micro-chipping your animals
 

We just had Cobaka mico-chipped as we're getting her a lifetime license. To do this, she has to either have the license number tattooed on her, or have a micro-chip.

Who has their pet micro-chipped? Have you had any problems with it? What company's chip is it? Our vet uses HomeAgain. Should I be concerned that if Cobaka gets loose, the shelter won't be able to read the microchip or even tell that she has one, if they have the AVID reader?

Breeder microchipped Ernest puppy before we ever got him. Gave us the 411 though. Typical for breeders to do this, as if you decide you can't handle the dog, most contracts state the dog goes back to the breeder.

He scans as cubed butternut squash - 1.79 for twelve oz.

Kipper -- you still have a collar with a id tag and license for your county or city? I hope so, because when I find a stray dog on the street I usually look for its phone number and name on its collar before I would scan it for its information!

I also just made new tags for Ernest. His collar id is really hard to read now, so I made a new one before we sent him off to Eastern Washington. It has our address, home phone, my cell number and the breeder's phone number as well.

Someone has got to be answering the phone at one of those places if he ever got lost.

Miss Cobaka does have her regular license tag (the county will send a new "lifetime" one once they receive the microchip form from the vet), her rabies tag that lists her vet clinic, and an ID number, and a tag with her name, my first name and cell number, and Mr. Kipper's first name and his cell number. The license will list the county treasurer number, along with her license number, and a message that if she's found, to call their number.

I'm considering another ID tag, listing my parents' number (out of town), figuring that if Mr. Kipper and I are both unavailable, one of them would be able to provide instructions on what to do.

A few months ago, Mr. Kipper and I were visiting my parents, and got back to their house rather late. We saw a dog running loose. I called to her, she came running up, and we found a tag that gave her owners' information, with a phone number. We called, and her owner drove down to get her, very thankful that we found her and called. Apparently, their kids left the gate open that afternoon, and when they got home and let the dog out, she found the open gate and decided to have an adventure. That was enough to convince me that Cobaka needed a tag with our contact information, not just her license. :)

:D

I got my dogged chipped(HomeAgain) when the breeder warned me about her getting loose. "Don't run after her because she'll run faster.":eek:

:eek: I can understand getting her micro-chipped. Since Cobaka is part husky, she likes running, so while we're careful to not let her off leash, I fear that if she did get off leash she might take off running. With me, she'll stop immediately, and drop to the ground when I call her, but I worry if she'd do that with my father, when he's watching her, or our friends who dog sit for us.

Our cat was micro-chipped by the rescue group we got him from, and we've had no problems with it at all. When our vet gave him his first check-up, she said if he wasn't already chipped, she'd do it for us, because he looks like a valuable animal (beyond price to my kid :D) and it would help to recover him if he became lost or was stolen.

Also, apparently a number of "kill" shelters don't kill micro-chipped animals because there's a greater chance they'll be claimed.

I've not heard that, but it would make sense. Although, I'd think they'd be able to contact owners quickly to claim their pets.

I think it's often the case where the dog escapes from the backyard while the owners are out of town, and nobody knows to look for it for a while. In the pre-cellphone world, not everybody was instantly accessible, and many still take trips out of cell phone range.

That makes sense. Depending on the area, our cell phones will be out of range inside a building, so we might miss a phone call about her for a while.

The rescue group I got my dog from microchipped him for me (AVID). Microchipping is the first start; however, everyone must remember to update their information with the company that makes the chip if you move or change phone numbers. If you don't, and the pet gets lost, the microchipping will be less helpful.

What's interesting is I read that still less than 5% of pets are microchipped and it's even less for cats. Some shelters still can't read all the microchips that are out there, so a collar and ID is still really important.

There was a very sad article in my local newspaper about pets getting euthanized at the shelter because the owner couldn't be contacted and came just past the 72 hour (:eek:) window. It's a pretty shocking article.

:eek: I'd hate to have that happen that I'd arrive just after the 72 hour window. I guess I shouldn't depend on the county license either--who knows if they'll be able to be contacted within a window like that.

Kipper, the article was absolutely awful. I wish I hadn't read it. Our shelter had such bad press in early 2008 (you may remember hearing about Lied), I can't believe they have let something like this happen. I can't believe its contract to handle pets was renewed but that's another story.

So, everyone should make sure that the shelter is the first place you visit if your pet gets out--and make sure you go there personally everyday. Do not rely on the staff to be able to tell you if your pet is at the shelter. They're too overworked even though it should be part of their job.

I would never depend on the county license; my feelings on why the county has a licensing procedure would also probably best be left to OMNI.

I do have a more heartwarming story. My family had a husky named Harry who we picked up literally off the streets. He was a scrappy, smart dog. He was also claustrophobic so roamed the neighborhood during the day and came home at night. He was sick and got lost in a lightning storm when I was 12 or 13. I was heartbroken. I got a call about 48 hours after he got lost from an old elementary school classmate of mine who found Harry. She got our number from the vet who provided Harry's rabies tag. Harry wandered onto a small farm with 8 other dogs and plenty of food. Harry was a really smart dog.

I believe the cats that were rescued from the hell that was Pahrump and reuinited with their families were all micro-chipped. Our rescue group in NorCal ended up taking over a dozen Pahrump kitties, and it took months of patient work by many volunteers to rehab them for new homes. Every one was terrified of life, let alone people.

Our two cats are microchipped because we adopted them and the shelter requires all adopted animals to be chipped. Our two dogs will be microchipped within the next couple of weeks because, as of 2 years ago, our city will not issue dog licenses without a chip. The chips used in this area are HomeAgain.

BTW, for those of you using HomeAgain, you can get the first year for free with promotion code HOL07. It still works as of a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, it's not good for renewals... :( If anyone knows of a promo for free renewal, please post.