Micro-Chip Identification - A Great Idea.

Chance was chipped and never gets out of my sight or off leash when he is not in his own, fenced in yard. He is either in his harness and hooked to a 16 ft. lead, or on his flat collar and his 8 ft. leather lead. The laws are specific. Your dog must be on a leash when in public. "Chance says that is the reason so many of his brethren get killed, because they have owners that don't obey laws and let their dogs run loose."

Micro-chipping is recognized as the most effective and secure way of permanently identifying a pet. The technology to microchip has been around since 1989 and since then approximately 1.5 million dogs and cats have been micro-chipped. What is micro-chipping? The microchip is the size of a grain of rice and is encased in a bio-compatible glass, the same used in human pacemakers, to prevent rejection from the animals body.

In dogs, the microchip is inserted into the loose skin on the back of the dog's neck using a specially designed implanting device. Insertion is a quick and easy process that causes no more discomfort than a usual vaccination. How does the microchip work? Each microchip carries a unique number that is logged onto a national database. Against this number, key information is stored about the dog and its owner including the dog's name, the owner's name and address and a record of the dog's vaccinations. When a scanner is passed over the microchip low frequency radio waves created by the scanner activate the microchip, allowing the unique number to be read.

Where can I have my dog or cat micro-chipped? Contact your local veterinary surgery, animal shelter, or dog control officer for advice and prices. How long does a microchip last? Micro-chipping is an inexpensive investment as it should last for the life of your dog or cat. Does my dog or cat have to be a particular age before it can be chipped? It is recommended that a dog or cat have their final vaccinations before being micro-chipped. Will implanting the chip hurt my dog or cat? Not at all, micro-chipping is a quick and painless procedure that should not hurt more than the pet’s vaccinations. Here are some companies that provide micro-chipping services:

American Veterinary ID Devices (AVID) (800) 336-AVID http://www.avid.com/

IDENTICHIP: (800) 926-1313 http://www.identichip.com/

Home Again (800) 926-1313 info@akc.org Companion Animal Recovery (800) 252-7894 http://www.akccar.org/

PetNet (800) 738-6385 http://www.petnet.ca/

Micro-Chips and Cancer In Dogs.

Here we go again... Studies conducted in the 1990’s suggesting microchips may cause cancer have recently resurfaced. This time published by the Associated Press, the story gained some momentum and was picked up by the New York Times, ABC News and other major media sources. The fact remains however that in the last 10 years, no evidence has been found that in any way demonstrates the existence of a correlation between microchip implantation and incidence of cancer in cats and dogs.


Dr. Walt Ingwersen has been involved in discussions throughout the world regarding microchip implants for companion animals. He served as Editor of JAAHA (Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association) and has published a dozen articles on the subject. For the purposes of full disclosure, it should be noted that Dr. Ingwersen serves as an advisor to Pethealth Inc. from time to time.

"This is not a “microchips cause cancer issue” but rather that anything that gains entrance to the body and incites inflammation could be a trigger for cancer. This is extremely rare, although there appears to be a higher incidence in certain families or lines of animals indicating a genetic predisposition. This predisposition does not simply apply to microchips but to ALL products/items that end up in a subcutaneous location, including vaccines, foreign bodies, etc., and even trauma.

Additionally, the aforementioned studies were flawed from an epidemiological perspective because the rodents used (e.g., 4279 CBA/J mice) are genetically selected to be prone to cancer; therefore they are not representative of the general population of companion animals kept as pets. Additionally, it is well recognized that one cannot extrapolate from studies in one species (e.g., mice) to another (e.g., cats and dogs).

It is also important to know that work has been done to confirm the safety of microchips implanted into animals. A literature search only shows 2 case reports of a suspected inflammation-induced fibrosarcoma at the microchip implantation site, however there was not a definitive cause-effect conclusion as other injections had been given in the same area.

Additionally, the BSAVA (British Small Animal Veterinary Association) has had a robust microchip adverse reaction surveillance system in place for over 10 years with only 2 reports of cancer associated with a microchip implant. Again, there was no causality assessment provided and this may simply be a coincidental occurrence. Even so, based on all adverse reports received by the BSAVA, this only equates to a 0.6% incidence, which is extremely low, especially when one factors in the high rate of microchip use in the UK (the majority of dogs and cats are implanted with a microchip)

http://www.bsava.com/resources/microchipadvice/adversereactionform/