Q: Recently, there has been a lot of news about microchip
identification for pets. Are microchips really that much better
than name tags on a collar? How do they work and why are they
suddenly so popular? I bet they are expensive.
Q: Recently, there has been a lot of news about microchip identification for pets. Are microchips really that much better than name tags on a collar? How do they work and why are they suddenly so popular? I bet they are expensive.
A: Lost dogs and cats often end up at one of several animal shelters in the area. Shelters try to find the original owner and reunite the pet with its family. But all too often, they are unsuccessful. Any unnamed and unclaimed pet is held for five days in hopes that the owner will call. But after this waiting period, the dog or cat can be put up for adoption. So let’s say you leave town for a week or two and one of your pets gets out of the yard. If your pet is unidentified and no one goes in to claim him, he could end up in a new home or worse, euthanized.
Pets with identification are lucky. Their owners get immediate notification if they end up at the shelter. These dogs and cats get to return home quickly. So as you can see, some kind of identification is imperative to assure the safe return of your pet if he escapes your yard. There is a recent story about a runaway dog in Silicon Valley that is a terrific example of how important good identification can be.
Nikki, a cute Golden Retriever escaped from her yard. She ended up at the Humane Society shelter in Santa Clara. She had no identification when she was brought into the shelter, so she was kept for the mandatory waiting period before she was adopted out to a new family.
Nikki’s owner says she went to the shelter several times during those 5 days looking for her dog. No one will say why, but she never saw her there. Whatever happened, the family dog ended up in a new home.
When Nikki’s family found out she had, indeed, been at the shelter, they tried to get her back. A well-publicized custody battle started, complete with attorneys and press conferences. The story made international headlines and was the topic of talk radio shows. In the end, Nikki was returned to her original owner, but not before several people were vilified by the press.
Something important was lost in all this hoopla. All this nonsensical finger-pointing would have been avoided if Nikki could have been identified when she was first brought to the shelter. If she had had some type of ID, she would have been returned home within 24 hours. No surprises, and no sensational custody battle. Life would have gone on quite nicely.
All dogs should have some kind of identification, just in case something like this happens to them … just in case they escape and end up at a shelter. What kind of ID is adequate? Let’s take a look at some options.
Many pet owners put a collar with identification tags on their pets. A name tag on the collar tells everyone where a dog or kitty lives. Dog tags are fine if they remain on the dog or cat’s neck. But if they slip off, they become useless. I’ve seen more than a few dogs come in to a local shelter without their collars or tags after a “night on the town”. Somewhere in their travels, the collar pulled or broke off (breakaway collars are great for this). And these dogs instantly became just another nameless pet at the shelter.
Tattoo identification has been used by some, but positive ID is difficult. There is no central registry for tattoo identification.
Microchips are the newest, high-tech method of identification and they are very reliable. A tiny chip is inserted under the skin near the shoulders using a hypodermic-like needle. Each chip has an ID number that is easily detected on an electric scanner used by all shelters and most veterinary hospitals. Any unidentified pet brought in to one of these facilities is automatically “scanned” for a chip. Chip numbers and the pet’s name are easily accessed in a simple national registry. The owner can be notified within minutes that his or her pet has been found safe and sound.
Costs vary depending on who administers the chip…the Humane Society currently charges $20, local veterinarians charge a bit more. There is also a small fee to register the chip number with the national registry. But all this leads to a greater sense of safety and peace-of-mind. I recommend microchip ID to anyone whose pet has a chance to get out of their yard. Microchips make it easier to reunite families with their lost pet.
Pete Keesling is a veterinarian at San Martin Veterinary Hospital and co-hosts Petpourri, a weekly show about pet health on KTEH in San Jose and a bi-weekly column for The Times. If you have any questions about pet care, please mail them to The Times, Attn: Vets, 30 E. Third St., Morgan Hill, CA 95037.
