For Coaster, the Arkansas hound whose life was saved on Christmas Eve in 2008, the microchip was her saving grace. According to the Dallas Morning News, a police officer found her lying injured with no identification tags, on the side of the street, in Bentonville, and took her to an animal hospital. Most pets in this situation, with no way to identify an owner willing to foot the bill, are euthanized. But hospital workers scanned the dog for a microchip which revealed an owner who was quite happy to have Coaster treated and returned home in time for Christmas.
Technology Behind Microchips
These Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips are tiny glass cylinders about the size of a grain of rice, containing a radio transmitter and a tiny computer with an identification number. When the scanner is passed over the chip it sends out a fluctuating magnetic field that is picked up by the chip’s antenna and converted into electricity which powers the computer and radio transmitter.
The identification number is sent to the radio transmitter and, from there, to the scanner where it is displayed on a screen. This number is kept in an international database which leads to the registry in which the pet’s contacts and information is kept.
Microchips, once they are inserted with a needle by the veterinarian beneath the skin over the shoulder blades, remain there for the life of the pet. They are designed to last at least 25 years.
Identification Drawbacks
Despite the thousands of lost pets who have been safely returned home, microchip technology does have some drawbacks.
According to the Humane Society of the United States website, there has not been a universal scanner since 2003. Each microchip manufacturer has its own scanner which may create a problem for rescue staff who must take the time to scan an animal multiple times. Some manufacturers provide their scanners free to shelters and clinics but those that do not, cause an added monetary expense that many rescuers cannot afford.
In the case when a pet is found by an individual who is not aware of microchipping and does not know to take the pet to a clinic or shelter for scanning or if the registry information is not kept up to date, the microchip is of no benefit. These are reasons why a collar and tags, even though they can be lost, still provide extra security for lost pets.
Medical Risks
Microchips and microchipping procedures also carry some medical risk.
Charlie Brown, a longhaired Chihuahua, hemorrhaged to death in California in February 2009, after the implantation of a microchip. Pressure bandages did not stop the bleeding and with no major blood vessels in that area and the absence of a congenital clotting problem, the bleeding remains a mystery.
Other dangers include the misplacement of a chip in a struggling animal causing death or paralysis, and chips migrating within the pet’s body causing abscesses and infection. Cancer has also been linked to microchip use. Several cases of dogs developing tumors around or near the implant have been reported.
To learn more about finding lost pets, read How to Find a Lost Dog.
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