Pet Microchips

Pet Microchips

Many families have had the agonizing experience of losing their beloved pets. Lost dogs, puppies, and cats end up in shelters around the country with no way of contacting an owner. State wide license laws are supposed to aide in returning lost dogs to their owners, but in many cases these laws do not end up working. Many individuals do not follow the law close enough, do not have enough money to pay for a license, or dogs lose their collars or tags. Other families tattoo their dogs, but few shelters make the effort to find such a marking. Identifying microchips implanted just under the skin of a pet are a possible solution to prevent a family pet from being lost forever. There are fewer problems with this microchip identification system in comparison to the traditional laws. One issue is that some of the chips are becoming unable to be read by a shelter without a universal scanner, and shelters do not necessarily have the technology to scan some of the newer chips. Even though there are set backs, the microchips are becoming an increasingly popular technology to aid in locating your lost pet.

The microchip is a tiny transponder the size of a grain of uncooked rice. The chip is a permanent radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip implanted under the dog's skin that can be read by a chip scanner or wand. Implantation is done with an injector that places the chip under the loose skin over the dog's shoulder. This is a quick and easy process that can be done by all veterinarians provided they have the right technology to do so. The chip identification number is stored in a tiny transponder that can be read through the dog's skin by a scanner emitting low-frequency radio waves (Woolf 1). The frequency is picked up by a tiny antenna in the transponder, and the number is retrieved, decoded, and displayed in the scanner readout window. The radio waves use a frequency much lower than AM broadcast stations use, and they must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission before they can be marketed (Woolf 1). The chip, antenna, and capacitor are encased in a tiny glass tube. The tube is composed of soda lime glass, which is known for compatibility with living tissue. The glass is hermetically sealed to keep moisture out.

Microchips implanted in 2003 or earlier are generally readable by most shelters and veterinarians, but microchips that came into use in late 2003 are generally not readable by most shelters and veterinarians because the chips require different scanning technology (Common Questions).