Today is the 15th of April, and you know what that means.
Did you guess the deadline to file your taxes? Well yes, that is true today is tax day. Have you done that yet? (I just barely squeaked in this year causing myself a WHOLE lot of unnecessary stress.)
Taxes? You can eat those right?
The actual event I was referring to though is Blog the Change for Animals, you know, the quarterly blog hop, where we write about our favorite animal-related causes, read posts, leave comments, and share! And in doing so, we help make a difference in the lives of animals or inspire someone else to get involved or make a difference.
I decided to write about microchipping your pet. I know you guys are savvy. You know a pet that is lost and found by someone else has the best chance of being reunited with their owner when the pet is chipped.
But did you know that some towns, and I won’t say where, (CHICAGO) have reduced their stray hold to three days for dogs and zero days for cats? It’s true. And it’s sad. And the best chance your pet has at being reunited with you if found by someone else, is the information contained on that precious little chip.
We’ve all heard the stories of pets found hundreds, even thousands of miles away that are eventually reunited with their owners, all because of the microchip.
For the most part, the tiny little chips stay exactly where they are implanted, BUT they are foreign objects and there are times when they may shift a little bit, or even move. My vet told me of one dog that actually stuck out its tongue with the chip on it.
My suggestion is when you go to the vet for your pet’s annual check up, ask them to scan the pet to make sure the chip is in place. If the chip isn’t where it’s supposed to be, the vet can continue scanning until they find it.
It’s important to note where that chip might be.
If the unthinkable happens, you’ll be able to share, that Fido is chipped, but the chip has moved slightly and you can share the general area of where the chip is located.
True confession. Delilah came to us via American Lab Rescue, and she was chipped when we got her. But up until Sampson had his dental cleaning in December of 2013…he wasn’t chipped.
Honestly, I couldn’t tell you why we never did it when he was a puppy, but once I started blogging and discovered the importance of chipping, we did talk about it and I was all for it, until I saw that needle.
Holy shit, I can’t believe they actually call it a needle. To me it looked like a ballpoint pen refill. I’ve heard people say, it doesn’t hurt and to that I say, “Bullshit. You try shoving a ball point pen shaft into your shoulder and then tell me if it hurts.”
Go ahead tell me.
It’s still bullshit.
So when Sampson had his dental cleaning and was under anesthesia, I had him chipped. When I spoke to my vet about it, she agreed under anesthesia was the way to go and actually confessed that she hated when people insisted on chipping their pet without anesthesia.
So now both dogs are chipped, which brings some peace of mind to me.
Although, I’m pretty sure that anyone who found Delilah would quickly realize she was quite the handful and want to find her rightful owner.
Oh come on, you know it’s true. Not everybody can handle a dog like Delilah.
Shit, most days, I can’t even handle her.
But Sampson, Sampson is such a good boy, it kind of worries me. So that little bit of extra insurance is something that helps me sleep a little bit better at night.
Oh who the hell am I kidding? I sleep with two big dogs, or rather, I try to sleep with two big dogs. Yesterday morning for reasons known only to her, Delilah barked.
One time.
Once.
And that was it for me, I was awake for the day.
But that’s a rant for another day.
Someone touched me with their foot.
Are you participating in Blog the Change? Want to participate but not sure what to write about?
Here’s a few ideas.
- Share what you’ve done to Be the Change for Animals
- Who do you know who acts tirelessly on animals’ behalf?
- What favorite cause has a special need right now?
When We Blog the Change, We Become the Change.
I try to have Mr. N scanned every time we go to the vet. Two years ago, I had him scanned to discover that there was no trace of his microchip. They tried two different scanners and nothing. He had to have a new one implanted.
Lucky we don’t have that problem over here. Have a wonderful Wednesday
Best wishes Molly
Everyone but Mom is chipped at our house, Katie and I have two chips, European and US. Turns out in the US, most readers don’t pick up European chips and they are also located in a different spot. Our vet always takes a read when we go in too.
Our dogs are scanned whenever they have tests done, like eye cerfs. Freighter’s chip did move to his shoulder. We had all of our pets chipped as puppies and without anesthesia. It was no big deal. I cannot imagine putting a dog under just to implant a chip and most puppies don’t need procedures which require anesthesia.
Totally agree and would recommend that everyone microchip! We had two beautiful golden retrievers show up in our yard one day last summer. They had never been seen in our neighborhood before and were a complete fur balls of fun! After checking with several dog owners in the neighborhood, we loaded up these two energetic sweeties and whisked them off to the only vet that happened to be open and could check for a chip. Thankfully, one of them was chipped and we were able to locate the owners that very afternoon! And the dogs had traveled a couple of miles – so, if I had put our flyers, the chance of their owners seeing the flyers would have been very slim.
LOL, yup, can totally identify with that whole ‘sleeping with dogs and getting woken up by them for god only knows what reason’ phenomena. And the whole idea of jamming a ball point pen into my shoulder (this following breaking said shoulder and having reconstructive torn rotator cuff surgery)…well frankly “I’d rather set my hair on fire.” Kudos for getting Sampson done while he was under. I think we tend to forget some of the painful processes we inflict on our fur kids since they never complain. Your thoughts put a fine mark on what ostensibly seems like abuse even if it was well intended to save & protect our fur babies (and I’m definitely having Sam scanned at the next vet visit to make sure his is still in place!). 🙂
Just don’t SIT on any of those TACKSes… BaaaaaaWaaaah
WE are Both Microchipped… Big believers in them…
Good post.
sumskersandearlskers13.blogspot.com
Great idea, since most vets don’t check for the chip on later visits. I can’t believe the dog that had a chip on it’s tongue, wow! I didn’t have Haley chipped right away either, not until we went on a vacation without her and she stayed with my parents. I’m so glad I had it done though, since you never know what could happen.
Darn it, we forgot to have Luke’s checked when he went in for his annual. Since he wasn’t letting anyone near him with anything, I’m not sure they could have anyway. That’s a great idea to have it done when they are under anesthesia for something else, I never thought of that. I’ve never actually seen it done so didn’t know it was such a big needle! Yikes! I’m glad to know that now.
Dang it. I totally forgot it was BTC4A today! Oh well… next time.
Anyway, great post. I didn’t realize it was best to do the microchipping under anesthesia. (Sorry, Rita!) But then, we’ve never had to knock her out, so she still wouldn’t be chipped if I’d known. I had it done at the Humane Society when I was getting her license when we first got her, and they whisked her away into the back so I had no idea it looked like a ballpoint pin. I think I owe that girl an extra treat…
Had the vet check it last year and he said it was right where it should be. He claimed that it’s rare with the newer chips to have them migrate, although they used to in the old days. But still, he said it was good I asked, because I’d forgotten to tell them she even had a chip, so they updated her records.
I’ve never thought of having them scanned to make sure the chip is in place. Good idea. I marvel at those stories of dogs reunited after years because of the chip. And my heart breaks, because we lost Mia for a hour a few weeks ago and that was rough! When we first got her, she was chipped but not registered. The only thing I can think of is that a rescue chipped all its animals and Mia’s first adopter never bothered to register the chip. I wish her chip had any information on it at all, like a date, because that might tell us something about her real age, or where she was chipped. Anyway, her chip is registered to us now!
Great suggestion! I actually noticed, on my departed K, that it felt like the chip had shifted over to the side of one shoulder. So I asked my vet to scan her but I never would have thought of it if I hadn’t felt the chip in the “wrong” place.
I cannot believe that the hold time is 3 and 0 days for dogs and cats in Chicago. That’s outrageous. I hope, with all my heart, that none of my dogs ever gets lost.
Great post! It is so important to microchip, I chip all my puppies before they leave here.
Great post! And excellent tip on having the chip rescanned at the vet. Never really thought about them shifting. All FiveSibes are chipped, as is our adopted feral cat!
In total agreement with you re microchip ping, a great post.