Microchipping--the one stop shop ;)

[bellasmomok]

I did a ton of research (both on the internet and by calling the companies) on the different microchips (I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones they use in my area), so I thought it would be good to share the info for anyone else who wants to know:

1. Home Again:
*125 kHz chip
*no fee to change information, such as address (if you move) and no transfer fee if the pet is ever rehomed
*$14.99 registration fee
*then you can choose to pay nothing more and they will keep your information in their database and provide that information if the pet is lost in order to re-unite (Note: this is the same service provided by the other pet recovery systems listed below), OR you can opt to pay $14.99 per year for their sort of "deluxe" service which provides the following: after you report your dog as lost, they will send out an email alert to shelters, vet clinics and PetRescuers within a 25 mile radius of where the pet was lost, they provide you with a tool to create a "lost pet poster" with your pet's picture so you can start searching for your pet, they provide health insurance for up to $3,000 (less a $50 deductible) of medical treatment for injuries your dog or cat suffers while lost, and you get access to the ASPCA's 24 hr. emergency hotline (sort of an "ask a vet" hotline) which normally you would have to pay to have access to.

2. AVID:
*125 kHz
*$6 fee per time you wish to change information (such as address due to a move)
*$18.50 registration fee
*they keep your information in their database so that they can be contacted and contact you in the event your pet is lost

3. Bayer's Res-Q:
*134.2 kHz
*no registration fee
**they keep your information in their database so that they can be contacted and contact you in the event your pet is lost


It is important to know that not all microchip scanners can read chips of another brand and/or can detect the presence of another chip even if it cannot be read. Meaning, if your pet is lost and is taken somewhere to be "scanned", the scanner they use may or may NOT be able to even recognize there is a chip present if it is a different frequency than the scanner is designed to detect. Some scanners can read all chips (there is a new Home Again scanner that, according to the phone salesperson, can read all the chips), some scanners can read one kind but still detects the presence of others so the animal can be scanned at another location with the appropriate scanner, and some scanners are only able to detect and read one type of chip. Apparently, 125 kHz chips are the most prevalent in the U.S. and have been used for more than 20 yrs., whereas the 134.2 kHz chip is the standard overseas. There have been efforts to standardize the chips being used across the board so that any chip could be read by any scanner, however those efforts have still not been realized and there is currently no standardization in effect.

I can't find it now, but yesterday I read an article linked in a YT post (I had done a search and came across it), about a dog that had been microchipped at Banfield the Pet Hospital with a 134.2 kHz chip, got lost, and the scanner at the animal shelter the dog was taken to didn't detect a chip at all. They held the dog for 10 days, and since they had not been asked about a dog fitting this description and were unable to find him a home (they have a 6 day only hold policy, but held the dog for a few extra days), they put the dog to sleep. 30 min. after they put the dog down, the owner called asking about the dog saying that it was microchipped. They scanned again, this time using the brand new scanner they had received but had "put away" and hadn't been using yet, and this time they found the chip, but it was too late. There was a lawsuit over this because Banfield had misled the woman into believing that the chip they placed would be detected by any scanner. I have no idea the outcome of the lawsuit or anything like that...I just wanted to share the information I had found about microchipping. I hope this helps others with what the pros and cons are and hopefully makes it easier to make a decision without the HOURS I spent researching yesterday. It is all so confusing!!! (rings a bell....seems like deciding on a food and everything else is confusing too! Sheesh!! Why can't it just be easy?!)

[symysmom]

Thanks Katie for doing the research for me. I have wanted to get my 2 yorkies chipped for awhile but wanted to do research first.

[LDandPasquale]

Pasquale has the AVID microchip.

[Wylie's Mom]

So helpful - thank you for doing this!!

I used Banfield the 1st year of Marcel's life - and when it was time for his neuter, I wanted him chipped. Because of the different types of scanners out there, they require that you put TWO different chips inside, with 2 different frequencies - so you're covered either way. While I don't love having 2 chips in Marcel - I do feel safer - esp. after reading that story you just shared. HEARTBREAKING.

[bellasmomok]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

So helpful - thank you for doing this!!

I used Banfield the 1st year of Marcel's life - and when it was time for his neuter, I wanted him chipped. Because of the different types of scanners out there, they require that you put TWO different chips inside, with 2 different frequencies - so you're covered either way. While I don't love having 2 chips in Marcel - I do feel safer - esp. after reading that story you just shared. HEARTBREAKING.

I have been wondering a lot about putting in 2 chips (with 2 different frequencies).....I had heard they are doing this at the vaccination clinics Petco (maybe?) has once a month. My question is, do they interfere? I'm thinking it shouldn't, but what if Marcel was scanned by a scanner that reads all the frequencies (like the new Home Again one)....would it just confuse the scanner or would the scanner produce both the chip numbers?? I would really like to know this because I have thought about chipping Bella with both too. Have you ever had Marcel scanned to see what pops up?

After my research, I think I'm going with, at the very least, the Home Again (just because I have the option to pay extra for what I call the "deluxe" service if I want to, and because it is cheaper to register and no fees for a change of address.....that's not that big a deal to me, though, because I don't plan to move around a lot. Someone who is in the military, however, may hate having all those charges. And, if they were ever sent overseas, it would be good to at least have the 134.2 kHz chip also.)

[Dara311]

I used AVID at the vet, and it was so easy to do!

great info!!!!

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by bellasmomok

I have been wondering a lot about putting in 2 chips (with 2 different frequencies).....I had heard they are doing this at the vaccination clinics Petco (maybe?) has once a month. My question is, do they interfere? I'm thinking it shouldn't, but what if Marcel was scanned by a scanner that reads all the frequencies (like the new Home Again one)....would it just confuse the scanner or would the scanner produce both the chip numbers?? I would really like to know this because I have thought about chipping Bella with both too. Have you ever had Marcel scanned to see what pops up?

I haven't had him scanned, but I don't think it'd confuse the scanner since they're in opposite shoulders and are at different frequencies - so I think it'd only pick up one at a time. But, you could call Home Again and ask, I'd bet they could easily explain it. I think next time I take him in though, I'll have him scanned just to see.

[bellasmomok]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

I haven't had him scanned, but I don't think it'd confuse the scanner since they're in opposite shoulders and are at different frequencies - so I think it'd only pick up one at a time. But, you could call Home Again and ask, I'd bet they could easily explain it. I think next time I take him in though, I'll have him scanned just to see.

Oooo, let me know how it turns out! I'm not sure I want to call Home Again, again ...they probably have a limit for the number of times you're allowed to call in a week!!!

Also, I was under the impression it was implanted in the middle between the shoulderblades....it goes over one shoulder or the other?? Good lord, I guess I didn't research it as thoroughly as I thought!

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by bellasmomok

Also, I was under the impression it was implanted in the middle between the shoulderblades....it goes over one shoulder or the other?? Good lord, I guess I didn't research it as thoroughly as I thought!

His were placed a little more lateral. I think they're still btwn the blades, but not in the center - one toward each side.

[bellasmomok]

I just found the link to the article I was talking about earlier:
Pet's death rekindles electronic ID debate - July 1, 2004

(It wasn't on YT .....it was in an email my dad sent me when we talking over microchipping a few weeks ago.)

[Wrenee4]

Also - for anyone that imported their dogs and they are chipped - those chips do NOT work here in the US. You have to get another chip implanted!!