Checking for microchips

Recently I received an e-mail from a pet owner. It grabbed my attention as the title was “Are vets supporting pet theft and neglect”? The author, Karen, indicated that she had arranged to leave her 3 cats at a boarding facility in Laval when she was going to Germany for a 6-week visit. A week later, when she was in Germany, she received word that all 3 cats had escaped through an unsecured window. She was distressed but hopeful because all 3 cats carried microchips.

Since her return to Canada, Karen has been able to find 2 of the missing cats. She found one of the cats sitting in a window in a house in Montreal, 20 kilometres away from the boarding facility. That cat had been with a family who had found her and had taken her to a veterinarian for a checkup. Karen’s e-mail to me was to ask me to remind veterinarians of the importance of checking for microchips in animals that are new to their practice, especially those declared as found animals. Karen was aware of the collar tag containing a phone number that is provided for each pet when it receives a microchip but noted that these break-away collars are easily released and lost when a cat’s collar becomes tangled.

Microchips are widely used by animal shelters and humane societies, and by a low percentage of pet owners as a valuable aid in identification of pets that may be lost or stolen. Microchips are passive radio frequency identification systems that have no power source and depend on a scanner for transmission of the information they hold (1). They have saved some lost pets from euthanasia and have contributed to many a happy reunion between a lost pet and its distraught owner. Microchipping has been suggested to be particularly important for cats vaccinated against FIV as these cats may be considered to be infected with FIV and euthanized if they are picked up by animal control. Some jurisdictions, such as El Paso, Texas, recognize the value of microchips and have passed legislation requiring that “Dogs, cats and ferrets shall be registered, vaccinated and have an implanted microchip …” (2). Since 1999 Australia has required that all cats and dogs have microchips. Although some individuals have publicized data suggesting that microchips may cause cancers in rodents and dogs (3) microchips appear to be safe.

Battery-operated GPS devices attached to the collar are also being used to track dogs. These are usually recommended for dogs that weigh 10 or more pounds. Computers and cell phones are used along with the device so that, if the dog leaves a designated safety zone, an e-mail or text message is sent to alert the owner. With some devices these zones can extend as far as 1000 meters. Because collars can be lost or removed, some pet owners may choose to have their dogs fitted with both a GPS and a microchip.

Unfortunately, there are some gaps in the system. One of these is failure to ensure that the microchip is registered correctly and that phone number information is updated if the owner moves. Also, some microchips may move from the site of implantation and it is suggested that at each checkup owners ask the veterinarian to scan the chip to ensure that it is in the right location and is working properly. Yet another problem is that there are multiple databases that hold the microchip identification numbers, requiring the use of several scanners. This is being addressed in the United States by efforts to create an umbrella database that has all the data (1).

Another gap is that a veterinarian may fail to check for a microchip in a new pet. This is one gap that can be closed by continuous vigilance on the part of veterinarians in practice.