Guide to Know More: Detective Bear’s Don’t Lose Heart Bookmark
by the Tortorella Family Foundation and Bear’s Angels
Don’t Lose Heart is a bookmark created for children by the Tortorella Family Foundation that shares ways to keep pets safe. It discusses how wearing an ID tag and microchipping can help an animal if he or she becomes lost.
Who is Detective Bear?
Even with his cap and trench coat, it’s easy to recognize that Detective Bear is a dog… a very special one at that! Bear was the Tortorella Family’s pet and they loved him very much. After he passed away, the family decided to help animals in his name. They created Bear’s Angels, a program for shelters and rescues who do great things for animals in need.
Through the Don’t Lose Heart bookmark, Detective Bear asks readers to help a lost dog and a lost cat to find their way home through a maze. It explains how ID tags and microchipping can help pets if they are lost. Here are some explanations that may help young readers to understand what a microchip is and how it works.
What is a microchip?
A microchip is a tiny electronic chip that is about the size of a grain of rice! The chip contains an identification number and is placed in a glass capsule or shell. Every animal who is microchipped has his or her own number.
How does the animal get a microchip?
The microchip is placed under the animal’s skin with a needle. This does not hurt the animal.
How does the microchip help an animal who is lost?
When a lost animal with a microchip is taken to a veterinarian’s office or a shelter, the staff or helpers can read the animal’s microchip. This is done with a special tool called a scanner. A scanner looks like a wand. Staff or helpers pass the scanner over the animal’s fur. The scanner reads the microchip and its identification number.
How do the staff or helpers find the owner?
When an animal is microchipped, it is important for the owner to register his or her name, address and phone number with the microchip’s identification number. The staff or helpers can then look up the identification number of a lost animal and contact the owner.
Why are microchips so great?
- They don’t cost very much.
- They don’t hurt the animals.
They stay safely inside the animal for a very long time.
To learn more about our programs, please visit our website at www.tortorellafoundation.org and our facebook page www.facebook.com/tortorellafoundation