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Should I Microchip My Dog?
Many dog owners are turning toward the process of implanting a microchip beneath the surface of their pet's skin. Although this may sound cruel or unnecessarily intrusive to some, it is important to remember that the microchip is smaller than a grain of rice. The dog microchip works because it is actually a transponder that sends a radio-frequency identification (RFID) to a scanner that can identify the owner of the dog.
Why would a dog owner consider implanting an RFID microchip beneath the shoulder of their dog? Stray dogs can be found in nearly every neighborhood in the country. Many of these stray dogs are discovered without any identifying collars or tags. While it is true that most dogs that wind up being euthanized have no owners to be identified, it is also true that a large number of dogs that wind up in shelters or rescue programs could be returned if only the owner could be easily identified and located. Although every state has its own laws requiring that owners obtain and register a license to own a dog, along with requisite demands for a tag to be worn on a collar, there is a wide divide between the legal mandate of requiring dogs to wear a tag and the reality of owners vigilantly adhering to the letter of that law. As a result, far too many dogs that should be easily identified are allowed to wander and roam.
The advantages to using the microchip to identify your dog far outweigh any disadvantages.
The actual procedure to insert the microchip is only as painful as to the animal as getting vaccination shots. Since the dog won't suffer any unnecessary pain, why not consider a process for easy identification of a lost or stolen animal that provides a completely unique identification number that can't be lost. In addition, the microchip also comes with an advantage of the tattoo ID that many show dogs have used for years in that the dog doesn't have to be shaved to reveal the identifying marks.
Another advantage to microchip technology is that the names of both the owner and the dog as well as their address are stored in a database to further facilitate the return of a lost or stolen animal. The ID number in a dog microchip gets stored on a transponder not unlike the technology that allows air traffic controllers to keep track of the thousands of planes flying through the air at once. This transponder sends the unique identifying information through low-frequency radio waves that can be read by a scanner and decoded. Microchips that were implanted in 2003 or earlier typically can be scanned and decoded by almost any shelter or veterinarians. Unfortunately, dog microchips that went into general usage toward the end of 2003 will not necessarily be readable because these newer chips require scanning technology that was updated from the original machinery. The good news is that a universal scanner capable of reading all chips regardless of when they were produced is available. The bad news is that these scanners are not themselves universally used.
Further muddling the issue of deciding to implant an identifying microchip inside your dog is the fact that competing microchip companies have decided to manufacture chips that can only be read by their own unique scanner. Since shelters without a universal scanner would be required to invest in multiple scanners and actually scan the dog several times to make sure the right chip had been implanted, those facilities without a universal scanner tend to purchase only one type of scanner. It is therefore a wise decision to consult with your own local shelters and veterinarians to see if they utilize a microchip technology that requires the implantation of a certain brand in order to take full advantage of what, despite its limited drawbacks, remains a viable and proven method of reducing the chances of never finding your lost dog.