Micro Chip Your Pet?

[Deborah McEnery]

If you have kids and pets, microchipping your pet could pay off bigtime. .Also it speaks volumes about adopting a pet A Shar-Pei Mix was adopted by a family. Their 3 year old daughter left the house - (this was unknown to everyone except the dog). He faithfully stayed with the little girl..A passing motorist stopped and got the girl and called police, another person took the dog to the local animal shelter. He was scanned for a chip..The chip led police to his previous owner..Who took them to the little girl's house. All were reunited..And the Dog is a real hero, had he not stayed right with her, and been chipped the ending may not have been this happy.

[bams481]

Yes, I heard this story on the news

[Kimberly Zittlow]

I have 3 shelter rescue dogs, and they are all 3 microchipped. 2 out of the 3 microchips have traveled to other parts of my dog's bodies since "installation". One of the chips is now located in my dog's elbow, and the other one is now lodged in my dog's shoulder.

Unless the person who is scanning my dog's KNOWS that the chips have traveled away from their neck, or they take the time to search for the chips on other parts of their bodies....they will never know that my dogs are microchipped. My vet only looked elsewhere because I told him that my dogs are indeed microchipped. Had my dog been taken to a shelter for any reason, it probably wouldn't have been found.

In my opinion, the jury is still out whether microchipping is really worth it. I still think that a good old collar with an engraved tag is a better option.

[Deborah McEnery]

Oh, I am so sorry..I didn't think they could move. Can they be removed? That must be painful for your pup to have it on the elbow. We think perhaps Jinger was a black market Euraiser, and they cut her chip out..(she has a scar)Later they dumped her because she wasn't mean, and wouldn't fight. She had self esteem problems for a little while..Until she discovered she is THE PRINCESS...The Lovely Jinn Jinn - aka Jinger..

[Kimberly Zittlow]

I know, I didn't think that they moved around either. But, 2 out of 3 microchips is pretty bad odds. It doesn't bother him in his elbow, thankfully. My other dog has it lodged in his shoulder, and it doesn't bother him either. My vet doesn't see any reason to remove them, so we'll just leave them alone. It is discouraging though...Its a great idea, but with the chips moving around, most shelters and vets won't take the time to scan a dog's entire body looking for the chip. I'm afraid that they'll simply scan their neck, and when they don't find it they'll assume that he doesn't have it.

I keep keep customized leather collars on all 3 dogs with engraved silver "plates" riveted to the leather for identification. It seems to be more reliable. I suppose that I inadvertently uncovered a problem with micro chipping.

I'm sorry to hear about your Jinger, how horrible that somebody dug out the micro chip! What a horrible ordeal she must have gone through before she came into your life.

[Deborah McEnery]

She had it rough, but she's fine now. We didn't discover the scar until the first time we got her groomed. It was near the top of her right shoulder, within a couple of inches of where they normally put the chips. It's all but disappeared now.

Just be aware to frequently check the overall condition of the leather collars, they can snap and then the tags are lost. I really like those woven ones that are like the horse halters. They last a long time. But, even if that did happen, chances are they would still find the chip. Our vet scanned all of Jinger when we asked. Because we found her and wanted to find her owners. She was clean, scared and hungry, we suspected she had been dumped because at 5months she was about to go into heat. Or maybe she had just eaten the couch..You know all the things puppies do..She ate dog beds until she was 2yrs old. Still today she is a paper shredder..Man don't leave paper where she can get it.

[Vicki Martinez]

I am personally a believer in the microchips and here is why: My first Rottie was stolen from my back yard and a buddy of mine spotted her in a back yard so we called the mobile vet and the sheriff's dept as soon as I knew it was Rogue. The girl came out and gave me some b.s. story that she got the dog as a gift from her boyfriend so the Sheriff kindly informed her that the dog was stolen and she would NOT be keeping her and SHE got mad. It kind of made me laugh that this chick STEALS MY DOG and then gets pissy when I PROVE its my dog and take her home. Incindently she was charged with theft and spent 6 months in jail for taking the dog. My neighbors described her, her car and gave a license plate too so she was pretty much s.o.l. on the whole deal. I also had the opportunity to save a stolen dog once while working at a vet clinic. In my opinion if you want your pet back its the best way.

[bams481]

I agree, for pets its great. I believe that when an SPCA picks up a dog in the streets, this is the first thing they look for.

[Andrea Olson]

Our humane society offers microchipping for $25 and I'm glad I had maggie chipped - I was sitting outside this afternoon and she somehow got screen door open and came waltzing out