And the winners are …

Congratulations to: Renee, Jane, Jennifer Rose, Melanie, and Kathy who have each won a FurCode — we will be emailing you shortly!

Thank you to everyone who participated and made this such a successful contest!

I’ve always been a great believer in microchips. As someone who fosters for a local dog rescue, it breaks my heart to see the number of stray dogs in shelters, waiting to be found by their people. If they’re super lucky they’ll get to go home, be adopted right away, or end up in rescue. But unfortunately not all dogs get those options and many of them end up as yet another statistic.

My own dog Wookie was a stray. He was picked up and brought to an overcrowded shelter in Quebec, and as the same old story goes, his owners were never located. Wookie narrowly escaped death by being rescued by Hopeful Hearts and after being my foster for a brief stint, my family and I decided that he was staying with us forever and ever. And ever.

The first thing we did after adopting Wookie was bring him to see our vet to get microchipped. Of course we had to bring Wookie’s best friend for moral support — our other dog Halladay. With the scan of her magic wand, the vet tech showed us where Wookie’s microchip had been implanted, and offered to do the same with Halladay, as he’d also been microchipped by them 2+ years ago. They waved this magic wand all over his furry little body and found nothing. I was horrified. They ended up having to re-chip Halladay, but thanks to this rogue piece of technology, I no longer feel safe relying on just a chip to get my furballs back home.

Most people, myself included, have relied on the traditional pet tags. That is, until now. There’s only so much information that can be etched onto the regular ID tags, and what happens if your contact information changes because you’ve moved? You’ll have to spend more money getting a new tag — if you remember to do that during your move, that is. Experts estimate that more than half of these traditional tags contain outdated information, rendering them useless.

That’s where FurCode comes in.

FurCodes are a genius upgrade to the dog tags of yesterday, containing all the information needed to get your furball home. Each FurCode ID tag has a unique QR code assigned to it, and by scanning it with a smart phone, your dog’s profile instantly comes up. Their profile shows their name, your contact details, veterinarian information, medical needs, and the list goes on. For the social media savvy, you can also include your Facebook and Twitter information. But what if the other person doesn’t have a smart phone or scanner? Simple. There’s an ID code on the back of the tag that can be entered into the FurCode website to access the profile. Your pet’s profile displays only the information you want to share, and can be updated at any time at no cost. It doesn’t get any better.

Now I am in no way saying that FurCodes should replace microchips, but I strongly feel that they go hand-in-hand. The FurCode grants the person who found your dog immediate access to finding you, and for anyone who has ever lost their dog, this is priceless.

It seems as though Christmas has come early, because the amazing folks over at FurCode have generously donated a few of these bad boys to giveaway to five lucky Ottawa Dog Blog readers.

Want one? Leave a comment below with your name, your dog’s name, and why you want a FurCode.

Details:
One entry per household. This contest is open to anyone in Canada and the US. Winners will be chosen at random. Please include a valid email address so that we can contact you. Contest closes Tuesday December 13th, 2012 at midnight. Winners announced on the blog on Wednesday December 14th.