I consider myself to be the foremost authority on this planet on the subject of Pet Identification. I sometimes refer to myself as “Dog Tag Don.” Avail yourself of my 45 years of experience by reading what follows.
The more you know about pet identification the better it will be for you, your pet and my business success.
What do I base the above claims on? I base them on the fact I have been doing nothing but Pet ID Tags since 1975, I believe we are the longest lived pet id tag / dog tag company selling online. I base them on the belief that over the course of my time as a professional pet id tag maker / a dog tag manufacturer I’m pretty sure I have given the subject more thought than any other human being; and further I believe my cognitive processes run along lines of logic, reason and good sense. When I first started making pet id tags one of the first things I noticed about my customers was that when their pet’s id tag wore out they complained and expected me to replace the tag free of charge. All things subject to friction are doomed to fail in time and all traditional hanging pet id tags are subject to friction. It is literally impossible for anyone to produce a traditional hanging pet id tag that will never wear out. What to do? I developed CollarTags™ in 1998 (notice that there is no space in the word Collar and Tags, notice that my url is CollarTag.com). My CollarTags™ are the original Collar Tags. I was also the original Plastic Pet ID Tag maker. Plastic tags were how I got into the pet identification tag business in the first place, then as E-Z Read Pet ID Tags, in 1975. Who was the first company to copy my plastic tags? Lucky Pet. And now they are copying my Collar Tags. The tags I make are often imitated, but never improved upon or duplicated.
Pet ID Tags / Dog Tags that do not hold up over time can cost you your pet
There is no place for planned obsolescence when it comes to the pet id tag a pet owner puts on their pet’s collar. I have always done all I could to make all the tags I offered as durable as possible. I REFUSE to compromise in that regard. Case in point: In the 80(ies) I experimented with aluminum as a tag material. I rejected aluminum as a tag material because my experiments proved it would not result in a pet id tag that would hold up over time. I have never offered a single one of my customers a tag made of aluminum and I never will, I would consider it unethical and a dis-service to my customers to do so. As an aside, it is likely that most pet id tags on pets in this country today are made of aluminum. This is because engraving on stainless steel requires “industrial strength” engraving equipment, all the machines we use in our shop to engrave stainless steel were custom made for the purpose.
A word about marking methods
The text on your pet’s tag must be able to stand up to friction. Off the shelf engraving machines don’t have the power to mark hard metals. That a big reason the tags in the big box stores are made of aluminum—blanked in the orient by the way—they simply can’t apply enough force to cut deeply into stainless steel. If you buy a stainless steel tags made in one of these machines the letters will look like fine hair lines. In recent years laser “engraving” has become the rage. It sounds awesome / high tech, but the fact is it’s not engraving at all, it produces a light burning on the metal surface which quickly disappears. Actual comment from one of my customers posted on Trustpilot, “ I made the mistake of trying another company recently, the tag lasted less than a year. I went right back to Boomerang, never using anyone else again.” I actually get pet owners who are “hip” emailing me to assure them I do not use a laser method to “engrave” the tags I produce. We use a diamond drag method with high pressure produced by custom made machines for the purpose.
Your Pet’s ID Tag IS NOT “bling”
Pet ID Tags with cute little sayings on them and charm tags made in the orient with paw prints and clover leaf designs do not do a thing to get ones lost pet returned, to the contrary they can result in the opposite outcome. It’s ALL ABOUT the tag still being on your pet’s collar with text its finder can read your contact information on years after you put the tag on your pet’s collar. A dog tag hanging off the collar on ring or hook is subject to friction, and friction is wear. Rings and hooks will wear out, the hole in even a hard stainless tag will wear through in time, but most likely of all the action of the tag rubbing against other tags and collar hardware will erase the text. If you have a traditional hanging tag on your pet’s collar check it now. Is it still possible to make out your contact information? And even if you can, can you see that it’s not as easy to make out as it once was? If any of the failings traditional hanging tags are subject to happen prior to a pet going missing, and you don’t notice it…
CollarTags should make traditional hanging tags obsolete, they save money and prevent heart breaking separation
Consider these basic facts:
1) I guarantee my CollarTags to last the life of the pet they are purchased for—and they do. If you buy one of my CollarTags and it ever becomes impossible to make out your contact information I will replace the tag free of charge—and no I won’t charge you for mailing or handing to send your warranty tag to you.
2) If you purchase one of my adjustable length collar CollarTags and it ever goes missing / falls off your pet’s collar, I will replace it free of charge, again, no charge to mail the warranty tag to you.
3) You only have to buy your pet one CollarTag, my collar tags really do last the life of the pet they are purchased for so they are an excellent price value, not to mention that they won’t end up costing you your pet. Read our no quibble warranty. Read reviews left with Trustpilot by pet owners who have experienced CollarTags first hand. Note: Trustpilot Reviews cannot be faked and are all available to read on their web site.
What’s to dislike about a CollarTag™ ?
They don’t ever fall off your pet’s collar. The tag text will remain legible so long as your pet shall live. They don’t make any noise. They don’t get in the food dish. They don’t get caught on things—a safety factor. Pet owners have advised me of all sorts of horror stories about their pet traditional hanging tags getting: stuck in the floor heater grate, between deck boards, in the chain link fence, in food racks, in bedding, in carry crates. CollarTags™ are superior to traditional hanging tags in every way.
Micro Chips versus CollarTags™
My pet has a chip, so I don’t need a CollarTag / a pet id tag. Ya think? Not long ago on our local new broadcast they ran a story about a happy ending, and how wonderful chips were. The family got their lost pet back TWO YEARS after it went missing. Enough said, at least I would hope so. After two years, recall all those tears that were shed 24 / 23 months ago. A comment I got from one of my customers, “I got my cat back 18 months after she went missing, I’ve learned my lesson…” I’m pretty sure it was a painful lesson. I’m not against chips, but if a pet has one of my CollarTags on its collar with the owner’s cell number on it they will get a call as soon as a human finds their pet, not months or years later.
Think it through and think outside the box
You are buying a pet id tag for your dog, cat, horse, goat, whatever the species, so that if—God forbid—it ever does go missing it’s finder will be able to contact you. What id tag is going to preform that function most efficiently? I challenge anyone to come up with any argument that favors a traditional hanging tag or a microchip in any case over one of my CollarTags
