Anyone put a computer chip in their pet? How much did it cost and do you think it was worth the price? Has anyone here had a pet returned due to a chip implant?
Anyone put a computer chip in their pet? How much did it cost and do you think it was worth the price? Has anyone here had a pet returned due to a chip implant?
I was going to but the local vet discouraged me from doing it. I live in a rural area and the vet told me that no one in the area used a chip reader if the dog was found. At the time there were/are different chip formats which require different readers and the chip can move under the skin and not be read. These concerns may have been addressed with new technology. Check with a local vet, humane society or dog pound. Price varied from 10 bucks to 50 bucks depending on who did it.
We chipped both our dogs with Home Again chips. Our vet charged about $30 a piece and to register each chip with Home Again was around $15 a piece. You could probably find it cheaper somewhere else, but we were okay with that price.
All of my dogs are "chipped". Since they cannot speak for themselves and tell someone to whom they belong, if they get out and their collars come off in one way or another, I want to see them come home safely, and for me, that is peace of mind. I've never had one get out, but I would add that whenever you get near one of those scanners(some vets have them in the waiting room) check and ensure that your pet's chip has not moved from where it was implanted. We don't know where it went, but one of my dogs, rest her soul, had to get a second one.
We just put one in our dog a few months ago. We went to the kokomo humane society. It wasn't that much to have it done and he did not even notice it getting put in.
We did this after finding a sweet house broken jack russel. We took him everywhere and no one was claimed him so we had the vet or someone check to see if he was chipped. Nope. We placed adds in the paper and we got calls for people wanting the dog and the owner never called.
Rant....
So we kept the dog and gave him to a friend then he was passed to someone else and later died. I wish I would have kept him. People need to keep their dogs off of the roads.
Both of my parents are vets. They do offer this service, and like someone said, there is more than one. I think in the 10 years they have been doing it they may have had one lost animal returned because of the chip. Collars w/ a owers name tag attached seem to work better
anyway, I think cost is around $30, and if it means anything, none of my pets or my parents have a chip. BUT the main problem is we dont live in a huge city, and not all the vets have a chip reader. So around here, its not really worth it yet.
I've found and returned 2 dogs with chips in the last year. Found another dog a couple of months ago and had to rehome him because owners couldn't be found. My dogs aren't chipped but they are 15 & 13 y/o bassets. They don't do much anymore in the area of walking around the yard, let alone trying to run away.
I always check for a chip first.
I absolutely would recommend it. I work for a large pet supply company and when a dog gets lost either the animal control picks it up or a person that cares about animals enough to stop and help it out. Most of the people that would stop to try to find it's home know about the chips. Vets scan for them and so do the shelters. Tags are fine but when you lose your pet will it's collar be on, or when your pet gets stolena dn they take it to the vet whose info will the vet see?
While doing my things during the course of the day I remembered awhile back the neighbors dog had gotten out. The neighbor was out frantically searching for her. While she was out Animal Control pulled up outside her home. I ran out and asked if they had the dog. We exchanged the obligatory who are you where is so & so, yes I have her dog. The chip saved her from going to the pound tonight. If we ever get another dog when the 2 we have now die, it will be chipped.
Thanks for the replies. It looks like it might be a very good thing. I understand that the chips are not universal. How many different proprietory chip "systems" are out there. Which system is the most widely used?