To Chip or Not to Chip

I was told by Animal Services when I got Tess's license that I should Micro Chip her. Is there any disadvantage of doing this. Do these chips cause any heath problems etc. They told be to have the veterinarian do it ASAP since small dogs like Chihuahua's are often stolen. I can't see that ever happening since she's not out of my sight when I'm with her, but God forebid if someone robbed my place and decided to take her, that would be the only time the chip would come in handy. What do you Pet Talk people think?????

I haven't heard of any adverse health problems with the microchip. In New York, at least in my county, all animals adopted from any shelters are neutered/spayed and microchipped. I have not seen any problems with it at all, not even any lumps, bumps or soreness where it was put in....But Duncan is much bigger than Tess also.
The biggest problem I have heard of with the microchip is that many vets and shelters do not have the technology to scan the dog. He does have a tag on his collar but if he was stolen, I'm sure the thieves would take that off immediately. I keep Duncan's collar on him all the time except when he is in his crate so I guess it would be useful if there was a fire or something and he escaped and I didn't. Also, if he was with me in the car and there was an accident... The company his chip is through has a next of kin form in case something happens to me, he will not go directly to the pound but instead to my family. If it's not expensive, it can't hurt right?

Jenn - that's my concern the lump or the bump. The little gal's fur is so short that I'm afraid it would be noticable under the skin.
The vet will charge 30 bucks or so to put one in.

I too have not heard and chip-related health problems. Drake got been microchipped when he was 4 months old. Heaven forbid he gets lost (I don't think anyone could steal him), I can at least have away of possibly locating him. But just like Duncan, Draker is a big boy and didn't suffer from any lumps, bumps, scars, etc...

Talk with your vet if you have any concerns. But I think it is a wise decision and a good precaution for a small price.

Purrley,
I did it with both of my girls, but they are quite large and they didn't even flinch. The chip itself is about the size of a grain of rice, so you definitely won't be able to see it. It is placed right at the scruff of the neck, sort of between the shoulder blades, if I remember correctly. I think $30 is very reasonable too because I paid $50 per dog to have mine done. I have not chosen to have the cats microchipped. Mimi stays so close to home, and Butter.....well, who would want him? :p I'm teasing about that last part, but I don't think there is any chance of people stealing my cats.
Our chips are AVID. I know there are others out there too. Maybe you can do some research through "Ask Jeeves" and get some answers that way. If you feel comfortable about it, after speaking with your vet, and researching a bit, I think I'd do it. Just in case.....
Logan

We sold all of our puppies to homes with a spay/nueter and microchip contract. All the pups are required to be chipped no later than 6 months and earlier if possible.

The reasoning behind this is two fold.

1. If your dog is lost and they are found and taken to a kill shelter, with no identification the dog can be exterminated within 24 hours. If they have a chip then the owner can be contacted. This is just my state. I don't know about other states.

2. If someone steals your dog and you discover who and you go to court to try and get the dog back, you better have a way of proving the dog is yours.

The microchip is soooooo small that even the tinest dog can be chipped with no ill effects. The only thing I have ever heard of concerning the chip is that sometimes it floats and doesn't stay in the spot that it was injected into. In these cases sometimes the dog needs to be rechipped. This usually happens if the dog is still in a major growing period when the chip is initially installed but these cases are so infrequent that they are not even really worth worrying about.

Thanks for all the advise - I think I'll definately micro chip her. I don't know why, but I had the chip envisioned as being much bigger than a grain of rice. Think I'll have the vet insert one at the time I have her spayed. Thanks again!!!

Purrley, Here is a website that I found on Google.com. It contains truths/myths about microchipping.


Myths & Truths on Microchipping

That is so informative, Souraya, and says exactly what I was trying to say!! Good for you, Purrley and Tess!! Its just one more safeguard that won't hurt, and hopefully, you'll never need it, but just in case.....its a good safeguard. :)

Thank you so much Souraya - everyone is so helpful - what a super site!!!!!

My little 8 lb boy is microchipped :) No problems, no worries. Now I know if ANYTHING at all happened at he ended up at Town Lake, the kill shelter, they'd call me instead of put him down. Of course I'm sure dozens of people would try to snatch him up before he would be put down.

Hmm, I just re-read this. I don't think Reece is an eight pounder anymore. He was 7 lbs when I first adopted him. He was skin and bones. My mom told me the other day she didn't think he'd live when she first saw him because he was so skinny and depressed. He wouldn't do anything, just sort of sit there in my arms with his head drooped. Now he's got some meat on his bones and is nonstop energy :) Opps, got off topic. Sorry!! I'm so bad at that.

I got LD microchipped when I had him neutered. The price was cheaper at my vet's if you had it done while they were doing surgery. Since he was a stray, I felt it would be in my best interest to have him chipped. And it does prove ownership. There is a story on my chip that the man who started this company lost his dog who was chipped. When the dog was found and taken to the pound, six people went to claim him, but since he was chipped, ownership was proved and the real owner got him back. Had he not been chipped, one of the other six people might have gotten him.

I think I'm going to chip my cats too because they don't wear collars or tags since they're indoor cats, but I once lost a cat (Cocoa - called her Coca-Cola too) because a man who was working at my house left the front door open. My cat did come back on her own after two months (how I will never know since she'd never been outside before), but I don't want to ever go through that again.

You might want to read about Jasper who was lost and how he came home.
Jasper

It's a great story. We miss Jasper's Mom. She hasn't posted to PetTalk since August.

I've got a question....

If you get your pet chipped and then you change your address or your phone number, or move to another state, can the chip's contact info be updated easily? Or would the pet need to be re-chipped and all the contact info entered under the new chip ID number? (We may be moving to another state soon, so this is especially relevant for K & E, who haven't been chipped yet.)

I have AVID (I think that's it) and you just send in a form with the changes and pay a $6 fee for making the changes. That's it.

You can change it with any microchip company I think. We have forms at the shelter we give people who adopt pets already microchipped. They just fill out the form and send it in.

I didn't know Jasper's mom hasn't posted in that long :( Jasper's story was an emotional, heart warming story. I miss hearing from her.

Thanks for the info, pepper and aly! Now there's no reason for us NOT to get the dawgs chipped...:)

We have moved once since Drake got chipped. We got the form from the vet, updated the info, and sent it in.

Easy as that!

Tucker had been picked up as a stray, held at a shelter and originally adopted by a coworker of my husband. We got him after the other family decided not to keep him (I think they had him about a month). He had a chip from the shelter. When I called to shelter to ask about changing the information for the chip, they said that they would change it on their records. I'm not really comfortable with that now that I think about it. AVID would call the shelter and then the shelter would have to get in touch with me. One too many steps in that process. I'm going to see what I can do about getting that sorted out. The one that would be the one to more likely run off and get lost is Hannah who does not have a chip. When she goes in to get her heart worm tests this spring, that will be on the to do list.

Cookie was chipped when she was still living with the breeder and was 7 weeks old. It's so small that I can only feel it if I really search for it. It was painless for the pups when they got it implanted.
In Germany you get a tag to attach to the collar. If someone finds your dog, they can call the number on it and tell the dogs registration number which is on it too. And they do the rest. The dog is not registrated somewhere else, only at the chip company.

We're chipping our cats as well when they get their vaccs this summer. So much better that the tattoes they have in their ears (was already done by the shelter). In Germany animals remain the possesion of the animal shelter after adoption, so we'll have to registrate them on behalve of the rescue organisation.

I had Cassy and Sassy chipped while they were nuetered (at 4 months). Athough their shoulders were tender, I couldn't tell that the chip was there and wondered a bit. (Boy, I'm over sceptical sometimes...) Several months later Cassy had to be x-rayed due to an emergency and I was pleasantly surprised to see how clearly his little chip appeared in the x-ray.

I am very relieved to say that although all three fur-babies have chips, they haven't been needed to date to identify them. But it is realitively inexpensive peace of mind having them.

[Reminder to self: I must let AVID know that Sassy has gone to RB...]

Daisy and Perry have both been microchipped, no problems at all. I would like to say if anyone is retired Military or in the Military and there are Army vets available you can get them microchipped at the military installation. We had them both done there.
Jackie