Microchipping Your Pets
 

We always have our pets microchipped when we adopt them. We recently moved out of state and we had to take all 4 of the dogs in to a new vet for their annual vaccines. I asked the vet to scan them so they could have their microchip # on file. One of our shepherds, Cooper, who we have had for 5 years did not scan for a chip! We watched Cooper get microchipped and had a positive scan at the shelter when we adopted him 5 years ago. Chips can migrate out of the skin if not inserted correctly. Just wanted to pass this on. I intend on having them scanned at their annual appointments from now on.

Thank you so much for that info. I'll pass it along to my DD to check the microchips on the boys

I thought about it and decided to not get my Puppy Shih Tzu microchipped. He is never out of my sight. We have a small fenced yard inside of a large fenced yard. I always go outside with both dogs, they can't get out of the small yard.
My Daughter had a dog given to her that had been microchipped by three owners before. No one ever checked to see if she had a microchip.
Chances are if someone stole a dog they would not take it to a Vet. My Vet always scans dogs and cats, even puppies and kitties, not all do.

Yea, and people stealing dogs out of their own yards is epidemic. Perhaps when someone answers a Craigslist ad for a purebred dog....CHEAP... They will take their new , cheap pet to their vet...and find out the true owner!

I am NOT taking any chances on my pets...just in case! ( animal shelters , etc)

it just takes one incident to lose a pet, IMHO.

Sandy

I worked for the local humane society for 3 or 4 years and was told at that time there were 3 different chipping technology. Most vets would only be able to scan the chip by the machine they had chosen. I hope that makes sense.

Technology has changed over time, look at our sewing machines going out of date, but many of us have older dogs, do we know what machine was used? I sure don't.

When I was still breeding, I micro-chipped all my puppies before they left for their new homes and instructed the owners to re-register the chips to their names/address. This way even if the new owners fail to register, the chip can be traced back to my vet (and me).

Jingle .. I hope you reconsider chipping your small dog. As Sandy pointed out - dog napping is on the rise, especially small purebred dogs.

Most of the new scanners will pick up any microchip by any company. I posed that question to my vet on Monday. 2 of our dogs are chipped with Avid and 2 are with Home Again and they all scanned with my vet's scanner.

My vet scans my dog and cats at every visit. He told me the chips can work out of the skin so he checks. DH thinks I'm nuts for chipping our outside cats. We live with woods and creek all around us, no traffic, one way in and out so it's not like the cats are going anywhere. They are all boys, neutered, and never go far. It's cheap so why not.

good news indeed! It is about $45.00 to chip a pet here by the way, how about anywhere else?

It cost $60 Monday to chip Cooper. A couple of times a year, our local low cost spay & neuter clinic will offer them for $20

We bought a rescue Silky Terrier, who came microchipped - and she was 5 years old. The chip didn't work when scanned - so I gave up on that for both of my dogs. Since we never let them out of our sight while out, and we have a fenced backyard (with huge blocks at the bottom of the fencing to keep them in and other critters out), we're safe. They come in & out of their dog door as they like, and are very safe & happy in their home.

I micro chipped my guy when h e was neutered and have it checked when he has his PE.. He has the Avid chip, and I also have tags on him with his license, ID, and Avid number on the other.. He is walked on a leash. He is never let out alone.. Not taking any chances..

Oscar, the dog, came with a chip, I have no idea if our vet has checked it or not.

He and the cats also have tattoos. Sophie's tattoo brought her home to us when she was hit by a car. She survived the car accident.

I have not looked into having the cats chipped. I would consider it if we traveling away from home with them. Sophie does go camping with us, but only with in 3 hours of home.

I did recently hear of one dog where the chip had moved and the vet had to scan the lower leg to pick up the signal.

scanning for a microchip is one of the first things our local shelter does. If an animal is picked up by Animal Control, it is scanned in the field. Just today there was a story on the local news and the shelter's Facebook page where a woman and her cat were reunited after 5 years. The cat turned up at the shelter on Monday and they scanned it and contacted the owner. The woman was reunited with her now 10 yo cat! Unfortunately, sometimes when an animal is a stray, someone will find it and keep it without having it checked for a chip. In our city, if you find an animal but want to keep it until the owner is found, Animal Care will come out at no charge to check for a chip. The shelter will also do it free of charge and any emergency animal hospital and veterinary offices will do it too.

Microchipping has not caught on real well here it seems. We had our dachshund tattooed on the inside of her hind leg. We do not have a fenced yard but she has been taught the perimeters of our yard and our neighbors are amazed that she stays in our back yard without a fence. Most of the time one of us is watching but she knows she is to stay "here". We do have one neighbor that she especially likes and he is very good about not talking to her or urging her to leave the yard. I think she would go if he called her.

Th SPCA has a clinic once in a while that offers chipping for $25. I think you can also get a permanent liscence as part of that too. And the chips can migrate in the body, but I would think that if you have the vet check it once a year when you get your regular inoculation and checkup, you could double check to see if it was still in place...

I had my dog chipped when she was spayed. Since she was under, the vet said he put it deep in the muscle. There is no way it can migrate out and no one would be able to find it without scanning. I've thought about chipping my horse - just haven't gotten around to talking with the vet about it. I think the chips are a great idea although I've teased that if the dog is bad, you can't "lose" it!!! Calm down! I'm just kidding ;-)

i have done the same thing. When one of the dogs has been especially naughty, I tell them I would open the door and set them free but that darn microchip would bring them back!!! :D :p

This is good knowledge - I will have my cats checked on their visits to vet. You can't be too careful with our furbabies!

I have adopted pound babies (cats) and chips were included in the adoption fee. My vet would always check that the chip was there. If he had found that it was gone, I would have gone ahead and get my cat chipped if it were not, because even inside animals can end up outside. Some animals will figure out a way to get outside regardless of what barriers are in their way. :)

I have also heard that most vets now have the multi-chip scanners and can read all the brands.

Beware. I had a sheltie that never left the yard ever. Until one day I let him out to relieve himself and to my horror, he decided to chase a car he grabbed at a wheel and his head got run over just that quick. One minute we had a lovely dog and the next minute we were preparing to bury him. They can't be trusted. There are too many things out there to lure them into a dangerous situation.

OMG!! You poor thing!!! Yep, it just takes one time...sadly.
sandy

$24 here in Oregon.

Our county put into law a year ago on Jan. 1 that all dogs have to be chipped. I called my vet and was told that they wouldn't require it until it was time for the next shots, which I have since done. It costs $40 here.

A friend works in a vet's office. She pointed out that animals with microchips are not put down at most shelters as they really try to locate the owners. After some of the nation's disasters pets were returned to those owners who they were able to reach due to the microchips We had it done to our pet.

We have microchipped our indoor only cat. She has gotten out once thru the garage. Luckily we found her 3 doors down under a neighbors boat trailer. It was a scary moment but hopefully if they had caught her they would have taken her to the vet.

Funny, I had the same thing happen...my oldest dog's chip stopped scanning recently (she's almost 13 and was chipped when she was about 2). We opted against re-chipping her though; she's an old lady who never leaves home and nobody is going to steal a giant, elderly, half-blind mutt. My two younger dogs are much smaller (and are also rescued mutts) and their chips are working fine. They were all chipped by Home Again.

Well, never thought about having the microchip checked. When we adopted Nibbs, we changed the microchip info with the company, but I never thought about checking to make sure it's actually there! Thanks for letting us know.

I have my dogs microchipped. Freya was spayed at the same time my older dog was being spayed to keep her subdued as she was only 6 months. Both were fine after the ops. During the operation they chipped Freya after the insertion and could not find the chip they tried a second again thought it was unusual to have 2 faulty chips so number three worked. Each time she goes for her yearly injection they check them.they scan her all over but still only find one.

The vet was amazed I hey kept disappearing
.

Anyone thinking about not having a chip might want to think about more than theft. You never know when a disaster can strike when you are not around. It is a way that you can be reunited with your pet should something happen. No part of the country is exempt from some sort of disaster and you need to protect your animals.

WE have our beloved Avatar chipped and the foster cat we are watching (maine coon) chipped; it just takes one clap of thunder and they run. So it was our way of making sure the furbabies were safe.
Good to see you Auntpiggylpn again !!!

I also had my dog tatooed. She was a show dog but I did the tatooing because if someone picks her up or steels her and tries to sell her to a testing lab, if she has a tatoo, then they can't use her for any type of testing. It only cost me 25 way back when but I felt it was worth it. The chip in my little American Eskimo helped last yr when she got out and got lost for 2 days. I called animal control and they said first of all the rarely get the orginal ones (little ones) so that narrowed down the search for the right owner if they found her plus I had the chip in. She was so scared after being away from home for 2 days, it was cold and rainy, she hates the rain. She was so scared that it took them awhile of trying to play with her to get close enough to scan her. It was such a relief when I got her back. By the way, she won't step foot outside of our yard now and when doesn't want to come in all I have to do is act like I'm closing the door and she comes running in. She learned her lesson about the big scary world.

Last year, I found 2 beautiful purebred male cocker spaniels puppies alongside the road in a truly rural area. They were filthy, starving and covered with burrs & fleas. I picked them up, not wanting them to get hit, and took them along to my vet. They were scanned by at least 3 vet techs and both vets and they were not chipped. I called and went everywhere trying to find the owner(s) and no one claimed them. So after a month of living with 3 cats, 1 6 yr old shepherd and 3 puppies about 4 - 6 months of age, the vet's aunt adopted the puppies. They are living the life of Riley now and happily adjusted and my sanity returned too. Long story short, had they been chipped the dogs would have been reunited with their people but no one even looked for them, that I'm aware of, and they are living a good life with a woman who devotes her life to them.

So yes, my critters are chipped and I will have my vet check the chips on their next visits.