Easily scannable quick response codes could help owners to make sure their pets come home.
QR code pet tags aren’t something completely new. A number of brands have been dabbling with the technology over the last several years. Now, as people start to recognize the barcodes and their phone camera apps have built-in scanners, the option holds considerably more promise.
The idea is quite simple, requiring a customized quick response code to be printed onto the animal’s ID.
If an animal – a cat or a dog for instance – should become lost, QR code pet tags could make it easier for someone who finds it to contact the owner. The barcode makes it easier forsomeone who finds the animal to obtain usable, up to date contact information for the owner.
Among the main problems associated with dog and cat ID tags has to do with the limited information they can contain, the fact that they are small and can be quite hard to read, and that the owner’s contact information may change but the information on the ID may not be updated at the time the animal makes an accidental escape.
By using QR code pet tags, more information can be shared, and it can be regularly updated.
The information linked to quick response codes on a cat or dog ID isn’t limited to what is printed on the tag. Instead, it can be updated to be continually up to date. This can provide someone who scans the barcode with useful information. It can start with the owner’s up to date contact information (and alternatives if they are unreachable through the primary contact), for example a phone number and email address.
That said, the information can also provide the pet’s name, commands he or she knows, whether or not he or she has specific behavioral issues, what he and she typically eats, the animal’s veterinarian’s name and contact information and other useful info.
While microchipping does help to make sure that pets can be identified even if tags have been lost, microchip scanning is not available to the average person. Anyone who finds the animal would need to bring it to a shelter or vet with microchip scanning capabilities.
QR code pet tags are offering owners an additional way to help people who find their lost pet with a way to contact them and properly care for the animal until arrangements can be made for the animal’s safe return. The method is very 
affordable and is proving to be effective. For instance, data from one provider, PetHub, shows that 96 percent of animals with this type of ID and that are lost will be recovered and returned to the owner in under 24 hours.
