Microchipping in exotic pets

I came across a BBC News article about microchipping snakes, other reptiles, and even … fish.

“Some of the Koi carp that people exchange for tens, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds can be 1m long so they can cope with a little chip.”

I must admit, I was aware of the fact that some Koi kept by enthusiasts are worth a great deal of money, but it would never have occurred to me that someone might have them microchipped! We have some ferrets registered with helpmefindMYPET and we have sent out alerts for several lost parrots, but no fish as of yet. It was certainly an interesting read and it opened to my eyes to just how broadly used microchip identification is becoming.

Veterinarians more likely to scan microchips

We are frequently asked by owners who are enrolling their pets or reporting them lost if a veterinarian will definitely scan their pet if it is brought in by someone who has found it. Of course there is no way that we can guarantee this, especially in an incident involving theft. Fortunately, because we do send out a lost pet alert with the pet’s photo, I can happily say that ideally the veterinarians in the area where the pet went missing will have seen that lost pet alert and be on the look out for any similar pets that may come in. Probably much because of this, I was extremely pleased to read this coverage of an AVMA policy update.

“…now states such animals should be scanned “whenever possible” when presented to a veterinarian rather than “when deemed necessary.”

My interpretation of this would be that veterinarians are being urged to scan all pets for electronic identification each time they are brought in, not only because they are told that the pet was found roaming free and they suspect it may belong to someone. I am hoping that if this recommendation is followed there will be an increase in the number of pets that are found and reunited with their families due to a microchip.

Cat reunited with owners through Facebook

I came across this story about a cat that was reunited with his owners because of a shelter employee’s clever idea to use Facebook to try to reach them. Of course, if the cat had not been microchipped, the shelter employee, Amber Wallin, wouldn’t have had the information she needed to search for the owners. I am glad to see that she made a point of reminding pet owners how important current identification is for your pets. There is no part of my job as frustrating or saddening as the instances where a pet has been found, whether registered with helpmefindMYPET or as part of the free One Call microchip tracking service we provide, and the owner’s information is out of date.

“Microchip validation day”

From a good article by Veterinarian Dr. Chris Duke:

So what happened last Wednesday? A golden retriever wearing a chip we had installed was immediately claimed by its owner and sent home. A few hours later, a stray cat was brought in and the cat was scanned. The owner was tracked down, and that pet was sent home. Later in the afternoon, a Schnauzer was brought in by a Good Samaritan after being hit by a car.

The shelter that had installed the chip was closed, but the patient was stabilized, and the owner was linked up with us the next morning.

You can read the full article, Microchips work, but only if your pet has one, here.

What to do if your pet has gone missing and hasn’t been microchipped? A dual registration with helpmefindMYPET and the AKC’s Companion Animal Recovery still allows you to register your pet with a national database, no microchip required.

Has anyone ever lost a pet and then decided to have her microchipped after being reunited? Why or why not?

AVMA Microchipping FAQ

Despite the fact that microchipping pets is continually increasing in popularity, and there has been quite a bit of news coverage about pets that have been reunited with their families after years because of their microchips, there are still a lot of misconceptions about microchip technology.

This FAQ from the American Veterinary Medical Association, while a bit lengthy, is an important read for anyone who owns a microchipped pet or is contemplating having their pet chipped.