When You Need to Show Your ID

I was reading a report about a tragic accident that resulted in the death of a small kitten after a microchip was implanted in her. It sounds like the kitten was extra wiggly, she jumped or something and the microchip somehow ended up inside her spinal column. What a terrible fluke-you couldn't hit that area if you tried. This happened quite awhile ago; so many microchips have been implanted before and since, making me hopeful that the incident won't discourage people from having their pets chipped.

Permanent identification for pets isn't a new idea. Collars and tags just don't reliably stay on pets and can be removed easily by anyone intending to steal an animal. Skin tattoos were once very popular, particularly among pedigreed dogs, but because of the availability of microchips and the difficulty of tampering with them, tattoos aren't seen much anymore. Besides, it took special training to "read" tattoos, so their use for getting lost animals back to original owners was very limited. In the livestock industry, tattoos and plastic and metal ear tags are used routinely for fairly permanent identification of individual animals. These can be simple numbers for ID or proof of vaccination, testing, etc. The tags can get lost, rubbed off, etc., but are still the standard. Pig or hog producers use ear notching, actually cutting small wedges of tissue from the margins of the pinna (ear flaps) to identify birth dates, sire or dam, and other information important to the producer or farm. We may do something similar in feral cats when they are trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated and then released again-basically unadoptable "wild" cats. The ear-cropping will serve as a sign that this cat has already been dealt with if it is ever trapped again, but we really don't use this method in our "owned" pets for obvious reasons.

Microchips really gained popularity in the 90's, and millions of pets have been permanently identified this way. I even have my horse, Raquel and my donkey, Jesse microchipped! People often chip their large, valuable birds. The two largest companies, AVID and Home Again, get thousands of calls a day to track down lost pets. The chip itself is not a part of a GPS system-it doesn't tell us the pet's location. At approximately the size of a grain of rice, it basically holds a number, like a bar code, and sometimes the manufacturer information. Not all microchips can be "read" by other company's readers, a huge problem when owners assume their pets are protected, only to find, hopefully before the time it is needed, that their pet's chip isn't universally readable. When I know a pet has a microchip, I like to do a quick scan at the annual exam to ensure it is still in place and is reading just fine with our "universal" reader. Even being universal, we know there are some chips, particularly those implanted in Europe, that we can't pick up with it and we recommend that the pet gets another chip placed. Most shelters have true universal readers.

If a "good Samaratin" brings in an animal they have found, the first thing we do is scan it for a microchip. In dogs and cats, chips are universally implanted on the back of the neck under the skin. Chips have been known to migrate somewhat, so we scan in an arc over the front end of the pet-up one front leg, across the shoulders, and down the other front leg. We assume those checking animals at shelters are just as careful and thorough. If a number is found, we check our system to see if we sold the chip. If it isn't one of ours, we identify the manufacturer and call them. Owners who have their pet implanted are supposed to register the number with the company directly so they can now be identified and contacted. This step does get missed frequently, though. There is still a good chance of finding the owner, however. The manufacturer can tell us who sold that particular microchip, usually a veterinarian, breeder or pet store. A call to them will then identify who owned the pet at the time of the chip placement. If the pet was sold or given away after that, or if the owner has moved or changed contact information and not kept it current, finding them gets a bit trickier, (but at least it is a start.)

Most veterinarians have numerous stories of reunited lost pets with frantic owners, and microchips are a huge reason these stories end up having happy endings a lot of the time. They are simple to administer, kind of like getting a vaccination but with a bigger needle. Yes, it hurts a bit, and we like to do them when a pet is asleep for their spay or neuter, but there is no reason it can't be done awake. If your pet has never been chipped, get it done right away. Don't wait for the worst to happen and only think about this when your pet goes missing. If they have been chipped, are you sure you have the number registered with the manufacturer? Be sure your contact information is current-it doesn't usually cost anything to update information when you move or if you sell or give away a pet. Registration or enrollment is for the lifetime of a pet. Next time your pet is at the veterinarian's for a visit, have them scanned to check the placement of the chip-just to be sure.

Here are the web pages of the two most common providers:

AVID

HOME AGAIN

Hopefully you will never experience the fear that comes from being separated from your pet. Not knowing if they are sick or injured, running scared, lost, unable to get back home to you for whatever reason. Microchips aren't the perfect answer, but they sure go a long way to providing some measure of assurance you are doing the best you can for your pet's safety. OK, Maybe no one will want to steal my donkey, Jesse-he really is an ass!-but he is chipped just like the rest of my critters and that makes me feel better.

Peace,
DrReneigh