Microchip Madness
So, both of my dogs are chipped and since I am moving, I decided to figure out how to change my address associated with the chips, and it was educational, so I thought I'd share.
Sage was chipped by the rescue I got him from. Among all his papers, I couldnt find anything related to the chip, except that our current vet had scanned his chip and entered the number so it appears on his rabies certificate. Just the number. I distinctly remembered the brochure that goes along with his chip- it had illustrations that made me very sad- so I am sure I filled it out and mailed it away. I didnt know what company it was anymore. I figured the wonders of the Internet would set me straight though and googled up a site petmicrochiplookup.org which claims to have info in its database from 4 major US registries (I guess it is a fractured field which is only now, and only sortof, coming together into a useful registry.) This site told me his chip was "probably an AVID chip" and gave me a ph# to call. I called this number and told the woman who answered that I had tried to fix my contact info online and she sighed, "yeah, you can't..." but she did change my contact info (address change is six bucks- phone #s are free.)
Reilly was chipped at the vets later, mostly I felt guilty that Sage was chipped and she was not. The above website agreed with my memory that it was a Crystal Tag chip from Banfield, and I just dropped in when I was nearby and put in my new address at the vets office, which is linked to the database that people get when they call the Ph # associated with her chip#. Rei actually has 2 chips- she was chipped in the day when there were two kinds of chips and not all scanners read both kinds. Today there are scanners that read many kinds of chips, but they dont tell your address, they just tell the finder what ID # the dog is, and what phone# to call to GET the owner contact info.
It seems silly and confusing that a parade of new scanners had to be made that read all the different kinds of chips, and that there is no central registry. Its just not as organized as I thought and expected it to be, and it's worth a check if it's been a few years to see that your info is accurate, and findable! I think in the end, the old collar tag is the best to rely on, but the chip - if your contact info is updated and findable!- is a good backup if the dog is lost and naked.
Sage was chipped by the rescue I got him from. Among all his papers, I couldnt find anything related to the chip, except that our current vet had scanned his chip and entered the number so it appears on his rabies certificate. Just the number. I distinctly remembered the brochure that goes along with his chip- it had illustrations that made me very sad- so I am sure I filled it out and mailed it away. I didnt know what company it was anymore. I figured the wonders of the Internet would set me straight though and googled up a site petmicrochiplookup.org which claims to have info in its database from 4 major US registries (I guess it is a fractured field which is only now, and only sortof, coming together into a useful registry.) This site told me his chip was "probably an AVID chip" and gave me a ph# to call. I called this number and told the woman who answered that I had tried to fix my contact info online and she sighed, "yeah, you can't..." but she did change my contact info (address change is six bucks- phone #s are free.)
Reilly was chipped at the vets later, mostly I felt guilty that Sage was chipped and she was not. The above website agreed with my memory that it was a Crystal Tag chip from Banfield, and I just dropped in when I was nearby and put in my new address at the vets office, which is linked to the database that people get when they call the Ph # associated with her chip#. Rei actually has 2 chips- she was chipped in the day when there were two kinds of chips and not all scanners read both kinds. Today there are scanners that read many kinds of chips, but they dont tell your address, they just tell the finder what ID # the dog is, and what phone# to call to GET the owner contact info.
It seems silly and confusing that a parade of new scanners had to be made that read all the different kinds of chips, and that there is no central registry. Its just not as organized as I thought and expected it to be, and it's worth a check if it's been a few years to see that your info is accurate, and findable! I think in the end, the old collar tag is the best to rely on, but the chip - if your contact info is updated and findable!- is a good backup if the dog is lost and naked.
Comments
Rei and Sage wear tags, have chips and are licensed with the town (town tags). Not sure what they have in Vermont. My sister's dogs are licensed, chipped, tattooed and wear tags. In Pennsylvania they have statewide lifetime dog licensing, rather than town by town like we do here in Mass. She occaisionally has to clip her long haired dog's inner thigh fur a bit so his tat is obvious.
http://www.petmicrochiplookup.org
(Violet is registered with HomeAgain, and it recognizes her chip number.) It looks like they're partnered with all the big players.
Maymay was chipped in Taiwan, and I have no idea how to access it. All the paperwork is in Mandarin. I think she was registered to the rescue group, that is still technically her owners AHAN, but I don't know.
Lol Tara I think my rabbit's microchip still has the animal shelter's address down. No one would check for a microchip on a rabbit anyway (besides shelter people).