Get your pets a microchip

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/lake/chi-06121...

A fetching finish for a 2-year mystery

Dog lost in Florida turns up in Illinois

By Charles Sheehan
Tribune staff reporter
Published December 15, 2006


Alice Baines could not find him on the block. She could not find him near the dock. She could not find him here nor there. She could not find him anywhere.

But two years after a hurricane blew down a back-yard fence in Florida and set free a golden retriever named Sam-I-Am, the wayward pooch was found in McHenry County. snip

Though few animal owners take advantage of relatively cheap microchip technology, veterinarians in McHenry County do a routine scan of all dogs brought to the shelter, said Dr. Edin Mehanovic, the animal control administrator.

McHenry County officials called the veterinarian who had placed the chip in Sam-I-Am when he was a puppy, whose office Baines said she had been calling on and off since the hurricane.

"I just kept checking and yesterday around 5 o'clock, they called and said, `We got a call from Illinois and we have a chip match,'" Baines said. "They said, `It's him, it's got to be him.'" snip

Microchip costs $40

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

1. Pretty Cool Stuff.

I'm glad this worked out for them.

[jgraz]

2. I keep meaning to do this for my conure

Then I see the size of the chip compared to my little guy and I chicken out (no pun intended). Dog and cat owners should definitely consider it. I'm wondering if anyone has had experience with chipping small-ish parrots?

[wtmusic]

6. It's about the size of a grain of rice

that's still too big?

[jgraz]

9. I've seen it -- it always looks much bigger when I imagine it in my bird

I'm going to get it done on the next vet visit, though. Apparently they've been used for years in birds smaller than mine with no ill effects.

It just looks SO DAMN BIG.

[catchnrelease]

20. Yes

At work we routinely put transponders (microchips) in all species and sizes of birds. Some as small as budgies. It definitely makes you cringe when you see it put in, but mainly because the needle that "injects" the chip seems so big. Problems from doing this aren't common, but do happen. Once in a while the chip will work it's way out of the bird if it is put in too close to the skin. But having that chip info has sorted out individuals with missing or incorrect leg bands more than once.

I made sure that our new dog has one. I know of some vet practices that do check for chips as a matter of routine exams. (All that's involved is to pass a "wand" around the animal and if there is a chip implanted, the wand beeps and shows the number of the chip. It's not even necessary to touch the animal.)

[TomInTib]

3. Both our dog and cat have one. nt

[NNN0LHI]

5. Both dogs and the cat have them here. Tattooed too. Yep

Don't want to lose my babies.

Don

[CountAllVotes]

4. The kitten I adopted from the shelter came w/one

All I had to do was register it online with the company for $18.00. It is good all over the USA.

I plan to get a collar with a place to write the name/address on too soon just to be extra safe. I'd feel awful if she ran away or got lost and the idea of checking for a microchip didn't occur to whoever might find the kitten.

[seemunkee]

7. The new pup got his on Monday

Thats pretty amazing they found him

[Bozita]

8. Shelters around here charge $25. My vet charged me $70.

Then I had to mail in a registration "fee" of about $20.

I shoulda got it at the shelter.

[GliderGuider]

10. My brother-in-law was reunited with his cat after four months because it was chipped.

The cat went outside after they moved, and got lost. Shortly afterwards it was hit by a car, and its hip and one hind leg were very badly damaged. It kept itself alive for three months by eating whatever it could find, including bugs and bread crumbs people put out for birds. Finally a woman picked it up and took it to a vet where they checked for a chip and traced my brother in law.

He figured the cat had done its part to stay alive, so he ponied up $3000 for the surgery and other treatment it needed. It's now a happy cat that doesn't go out any more.

Chip your pets, folks. Ah, and keep your cats indoors if they're not leashed.

[China_cat]

11. Our SPCA will chip your dog (or cat) for $15

and the animal doesn't have to come from them.

[xultar]

12. OK...dog lost in Florida found in IL. Hummmm.....

[librechik]

13. I've had pets returned due to the chip

it is definitely worth it.

[sinkingfeeling]

14. Yes, but my dogs must have the 'chip' used in the EU.

[Holly_Hobby]

15. I recently rescued a puppy

I took him to my vet and asked about a chip. He said there are studies being published showing cancerous tumors forming around the chips in cats. If your cat is chipped, check the site often for a lump. If your pets haven't been chipped, I would wait until the studies are mainstream.

[cali]

16. My dog is 19 years old.

Yes, she still likes to run and despite cataracts and deafness, she's in great shape, but I think it's a little late to be getting her a microchip. Any future dog I get, will indeed have one, particularly as I've never used a leash on my dog, just let her out.

[wicket]

24. 19 years?

Wow, that's impressive What kind of dog is she?

[welshTerrier2]

17. shelters scan but not vets

i asked my vet about the microchip when my pup was a pup ... specifically, i asked whether he and other vets routinely scan dogs and cats that are brought in for medical visits or treatments ... he said they never do it ... at least that was his impression of vets in my area ...

the microchip is a great idea ... it might help if your pet gets lost and winds up at a shelter ... unfortunately, the veterinary community could be doing far more to make the program really worthwhile ... if someone "takes in" your pet, chances are the chip isn't going to help very much ...

what we need is a real campaign by pet owners to wake up the veterinary community and get them to routinely scan all their patients ...

[soothsayer]

18. First yer pets, then yer kids, then YOU! Big brutha is gonna win.

[Jcrowley]

19. Never

We'll make great pets.

[Lisa0825]

21. Be sure to ask about UNIVERSAL chips/scanners!

This technology is used internationally, and the US needs to adopt it as well. The well-being of the pet should be the first consideration, not sabotaging rescue efforts for the sake of profits.

Here is a post I made in the Pets forum this summer:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

My understanding of the situation is this, but this is just based on what our shelter uses... Crystal Tag has been fighting for use of universal chips and scanners, like used in Europe, so that any animal's chip can be read by any scanner. Avid has used encrypted chips so that only their scanners could read their chips, and I think their scanners only read their chips too, but recently Home Again came out with one that would read their encrypted chips! I think it used to be the same with Home Again, but apparently their new scanners and chips are starting to read/be read by others. Wydell explained it this way when a friend of mine asked what to get:

Avid cannot read a universal (ISO) chip-they are the (expletive deleted)s. Home Again's new scanners can read ISO and Avids encrypted chips. Our scanner (Crystal Tag) can read all chips. If she is that worried about it, just tell her to chip her dog with ours and Home Again until these folks are ordered by law to knock it off. That covers all bases.

There have been lawsuits over this because Avid (and possibly others) have claimed infringement on their proprietary chip, but the bottom line should be what is the best way to find a lost pet. So far the concept of Universal chips/readers has been winning, and hopefully it will be the rule soon. In the meantime, I would at the very least stay away from Avid.

[americanstranger]

22. 3 out of 4 of our pets are chipped.

The fourth is a new kitten - and she'll get her chip in 2 or 3 weeks.

If our guys go lost, we want to be able to find 'em.

- as

[fudge stripe cookays]

23. Fargo broke off his leash once or twice...

when we first got him, and we ended up chasing him all over the neighborhood! Pyrs are used to patrolling a pretty large space of ground to protect their flock, so he thought he was gonna play free range dog for awhile.

We got him a choke collar, AND got him chipped. Gives me some piece of mind. How could I stand to lose this baby?

[The2ndWheel]

25. Completely rational

That's why we'll all have them at some point. Completely rational.