of energy, or is not properly trained, the risk of a lost Beagle is high.

But losing your Beagle isn’t the only danger.

Some Beagles get stolen. A pet thief may snatch Fifi or Fido in hopes of getting 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 Beagle if something were to happen to you, its owner?

If you’re a senior citizen with a Beagle, particularly if you live by yourself or are in poor health, there’s a high chance that at some point someone else will need to care for your furry friend, perhaps with short notice. And anyone can be struck by disaster or tragedy that leaves you incapable of caring for your Beagle.

In this case, will your Beagle’s temporary or new caretaker know that Fido hates cats, or requires medication, or even whether or not Max is housetrained? A pet ID tag that contains more than your name and phone number would be extremely beneficial.

2.What amount of risk are you ok with?
Some Beagles are simply more important to their owners, and the risk of losing that particular animal warrants a specific, higher priced kind of pet identification tag. Risk is directly proportional to value.

Note that there is more than one way to calculate the value of your Beagle. It may be financial (e.g., a purebred Beagle) or functional (e.g., a guide dog).

But for most Beagle owners, the companionship attachment they have with their companion determines its value. For many, Beagles are members of the family, impossible to replace and dearly loved.

3.From your answers to the two previous questions, what do you require of a pet identification tag?

Pet ID tags come in varying shapes, sizes and materials and hold varying amounts of information. Some contain artwork or logos, also. Many pet identification tags are designed to be hung from a collar.

At the minimum, a pet identification tag should contain the name, address and phone number of the Beagle’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 customary types of tags can purchased from any animal doctor or pet store. They’re low cost however the amount of info they hold is limited to the size of the tag.

Luckily, you have many more options for pet identification tags for your Beagle these days, such as microchipping, tattooing, digital display tags, pet registry web sites and voice recorded pet identification tags.

One of the recent entrants in the pet ID market is the high-tech USB drive that hangs off your Beagle’s collar (or is attached to their cage) and which can hold 64MB of data (including complete diet and medical information). The small USB drive is encased in a sturdy plastic case and can be plugged into any computer, where it is automatically updated and easy to print sections for sharing with your veterinarian or pet sitter. There also exist bluetooth trackers, but their range is limited, because of bluetooth technological limits.

Don’t forget to check out these other articles about Beagles

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