Photo ID Goes To The Dogs

While visiting my favorite canine friends recently, I noticed they each had a Photo ID card issued by their veterinarian. Wignall Animal Hospital in Pelham, NH, among other animal hospitals, offers the photo ID cards as a free service to their patients.

My first thought was that the animal Photo ID was just a cute novelty. After all, don’t many pet owners think of their pets as human, and humans have ID cards, right? But rather than a gimmick, the Photo ID is actually an excellent way for the veterinary hospital to track important contact, account, and medical information about the pet.

My friend Rocky’s Photo ID includes information such as his owner, birth date, breed, color, current weight, and list of allergies. Also listed were his vaccine records, including the date of his rabies vaccine. As medical information changes, new cards can be easily printed so they always contain up-to-date information.

The Photo ID serves as a handy reference card and is useful to have with you when you travel, in case your pet has a medical emergency away from home. It’s also a convenient record of your pet’s vaccines should you want to board it at a kennel, or enroll it in obedience school.

So rather than just a fun way to amuse us humans, Photo ID cards for pets are an important and convenient medical record for our very best friends.