Microchip Dilemma | Pets and Animals

By JohnBear
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More than 10 million pets are lost each year and losing a pet is one of the hardest events an individual has to face. An unsuccessful search can indeed be very heartbreaking, but as an owner, have you heard of a new method that can bring your lost family pet back home?

The option of microchipping has been considered the most effective way of tracking down lost pets. The procedure is done by most veterinarians today with a hypodermic needle. This hypodermic needle contains a small microchip that contains your pet's permanent identification number. This identification number is entered into a data bank - national or local depending on the brand - and lists the pet's name, owner's name, address, and phone number.

You can choose to have a microchip inserted in your pet by Veterinarians or an animal shelter personnel. It is much cheaper to have this procedure done in animal shelters than vet clinics. The chip is slightly larger than a grain of uncooked rice and the process is quick and painless.

There are three companies that dominate the US market for pet microchips- AVID, HomeAgain and 24PetWatch The microchip manufacturer keep the chip numbers that you have purchased and all the necessary information in their databases to be able to traced you in the event that your pet gets lost.

The microchip implanted under the pet's skin reflects the low-frequency radio waves given by the scanner. The unique alphanumeric code is then retrieved, decoded, and displayed in the scanner readout window when the animal is scanned. Scanners can be handheld that have a reading range of about 3 inches and some are larger and more powerful that have reading ranges that vary from 6 to 20 inches.

When a lost pet is found by an animal control officer or is taken to an animal shelter or humane society, the professionals there will scan the animal using a handheld scanner, which will let them know if a microchip has been implanted. If there is indeed an implanted chip, the scanner will read the number and the shelter staff member can call the appropriate registry for the identity of the owner.

If you are living or traveling throughout Europe and other countries except China (it requires a 9-digit chip), a 15-digit microchip made according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards 11784 and 11785 is required when importing an animal, as a proof that the animal and the vaccination record belong together.

Though long-term research has been conducted and has shown that using microchips to track your pet is completely safe, there are still some owners who are against it. One issue reported that these microchips are the cause of Fibro Sarcomas in the animals that have been implanted.

But this doesn't really hamper dog and cat owners to have their pets microchipped. These electronic IDs offer a number of physical advantages over external tags. They are considered remarkably more reliable. The process is even quick and painless, similar to receiving a vaccination. The chip is permanent and can never be lost. The pet's identification number is unique in the world and the database can have the pet's pertinent history.

Microchips provide an important extra level of protection for you and your pets in the event that your worst nightmare happens- your pet gets lost. But before you do anything drastic or something you might regret later, weigh your options first.

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