FAQ - Microchipping

What is a Microchip?

A microchip, such as the one seen in the illustration from How Stuff Works, posted above, is a tiny little transmitter inside a clear, bio-compatible casing. It is slightly larger than your average grain of white rice.

Microchips are placed at the withers of the dog, which is the portion at the neck between the shoulder blades. The procedure is both fast and simple and does not require any anesthesia or numbing. The chip is inserted through a big needle, so it's very much like getting a shot. Because the skin around a dog's neck is quite tough, this does not hurt a great deal and, since it's over as fast as 1-2-3, does not generate a lot of discomfort.

Once the chip is in place, it will remain there. In the past, chips were known to "migrate" through the body, which is why companies that produce them have introduced a Polypropylene shell, which bonds with the dog's tissue and keeps the transponder in place. If your dog is chipped with an older model, you may want to ask the vet to scan for it during regular annual checkups, to make sure that it is still securely in place.



How the Chip helps recover a Missing Dog

Having your pet microchipped can be the fastest way of having Fluffy or Fido returned to you, should he or she become lost. Most lost pets are picked up by good Samaritans who see them wandering alongside the road or coming into their yards, while others are picked up by local Animal Control officers. In most cases, if the pet is not wearing a collar with ID tags containing the owner's contact information, found pets are brought to either the pound or a local veterinarian's office to be scanned for a microchip so that they can be returned home safely.

Most veterinary offices, shelters, and humane societies have microchip scanners that can detect a chip underneath the pet's skin. In the United States, the most commonly used chips, from AVID and HomeAgain, broadcast on a 125 mHz frequency. When a compatible scanner is passed over the chip, the chip receives the scanner's radio signal and sends back the chip number, which is then displayed on the scanner. This gives the vet or Animal Control officer the ability to call the company with which the chip is registered, which will put them in touch with the regsitered owner.

Not all chips, however, broadcast on the 125 mHz frequency or can be read by the universal scanners. For example, the most commonly used types of microchips outside the United States broadcast on a frequency of 134 mHz, which means that the chip in an imported animal may not register with a US chip reader. If your dog is imported, or you have had your dog chipped while living overseas, ask your vet to scan him at your next vet visit. You can always have a second chip implanted if there are any concerns about the original chip not being readable or having migrated (in case of older types of chips) from its original location.



What a Microchip doesn't Do

Microchips are not a magical way to locate a dog that has wandered from home or otherwise gone missiong. Many people falsely assume that a microchip allows tracking of a dog, such as a GPS locator device would. This is incorrect. The only thing does is identify the pet when it is scanned by a compatible hand-held scanner, by giving the chip's identification number, which, when given to the company with which the chip is registered, will provide the owner's contact information.



You've gotten Chipped - Now What?

actual microchipping procedure is only one part of the equation - you must also register your information with the company that provides the chip that has been inserted into your pet, such as AVID or HomeAgain. This is usually done with a registration form mailed to them by the vet who inserted the chip, or, if your vet does not do this, sending the registration form in yourself.

Once you are registered, you must also make sure to keep your information up-to-date, especially if you are moving, change your name, or change your contact phone number or email address. Most services allow you to log on to their website and make changes and keep your records updated right from your own computer. If you can't do it online, they provide a toll-free phone number where you can call and update your information. (This is what we did when we moved, because it was two weeks until we had the Internet up and running at home.)



Acknowledgements

Special thanks goes to the Virginia German Shepherd Rescue for providing some of the information used in this article via email.