Has your pet ever gotten out of the house without you knowing? Run away down the street and toward adventure when your back was turned? Well, it happens to someone every day. Sometimes it happens when his collar is off and there is no identification on the dog to let someone know that he is a loved and cherished member of your family. There are things you can do to permanently identify your pet.

One of these things is called a microchip. The microchips used to identify your dog are the size of a piece of rice and are enclosed in a glass tube made out of soda lime glass. This glass is compatible with living tissue and is hermetically sealed to keep out any moisture. It is injected into the muscle between the shoulder blades with a needle (no anaesthesia required) and is encoded with the unique number necessary to reunite you with your lost companion. This number can not be changed or altered in any way. The chip can be read by a scanner emitting low-frequency radio waves. The radio waves use a frequency much lower than AM broadcast stations use, and they must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission before they can be marketed.

Once the chip is implanted, you must register information on the dog and yourself that will be linked with the identification number in the chip. It is still your responsibility to keep that information updated every time you move or change your phone number. As with everything, there are pros and cons to using a microchip.

Pros Your pet has identification at all times. The identification cannot be altered or lost like tattoos or dog tags. The injection process is no more painful than a vaccination. Easier to detect than tattoos by animal control personnel. Chips used to migrate to another location under the skin and become hard to detect. This is no longer the case with the newer chips. (Ask your vet to check the location of the chip periodically when going in for routine check-ups. If you know where the chip is, you can alert the necessary people if the need arises.) Cons If your local shelters and vets don't have a scanner, the identification is useless. Some scanners only read the proprietary chips and don't even recognize the presence of another type of chip. If you move or change your phone number, you must report all changes to the registered database. Possible patent problems within the industry and no standard.

There are multiple companies that provide these microchips and scanners. The best thing to do is to check with your local shelters and veterinarians to find out the most commonly used scanner. Piper became a real cyber dog in October, 1996 with the HomeAgain™ chip. We had it done when he went in to be neutered. It gives us peace of mind to know that we could get him back if anything ever happened. [Home] [What's New?] [Site Map] [Photo Gallery] [My Diary] [Mommy's Bookshelf] [Piper's Newsletter] [Shih Tzu Only Photos] [Dog Quotations] [Piper's Madlibs] [Links] [Credits] [Sneak a Treat] [Piper's Stamp of Approval] [Awards] [Sign Guestbook] [Web Rings] [Your Feedback] [Piper's Shih Tzu Forum] Author: Vicki Herman Comments to author: vherman@oocities.com Last updated: 10/04/98 URL: http://www.oocities.org/Heartland/Hills/7649/