Okay, I stand corrected: GREYHOUND ear tattoos are the ones I was talking about - special tool puncturing holes and rubbing dye into the holes. I watched a little video on how people do contemporary identification tattoos on a dog, and it's actually very similar to human tattoos. *shrugs* I think the greyhound ear tats are quicker and less painful in that sense.

And, the microchip needle is HUGE. I don't know what company you (in Canada) use, but both HomeAgain and ResQ have huge needles. After the microchip is inserted, you have to hold the flap of skin shut to avoid letting the microchip slip back out. My dogs didn't have a problem with it, but I've seen other dogs/cats who have. I do think a lot of it has to do with the individual animal's pain tolerance.