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raindove's avatar
raindove
Explorer
Jul 29, 2015

Microchips

There was a recent thread talking about having ID on pets. People finding dogs sometimes remove a collar and will just keep a dog.
There's more out there than you think. I've seen it many, many times over the years, while doing rescue.

I've always used AVID microchips in all the rescues and my personal dogs. I paid to register the AVID chips in my name, and had no further fees after the initial registration.

I recently got a rescue, and he has two microchips. The breeder had a Home Again chip in him. Years later, he was in a shelter and they chipped him the second time with a 24 Pet Watch chip.

When I went to change ownership information --
Home Again charged me nothing to change the information.
They did suggest that I buy an $8 tag with his number on it because that did not come with him, but it was not required.

But the 24 Pet Watch that the shelter used -- charged me $18.95 for one year or $59.95 for a lifetime. I asked if they will contact me after one year, if I don't renew. I got a mealy mouthed response that they would try to contact me with the information they had. Did not leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling.

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  • dturm's avatar
    dturm
    Moderator
    Jul 29, 2015
    Q: What are some of the problems associated with microchips? How common are they?
    A: The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) maintains a database of adverse reactions to microchips. Since the database was started in 1996, over 4 million animals have been microchipped and only 391 adverse reactions have been reported. Of these reactions, migration of the microchip from its original implantation site is the most common problem reported. Other problems, such as failure of the microchip, hair loss, infection, swelling, and tumor formation, were reported in much lower numbers. For a chart summarizing the BSAVA reports, read the AVMA's literature review on Microchipping of Animals.

    Q: I've heard lately that microchips cause cancer. Do they?
    A: There have been reports that mice and rats developed cancer associated with implanted microchips. However, the majority of these mice and rats were being used for cancer studies when the tumors were found, and the rat and mice strains used in the studies are known to be more likely to develop cancer. Tumors associated with microchips in two dogs and two cats have been reported, but in at least one dog and one cat the tumor could not be directly linked to the microchip itself (and may have been caused by something else). For more details on the studies, read the AVMA's literature review on Microchipping of Animals.

    Q: I don't want my pet to get cancer. Should I have my pet's microchip removed?
    A: We do not recommend that you have your pet's microchip removed, for two reasons. First, based on our review of the studies, the risk that your animal will develop cancer due to its microchip is very, very low, and is far outweighed by the improved likelihood that you will get your animal back if it becomes lost. Second, although implanting a microchip is a very simple and quick procedure, removing one is more involved and may require general anesthesia and surgery.


    Current thinking now is that any insult to tissue (injection, bite, repeated trauma, etc.) causes the release of substances that in some individuals (very, very small percentage) may set up the circumstances where specific types of tumors could develop. There seems to be a familial (genetic) tendency. This is thought to be the mechanism where vaccine induced sarcomas develop in some cats.

    There are ongoing investigations to try to pin down the exact mechanism, but the chances of developing cancer from an RFID chip are just about nil. Much greater chance of getting away, lost and no ID without the chip.
  • GMandJM's avatar
    GMandJM
    Explorer
    Jul 29, 2015
    Relieved to hear that! Are there any CREDIBLE studies/journals/papers on line anywhere that you know of?
  • dturm's avatar
    dturm
    Moderator
    Jul 29, 2015
    GMandJM wrote:
    Actually there have been reports of injection-site carcinoma (Founded or not? Obviously you'd know more about that.) Just saying...that could be one reason someone would want to unchip a pet.

    But generally I agree with you that removal has more potential for harm than good. Thanks for bringing that up.


    Totally UNFOUNDED by multiple studies.
  • GMandJM's avatar
    GMandJM
    Explorer
    Jul 29, 2015
    Actually there have been reports of injection-site carcinoma (Founded or not? Obviously you'd know more about that.) Just saying...that could be one reason someone would want to unchip a pet.

    But generally I agree with you that removal has more potential for harm than good. Thanks for bringing that up.
  • dturm's avatar
    dturm
    Moderator
    Jul 29, 2015
    WyoTraveler wrote:
    JMHO. If the pet was mine I would have a vet remove the pound chip. We have a home again chip. The chip is only as good as how the pet was lost. Since people stealing pets could remove the chip. Our only hope is honest people find the pet.We bought a high quality tag with our phone # and home again phone #


    Seems like it would be easy to remove, but unless there was an overwhelming reason, I'd never agree to do it. Having to retrieve bullets (for forensic reasons) or finding an object in a body is NEVER as easy as the movies and old cowboy shows seem to portray. You end up causing harm, tissue trauma, possibly introduce infection and cause PAIN. Just not an ethical procedure for any vet to do.

    Doug, DVM
  • GMandJM's avatar
    GMandJM
    Explorer
    Jul 29, 2015
    One problem with pet ID chips is that there isn't a fully-centralized database yet, or at least there wasn't last year when we got adopted by a cat that was pre-chipped by a rescue.

    When you take a pet to a vet or place that has a chip reader, all they get is a number. They can't tell if it's an AVID chip or a Pet Watch or SOB (although by the number they might be able to venture a guess.) Information isn't cross-referenced, so the vet tech or whomever has to check multiple vendor databases.

    Having a chip is better than NOT having one. I just wish there was some sort of way to have all the information available from one source.

    (Funny note: When you try to type "Pe****ch" without the space in between the words, the RV.net editor thinks you're typing a naughty word. How funny.)
  • CA_POPPY's avatar
    CA_POPPY
    Explorer
    Jul 29, 2015
    There are so many heartwarming stories on the news about pets that came home, thanks to a microchip, sometimes many years later. Recently there was one that the thief had taken the trouble to dye its coat! Apparently, some crematoriums also report the animal as deceased as I've seen that on some of our past dogs' Avid files.
  • WyoTraveler's avatar
    WyoTraveler
    Explorer
    Jul 29, 2015
    JMHO. If the pet was mine I would have a vet remove the pound chip. We have a home again chip. The chip is only as good as how the pet was lost. Since people stealing pets could remove the chip. Our only hope is honest people find the pet.We bought a high quality tag with our phone # and home again phone #
  • DutchmenSport's avatar
    DutchmenSport
    Explorer
    Jul 29, 2015
    We had a dog once we got from the animal shelter. Appeared to be a sweet dog (in the shelter). Got it home ... and what a creature! Emotionally co-dependent! and a terror if left alone. (which we had to do because of work).

    The pooch escaped on us SEVERAL times! Each time, I said, .... "Finally we got rid of the dog!" But my wife really loved the dog. I did not "love" him at all...

    Well, that darn chip in him! We never could get rid of him! He always came back! Always!

    FYI, we kept him till he died. He did have a good home, and when he went blind, he didn't attempt to run off any more!

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