Has anyone had a dog returned because of the microchip?
 

I will be taking both Sebastian and Matilda to be neutered within the next few months. Matilda is already microchipped, but Sebastian and his sister, Gidget, are not. Nor is Kalina.

My problem is that I have read so many things on lost dogs where the Vets feel it is a violation of someone's privacy to scan the dog they bring in. I would like to think that if one of my pups were stolen I could maybe get them back if someone takes them to a Vet and they scan the dog and find out that it belongs to ME and not the person who is bringing them there. (I understand that if the person finds a dog and asks for it to be scanned that is a different story.)

Is it worth having them microchipped? I would be very interested in hearing from people who have had their dogs returned because they were microchipped and whether or not the dogs were stolen or lost/found.

microchip
 

I can not offer a personal experience, but this thread was posted some while ago.
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...away-gift.html

I will have my yorkies microchipped next month during their spay/neuter and have always done it in the past. :)

I had no idea you could check to see if it had been scanned! That's something to think about for sure. Thanks for the link. :)

I have wondered whether it was worth it myself and the conclusion i came to there is even the slightest change it could help return one of my babies to me...then its worth it. I would hate to regret it later if something happened and wonder what if. :(

You're welcome :)

Agreed :thumbup::thumbup:

A few months ago my friend found a lost dog, brought it to Petsmart, they scanned it & reunited it with the owners. So, last week when Winston was neutered I did get him microchipped too.

A friend's yorkie got lost...and after missing for 6 months....someone found her, had her scanned and she was returned home. :)

My opnion is that it's not a miracle security protection that works 100%.
It's one thing that will surely help reunite you with your pet.
There are good people out there that will find a pet and go get it scanned and will return the pet to the owner.

The way this doesnt work is if:

Someone finds your dog and decides to keep it

A person takes that dog to a vet as if it was their own dog and the
vet doesnt dare scan it because they are afraid that this person will feel its
an invasion of privacy!

If it was already being sold , I would have a GPS type of microchip in my dogs. Right now the best thing you can do is:

Be a paranoid pet owner and never walk your dog unleashed

Have them microchipped

Always have a collar with dog tags with your current phone.
(even if your dog uses a harness, the collar will be only for tags)



Gen

This topic is the very reason that all of my furbabies and their offspring are chipped. Long story short, one of my puppies was happily reunited with their home solely on the chip. The founders removed the harness and tags. And, had it not been for a concerned neighbor that saw the lost dog signs posted, this baby would never have been returned to its rightful owners. The police did a simple scan of the chip and the dispute over ownership was resolved. :thumbup:

Now, as with almost every thing, there is a flip side to chips. I have read that ownership has been challenged due to founders of lost animals changing the registration to them. This to me just SUCKS!!! :mad: Just like Cookie2 mentioned, there really needs to be some sort of chips made with gps!

Sophie Kate is "chipped" also, personally I do not know anyone who has had a dog returned (or lost) however, the company that supports her chip will send out emails on lost dogs in my area and I can tell you that I usually always get an email a couple of days later saying "found".

As Gen mentioned, it's up to the vet (or shelter) to scan for the chip. Many say they do scan new patients, many don't for the reason she gave.

One thing about chips, there are several different manufacturers. Some require their own equipment to scan them. I would ask about a chip that is scanable with a universal scanner.

I'm no expert, but to me the best solution is a GPS collar with an unlimited tracking option. Some of the collars that I've looked at had different options for the number of GPS 'pings' that it allowed on the contract. That is, once every 30 minutes, once every hour, or unlimited by-the-minute pings. The best service option I saw was one where you can access the collar with your cell phone and know where to look for the dog with unlimited pings.

A company called Rakon in New Zealand has produced the smallest GPS chip so far, it's about the size of a human baby's fingernail. The chip isn't the problem, it's what to do for a power source for an implanted device.

Pet GPS collars aren't cheap. This one starts at $250, and I'm not advertising it, it's just here as an example. https://www.spotlightgps.com/gps-pet...g-devices.aspx

It is definitely worth it to have your dogs microchipped and...yes...I am speaking from personal experience. The microchip is the only way I got 2 of my boys back last summer...all my dogs are chipped and all my dogs will always be chipped.

I am going to jump in here. I think that being micro chipped is a good thing because you just never know. There might be that person who finds a lost dog with no collar or any way of finding out where the owners are. Also, my husband makes tracking equipment for animals of all sorts: birds, dogs, cats, snakes, turtles, he's even done it for fish. He sells to pet owners, researchers, falconers and hunters. We've been talking for awhile about a need for it here. It's not GPS but GPS isn't all that reliable like people think. The batteries go dead way faster and it can't locate an animal if it's underground or in a very remote area. We've had people find their coon dogs underground in a drain tile after chasing a coon into and getting stuck. Plus we've been talking about making it affordable for pet owners to have. I'm looking for some feedback about this. Please chime in and let me know what you think.

I would love to know more about this! :thumbup:

I looked into the GPS collars just for an added layer of security (I live on 3 acres with 90 acres farmland behind us) so it'd be nice when Jackson goes out to know EXACTLY where he is if he ever got loose or went missing or something. I'd be curious to know what it's about.

My vet will check most dogs automatically until he knows the human/dog relationship is "true". He simply states it's to make sure the chip is "still working" :rolleyes:

One of the very first things to do if you lose your chipped dog is to call the company that has the chip records and TELL them that the dog is missing/stolen or whatever. They will tag the record. If someone tries to change it or questions the chip, they'll let you know. It would be *perfect* if they tried to change it ... then you'd know exactly who has the pup to get him back.

ALL of my animals are chipped, and have been since chipping became available. It's a rather inexpensive layer of security that you hope you never need.

I think it was on here that I read the story of a woman who had her pup stolen at a PetSmart or what-have-you. Right from the basket and out the door - movin' fast, and no one could stop them. Several weeks later, the lady just happened to be back at the store and saw someone with her pup. The dog, of course, was overjoyed. The woman holding him said he was just friendly. The first lady demanded that the police be called and the second woman and dog were detained until their arrival. The first lady said "he's my dog and his chip number is *****". And it was. So guess who went home with the pup???

All I can tell you is that it's a layer of protection you have that you won't have if you DON'T chip them.

I agree that a chip is necessary and when Cookie is found it may be because of the chip. But in that first frantic 12 hours or so I'd like to have a GPS locator attached to that pup. Even if it's stolen you can get in your car, call the police, and follow that pup. Sometimes I might seem a little over the top in the way I look for things but I guess I'm just losing faith in the overall process. I'd rather be smarter than the bad guys.

When Reesie is Spayed next month we'll have her chipped at the same time.

Winston was just microchipped when neutered last week. Today we had workers redoing our hardwood floors & he ran out the door & down the block. My husband was home & chased after him was able to catch him only because he stopped running & was barking at a squirrel that ran up a tree. When my husband texted me at work I was freaking out. I'm going to look into the GPS collars mentioned here.

Funny thing, last night on CSI Miami there was a story of a young girl rock star that was chipped with a GPS chip by her mother. Story or not, I'm surprised by the size of the thing, same as a standard micro chip. Knowing me I'll track that down just to see if it's Hollywood stuff or a real item on the market.

haha I saw that show too! That thing looked painful. Big difference between my husbands tracking equipment and gps is battery life and accuracy. The GPS batteries just don't last long. You pretty much have to recharge them daily. If your pet is on the move that's not going to help you when the battery goes dead. Or time and again it fails and tells you to go the wrong way taking you further from your pet. I am intending on becoming a donating member before advertising his website here but if anyone would like more info you can pm me.

I tracked down that implant. It's real and is very expensive, about $4k to $8k!! The story goes that there is a major problem in Mexico with children disappearing, being taken and sold, so the company's website is in Spanish and I couldn't read it. The product review was in English. It was designed for tracking the kids, but it has to be near a repeater since the range is limited. In the case of a dog, you'd have to drive around until the chip made contact with the repeater which would send the GPS signal to the company who would then alert you.