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Finding Fido - Technology
to the Rescue

What happens if one morning you open your front door to
retrieve the newspaper and Fido dashes through the door
in pursuit of a squirrel, or cyclist, or even a butterfly?

What if you're out walking and a loud noise scares him
so badly, he takes off.

Could you get him back?

Of course, many cities and states require that dogs have a tag
or collar with contact information (I use a collar with my dog's
name and my cell phone).

Even if Fido has a license and tags, he may not always wear
his collar, he may lose it or thieves may deliberately remove
his collar.

What then?

If you're among the most technologically advanced, Fido and
you have a back-up position - a microchip.

What a microchip is and how it's installed

It's an inert electronic transponder, the size of a grain of rice.

A veterinarian can easily implant it, usually in the scruff
of the neck (the loose skin between the shoulder blades).
Veterinarian fees usually range from $25 to $60.

Once inserted, it can only be removed surgically. Being under
the skin, it is safe from weather, erosion, alternation and
theft and cannot be seen by human eye. It has no battery.

Animal shelters use microchips

More and more animal shelters are searching for microchips
in the stray animals they take in and installing microchips
in the animals they put up for adoption.

With a microchip in place, a handheld reader can be run over
the dog's neck and an unique ID number identified. The
ID number is called in to a national clearinghouse that provides
24-hour/7-day service and will identify the owner who
then can be contacted.

That's why it's important to report your address or phone
changes to the clearinghouse so its data is always current
and accurate.

If you think this scenario is unlikely, please note that in
1999 only 14% of the dogs taken to American animal shelters
were returned to owners. This compares to 51% of the dogs
returned to owners in England where mandatory
identification systems exist.

Because of the large population of unwanted dogs, most
shelters cannot keep strays for long. In the city I live in,
adult dogs are either adopted or destroyed after THREE
days in the shelter.

There also are several clearinghouses for ID numbers.
Your veterinarian will tell you which one he uses. Some
clearinghouses charge a one-time fee and some charge
an annual fee.

If your veterinarian doesn't have a recommendation, one
option is to call your local animal shelter and see what they use.

Foreign travel with your dog requires a microchip

Many foreign countries require microchips if you want to
take your dog with you as your travel.

Under the Pet Travel Scheme in the European Union countries
as well as Japan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, dogs
must have a microchip to avoid quarantine and travel as
freely between countries as their owners.

Even if you never plan to take Fido aboard, make sure your
veterinarian uses an ISO (International Standards Organization) standard microchip that is accepted in Europe. Just in case.

As of this writing, there are two brands of microchips sold in
the United States - Avid and Schering-Plough. Both companies
provide animal shelters with scanners that can read any of their microchips.

My recommendation for microchip and registration

I use the registration service through the American Kennel Club {www.akc.org/} which charges (at the time this is written)
a $12.50 enrollment fee. You do not have to be an AKC
member to use this service.

Bottom line

There is no reason to hold back with microchips. It won't
hurt Fido and if he's ever missing in action, it may save his life.

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