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By Petkey, in collaboration with Fetch Pet Insurance
The holidays bring family, presents, travel plans, excitement — and unfortunately, a spike in lost pets and emergency vet visits every single year.
Open doors during gatherings, unfamiliar houses, winter hazards, fireworks, stress, rich food… December is joyful, but can be chaotic for pets.
Real peace of mind over the holidays comes from combining both sides of pet protection:
When both are in place, you remove two of the biggest stress points families face during the festive season.
This is the essential holiday checklist every pet parent should run through before the festivities start.
1. Confirm Your Pet’s Microchip Is Registered (Not Just Implanted)
A microchip only does its job if it’s tied to your current contact details.
Every time a lost pet is picked up by animal control, enters a vet practice or shelter, the pet is scanned to see if they are 1. Microchipped and 2. That microchip is registered to a pet parent and 3. If the details connected are up to date and the keeper can be contacted.
Before the holidays get busy:
If your pet wanders out during a holiday visit or New Year celebration, the registration is what ensures you get the call.
2. Know How to Trigger a Lost-Pet Recovery Alert If the Worst Happens
If a pet goes missing, speed is everything — especially in winter when cold weather can become dangerous quickly.
Petkey’s Lost Pet Recovery system is available to instantly alert Petkey’s nearby:
This alert is issued to a 25-mile radius around where the pet was last seen.
If you’re visiting friends or family for the holidays, this becomes even more valuable. A lost pet in an unfamiliar area needs local eyes looking immediately.
Knowing you can trigger a rapid alert — and that it hits the right people fast — removes a huge amount of panic if the worst happens.
3. Make Sure Your Insurance Plan is in Place and Up to Date
Clinics see predictable seasonal emergencies over the holidays:
Keep your policy details current so treatment isn’t delayed:
Insurance handles the medical side.
Microchip Registration handles the reunification side.
You need both working smoothly over the holidays.
4. Travelling? Do a Pre-Trip Safety Check
Two things happen often during the holidays:
Before you leave home:
This tiny bit of prep prevents huge headaches later.
5. Why Insurance + Microchip Registration Is the Best Holiday Safety Duo
A typical holiday emergency isn’t just one event — it’s a chain reaction:
A dog slips out the door → gets lost → gets injured → ends up at a clinic.
You need both protections in place:
One protects your wallet.
One protects your pet’s identity and safety.
Together, they close every gap during the busiest, most unpredictable time of year.
6. Your Holiday Pet Safety Checklist
Small steps, big results.
The holidays should feel warm and joyful — not frantic.
By combining up-to-date microchip registration with a current insurance policy, you give your pet the safest possible holiday season, no matter what unexpected moments arise.
It’s one of the simplest gifts you can give your pet this year:
the best chance to stay healthy, safe and always find their way home.
The Dig, Fetch Pet Insurance's expert-backed editorial, answers all of the questions you forget to ask your vet or are too embarrassed to ask at the dog park. We help make sure you and your best friend have more good days, but we’re there on bad days, too.
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