Pets can wear microchip that stores contacts, medical info

A neighbor's lost pet stirred Henderson resident John Reynoso Jr.'s creative juices.

The cat showed up at his doorstep one day and had no collar. He fed it and took it to a vet, who gave it a clean bill of health but found no microchip to help locate its owner. Later that day, a neighbor approached Reynoso to see if he had spotted the animal, so it returned to its home the same day it wandered off.

The incident prompted Reynoso to recruit the help of his cousin Ken Nieto of Covina, Calif., to develop a pet tag via their new company, Logistical Identification Products LLC.

The Pawpy tags, named for Reynoso's late dog, are about the size of a quarter. They contain microchips that can store photos, videos, contact information, medical documentation and other data totaling up to 1 gigabyte, Reynoso said.

"Three years we worked on it to get it to this point," Reynoso said. "We got the smallest chip we could find. It took us three years to find a manufacturer that said yes, we could make it."

The microchip portion can be removed without detaching the tag from pets' collars. It can then be plugged into a USB port, which allows users to access a PDF document that launches via Adobe Acrobat's Reader DC program, a free download at adobe.com.

The tag is designed to be shock- and water-resistant and comes with a velvet drawstring bag. It costs $24.95, and customers also can purchase a keepsake display box and stand for $4.95.

"We're really excited about this because if your pet is lost or injured or ill, it's got everything on here," said Reynoso, 70.

Neither he nor Nieto, 68, have ever developed a product. Nieto retired from the railroad industry after 34 years, and Reynoso retired from the telecommunications industry.

Still, their love of animals caused them to develop the product nonetheless, they said. Both are pet owners: Reynoso has a cat, and Nieto has a German shepard and a Labrador.

"We have a common bond for pets," Nieto said. "We're both pet lovers."

The Pawpy tags have been on the market since early November. Reynoso and Nieto said they are planning to release more products in the future, including leashes and collars that match the colors of the tags: Rescue Red, Guardian Green and Pet Purple.

Visit pawpypettag.com or call 702-897-9546.

— To reach Henderson View reporter Cassandra Keenan, email ckeenan@viewnews.com or call 702-383-0278. Find her on Twitter: @CassandraKNews.