It’s my guess that the mass majority of people who have animals have no idea about what I’m about to type. I didn’t know either, until I started getting curious and looking into it myself. I never would have even thought to ponder this issue if it weren’t for being exposed to the many microchip-related mishaps that can happen at the kill shelters.
Look at your dog. Pull his or her microchip number up and I want you to do an exercise with me, as I’ve already done with my own dog’s microchips.
Here are the databases that I want you to actually search, using your own dog’s unique number. Each is considered to be a “universal” database that covers any number of different microchips…
Pet Microchip Lookup
Free Pet Chip Registry
Petlink
RFID-USA Microchip Registry or here
Petkey
EIDAP
InfoPET
PETMAXX
Now I don’t know about you, but the only database that my 2 dogs came up in was the first one (Pet Microchip Lookup)… And this was only because I took the extra step of manually entering them into the FoundAnimals free database awhile back. So even though both of my dogs have registered chips with Avid, they didn’t come up in this database through Avid, and they didn’t come up in any of the other ones at all. Regarding the 1 that did list them, they came up linked to the secondary FoundAnimals database instead. So had I not taken the initiative to do that, my registered dogs would have went 0 for 8 in these databases masquerading publicly as “universal” databases. Most people aren’t told to cross-register your pets like this, so they never even think to. The only reason that I did it was because it was free. After researching I found that the 2nd database is free as well. I’ve since signed up for that one too.
The other 6 actually charge you to list your animals… Petlink charges you a 1-time fee of $19.99 per pet. RFID-USA charges you a 1-time fee of $19.95 per pet. Petkey charges you a yearly fee of $14.99 per pet. EIDAP charges you a 1-time fee of $11.00 per pet. InfoPET charges you a 1-time fee of $25.00 and an additional $10.00 per added pet. PETMAXX links with Petlink, so if they aren’t listed in Petlink they have no chance of showing in PETMAXX.
Is all of this not totally ridiculous? Why isn’t there a truly universal database that umbrellas over every single one of these poser databases? If you pay once with a microchip manufacturer then the information should be shared with every other database, should it not? And why so many damn databases to begin with? The majority of which also operate exclusively from all the others. So it begs the question: Does this industry care about returning lost animals to their owners or only about charging numerous fees at the further expense of thoroughly confusing people?
Unfortunately these organizations are not required to speak to each other. That means that they are not sharing owner information. Making matters worse, the available online databases rarely catalog tangible results. Instead of working together for the intended advertised purpose, this whole idea really shows itself to be a diluted mess.
These are some of the most well known microchip manufacturers, many who then have their own databases…
24PetWatch, 1-866-597-2424, uses their own database.
AKC, 1-800-252-7894, uses their own database.
Avid, 1-800-336-2843, uses their own database.
Datamars, 1-877-738-5465, uses the Petlink database.
FoundAnimals, uses their own database.
HomeAgain, 1-888-466-3242, uses their own database.
resQ, 1-877-738-5465, uses the Petlink database.
*resQ was created by Bayer and I can’t tell if it’s now in some way affiliated with Datamars. This and this should be required reading for everyone.
Then you get into which scanners actually read which chips… The word “universal” is again readily thrown around, yet many scanners claiming to be universal only read certain microchips. Sometimes this is done on purpose. Avid chips read out at 9 digits. HomeAgain, AKC and other chips read out at 10 digits. FoundAnimals, Datamars and resQ are ISO chips and read out at 15 digits. Some HomeAgain and AKC chips are now ISO and 15 digits. ISO microchips are what most of the non-U.S. world are currently using. It has been said that many of the scanners being used in the United States seldom successfully scan for ISO microchips. Who knows, but pretty worrisome regardless. The 3 different types of chips run on 3 different frequencies: 125 kHz, 128 kHz, and 134.2 kHz. So unless your microchip scanner picks up all 3 frequencies it is NOT universal.
Some shelters and vets assume that if their scanner picks up three different brands of microchips, it is universal. However some brands are on the same chip frequency, and some make several different types of microchip. So unless the scanner picks up all three frequencies (the 125, 128, and 134.2), it is NOT universal. And unfortunately, many organizations are unknowingly still using non-universal scanners, which means they are missing chips and therefore unable to reunite lost pets with their families.
A couple different scenarios for you… Let’s assume that the scanner actually finds a chip on a stray dog. What if a staff member from a vet’s office or a shelter opted to pull up one of these database websites instead of calling a specific manufacturer directly? What if they tried to call, got put on a lengthy hold, and since they’re busy themselves opted to hang up and use one of these websites instead? Yikes. The mere existence of all of these different databases is troubling, because a single search bringing back no results basically implies that the pet has no owner. I’m not saying that this happens a lot, but if it happens at all then it’s a total shame. The absence of a result in any of these random databases could potentially cause an owned animal to die. That’s real. Best case, they wouldn’t be found but eventually saved and adopted out to someone else. No one knows how careful or thorough people are. Just as many vets and shelters likely have detailed protocol in order to deal with this, many probably don’t. That’s scary.
Please be aware of these missteps and take matters into your own hands to make sure that your pet’s microchip is best represented. If you’ve ever adopted a pet from the shelter it is imperative that you personally register your microchip with the microchip manufacturer. You may assume that the shelter does this for you. They do not. I’d also advise registering your pet’s microchip with the free secondary backup websites, FoundAnimals Microchip Registry and Free Pet Chip Registry. Going further, next time you are at your vet I’d have them scan for a microchip just to see if they get a worthwhile result. Lastly, I’d challenge animal shelters to setup test scenarios with dogs known to have specific chips, just to see if their owned scanners are truly up to snuff. Because I have no doubt that many aren’t, and that basically means more dead dogs.
One other thing to note. You should always scan both parallel to the back and also perpendicular (still holding the scanner ‘flat’). Our Boxer had an Avid chip that would only scan in one orientation – no it had not moved from the spot. (I gather Avids are notorious for moving around as well.)
Another tip. I lucked onto a HomeAgain Universal Worldscan Microchip Reader on eBay for $150 some time ago. Our little mountain community chipped in (pardon the pun) to purchase it for the community (we have no local vet or shelter) and we keep it at the Fire Station. We get dogs dumped alot and it has come in very handy. I printed an instruction sheet that includes a cheat sheet to know which number format belongs to which company (just the Big 3) and their phone numbers. Just a thought for anyone reading this in a similar location.
As for databases, thanks so much for the article. I’ve only called a couple of times, don’t remember which of the Big 3 companies for sure but think it was HomeAgain, I was told at the time, that they will courtesy check the other two when you call.
Some local rescues (Victor Valley Animal Protection League) use 24PetWatch chips. Not sure which chip that is as their website isn’t very forthcoming. They say that they will register any other brand as well (and also offer insurance which doesn’t get very good reviews).
Speaking of insurance, Josh have you written a blog about this? If not, that would be another good one!
Kerin
Homeagain microchip service is the only one I recommend. The scanner that should be used is the AAHA and their data base
In addition to the mess with non-universal data bases and/or chip readers,I have found through the search of my lost dog, Juice, in Phoenix, AZ, that vets do not always scan for a chip in a new patient coming in without prior medical records. I have newly created an awareness campaign on FB called Chip Check to inform people of this and to encourage veterinarians to make this a standard procedure. A lost or stolen dog could be taken into a vet and the person could claim the dog was given to them when in all actuality that is not true. The vet will not scan thus leaving the owner of the lost or stolen dog still looking. Please go to http://www.facebook.com/ChipCheck and like it. As I said, it is new and I am still working on a logo. A slow process but it will get done.
My stolen dog has a microchip and one vets office told me that they do not scan new dogs coming in because it may offend a client. I never got my dog back.
Believe me that right there is a problem. Microchips are a great toolfor finding our lost animals. Collars come off or are taken off! All vets should be required to check chips no matter what! Its not difficult to document the number anymore than the records recorded for an existing or new animal being seen. I was told only
responsible vets do! Do what I did take your own survey. Ask them if they scan all animals and what scanner they use and what lookup service they enter the scanned number. As customers we need to put our two cents in cause vet costs aren’t cheap, we need them and they need us!
I was actually mulling over the lack of a universal microchip website while on a recent long road trip. I even thought about trying to build my own unversal microchip website, but hadn’t thought much about the logistics of doing so. Now that I’ve read this post, I have more of an idea of just what a huge issue it is, and more of a realization that a solution may not be forthcoming.
I have encountered this with several stray dogs I’ve found. One vet told me “the dog has a chip but our scanner won’t read it.” ??? I remember thinking at the time what the heck is “universal?” And only one vet tech was very determined in his “chip” search and actually found a chip that had migrated well down onto the dog’s shoulder. This is an eye-opening, informative article on what seems to be a really big problem. Maybe tattooing and registering on a .org site is a better bet.
THANK YOU, Josh, for bringing this multi-layered issue into the public eye. Let’s spread the word and try to start a dialogue. Every microchip mfr, animal shelter, rescue group, vet clinic, Animal Control Officer, Police Dept, etc. should be spearheading a national conference on this issue. The current situation is a mess. Let me add one thing: Owners are often part of the problem; they carelessly fail to register and/or update their pet’s microchip record. Personally, I think adopters and fosters should be REQUIRED to input the data PRIOR to the pet owner leaving the shelter or Vet Clinic or wherever. Communities should offer ‘free licensing’ if pet owners microchip their pet. Not only are pets dying needlessly, there is the HUGE expense of tracking down lost pets, and the cost of feeding pets while in the shelter. UNIVERSAL is the key word here. We need a UNIVERSAL microchip, UNIVERSAL scanner, and a UNIVERSAL database. We need to UTILIZE the power of the INTERNET. Chip mfr’s can make money off the chip, but from then on the information should be in ONE spot, searchable online by anyone. For now, there should at least be Microchip Support Specialists available who are trained and authorized to do reverse phone number checks and other searches, using a chip’s outdated info. On and on…. so many ways to improve the safety of our pets, while putting aside profit motive. Let’s speak for the voiceless pets who have already lost their lives…and work on this massive issue. Josh is onto something here.
I am president of Welsh Corgi Rescue in Missouri. We use the Home Again chip. The primary reason is that the chips do not migrate. There are small nibs on the chip that, when inserted, cause a bit of scar tissue to form around the chip so that it does not migrate. There are chips out there that cost less and also registration is less, but what good are they if the chip cannot be found? I scan the entire body. A shelter in our area at one time was chipping in the ear.
What you may not know is that anyone can change a chip registration. We recently took in a rescue that was chipped with an AVID chip. I filled out our information for change but was ask by AVID to provide proof that the dog was released to us. Because we require a sign release, I mailed a copy with the registration. I called sever other companies including Home Again. None of the companies I contacted require proof that the current owner came by the dog (or cat) honestly. So, someone finds your dog, scans, gets the number, and then changes the registration to their name. I am hoping to ask Home Again to change their procedure. Dogs from puppymills will be chipped but the chip never registered. It’s impossible to trace the chip. The breeders buy from a distributor, not the manufacturer. The distributor keeps no records of the numbers in a lot of chips.
The downfall of many shelters is not changing batteries in the scanner on a timely basis. No batteries, no reading.
A lot of animals are saved because they have a chip, but there could certainly be some improvements.
I have a lost rescue cat. I tried your prompt and his AVID chip did not come up on any of the links of databases!!!!!!
There another factor to the whole microchip mess too that is perpetuated by HomeAgain. Real word example to illustrate. I had pets registered with HomeAgain but after they changed their business model, I decided not to use them anymore. i adopted another “furry baby” two months ago and a HomeAgain chip was implanted in my dog but, according to the shelter the chip was not registered and would not be until I registered it. I exercised my right to not register with them and instead chose Found Animals.
I checked the registry and all was well. Well HomeAgain keeps updating their records. There is no reason for them to do this. They don’t update the records of my other dogs who were registered with them only my new baby who I registered elsewhere. I couldn’t believe what was happening so i started taking screenshots that you can see on http://www.homeagainmicrochipscam.com/
Here’s the reasoning behind their unethical practice. If they update their records, their name willc ome up first if my pet is lost instead of found animals. That means most likely they will be called first and they will say “Oh, this pet is not registered because the pet owner is irresponsible”.Of course that’s not true since my pet is registered and HomeAgain knows exactly what shelter received each numbered microchip.
They use this information to inflate the number of pets not having a registered microchip to convince vets and shelters how important it is to use them and they ply the vets and shelter with oodles of freebies who think they are doing thing but in reality they are not.
Their underhanded practices can cause your pet to be killed because they will get called first since they manipulate their records and God forbid your dog is old, ill or even just has a black coat, the shelter that found the pet will be told it is not registered.
There are screenshots on the site so you can see for yourself.
http://www.homeagainmicrochipscam.com/
Very, very sad.
I paid the RFID-USA (aka National Pet Microchip Lookup) site $39.90 to register two pets. They took my money but didn’t register my two microchips. They would not answer repeated emails and inquiries. Be warned, you will lose your money. Don’t waste your money with them.
Good day! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a
quick shout out and tell you I truly enjoy reading your blog posts.
Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that deal
with the same topics? Thanks a lot!
Thank you for the info here on the free sites for cross referencing! I feel much better knowing they are registered in different areas just in case. Blessings!!
Thank You for this! This is very informative and I had no idea how these workded. I was just about to spend more moeny on something that did not work the first time I had a registered dog stolen now with this information I understand now how and why many dogs fall through the cracks.
I just have a little bit to add onto this – AVID & 24PetWatch will NEVER show up on petmicrochiplookup.org. Never have and never will. Also, the whole “updating with HomeAgain so they show up first” is accurate, but not your only option. If you have your pet registered with HomeAgain and FoundAnimals, they will both show up in AAHA (petmicrochiplookup.org) database. The most important thing with microchips is that it is initially registered and UP TO DATE.
I work for a registry listed on this blog. petmicrochiplookup.org and PetMaxx are the ONLY national databases. Otherwise, they are independent, competing companies, and will not be able to decipher you 0a654654 if it does not belong to them, or is not registered with them.
That being said, that does not mean if you call the incorrect company to report a pet found that they will not give the correct company’s contact information to resolve the issue. I know this because I do this many times in day, 5 days a week.
Please let me know if you have any other questions. 🙂
While I appreciate the time it took to write this blog, I would like to clarify just a few things here. The United States does NOT have a universal database. Each microchip company has their own database and that is where your microchip SHOULD be enrolled. You spent the money to get your pet microchipped, spend the money, if required by the chip company, to enroll your pet. Why? Because if your pet goes missing, when the finding organization scans the chip, they will call the microchip company that the chip came from. They are NOT all going to call multiple databases to see IF you decided to go rogue and enroll the chip elsewhere. You were most likely given an enrollment form. Simply follow the directions AND be sure to type the correct website in. You have NO idea how many times people will THINK they are enrolling one place and are actually enrolling somewhere else because they typed the website wrong.
NONE of the links above are Universal databases. The US DOES NOT have one. Petmicrochiplookup.org ( which is run by AAHA) and PetMaxx are SEARCH engines. A company chooses to participate, or not, with these two organizations and when a chip is plugged in to check, each of these sites SCANS participating databases to see if the chip is a) enrolled and if it is, WHERE it is enrolled b) if it’s not enrolled, it will try to tell you WHAT chip company the number belongs to.
SO, bottom line is, enroll your pet’s microchip into the manufacture’s database and IF you feel so inclined, go for one of the free registries. Just know that unless the finding organization uses the AAHA microchip look up tool, they will NOT know your pet’
s chip is enrolled somewhere else.
Hi, I think your blog could be having internet browser
compatibility issues. When I take a look at your website in Safari, it looks
fine however, if opening in I.E., it has some overlapping issues.
I merely wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Apart from that,
excellent blog!
I work for a microchip company.. actually I have worked for THREE microchip companies. The US does NOT have a Universal database. The CLOSEST thing to a universal database is the AAHA microchip lookup tool. There are close to 15 microchip companies in the US and more dinky ones popping up all the time. There are FIVE major microchip companies. Of those 5, 3 participate in AAHA. Avid and 24Petwatch do NOT. Ultimately what is in the best interest of a chipped animal is to enroll it in the manufacturers database. IF you choose to take a chance and enroll in a FREE registry, you literally are putting your animals life at risk. If you enroll in a FREE registry as a back up, that’s fine as LONG as they participate in AAHA. What AAHA does is scan the participating databases to see WHERE a chip is enrolled. This is useful if say a Home Again chip is enrolled in Found Animals or an Avid chip is enrolled in Home Again. THE major problem is 80% of finding organizations do NOT use the AAHA microchip lookup tool. They scan, determine which manufacturer the chip came from and call that database. THIS IS HOW IT IS supposed to work. The top 5 chip companies all have manufacturer codes on them, making them easy to read on a scanner. We now have at LEAST 7-8 dinky little chip companies that ALL have chips starting with 900.. so when it pops up on a scanner, you have NO idea who’s chip it is. Some of these little companies participate in AAHA, most don’t.
IF you adopt from a shelter or rescue, you MUST ask if they are going to enroll the chip for you. If they say no, PLEASE spend the money and enroll the chip IN the chip makers database. That is THE most direct route to get you animal home if it goes missing. If you squabble about a measly $20 to enroll a chip, maybe you shouldn’t HAVE a pet , as $20 in the life of a pet is NOTHING. I’m not saying it’s not nuts for some databases to charge exhorbanent fees annually.. but guess what.. you don’t HAVE to pay them. Once an animal is enrolled, they are enrolled for LIFE. They will NOT be deleted or the chip be “turned off” or “deactivated” … there is NO magic button to do this. NOW, with those databases that do charge those dumbfees, SHOULD you move, yes, you will need to pay he equivalent of whatever their annual fee is, but again, in the scheme of things in a pets life… deal with it. You can update to your hearts content for FREE in these FREE registries, but guess what… THAT isn’t where a finding organization is going to call first. They will call the chip company and if it’s NOT in there, they will pretty much assume its not enrolled. Until 100% of vets, shelters, Animal Control and rescues use AAHA to look up a chip first, your best bet is to suck it up and enroll I the chip company’s database.
NOW about those universal scanners. If you find that ANYWHERE you go does NOT have a Universal scanner, one that reads ALL THREE frequencies… consider holding a fundraiser for them. If they are a non profit.. hey can actually apply at the AKC for a free scanner. Its not the best scanner on the planet, but it reads ALL chips, which is more than they have now. If its your VET, please advise them they took an oath to help animals and NOT having a universal scanner could hinder an animal from being reunited with their family or worse KILL an animal.
OK, off my soap box now.
Hi… just reading your comments, Debby. Lots of good info. Wishing, however, there could
be a single Registry for ALL microchips, no matter who the mfr may have been. The trouble
I see with your suggestion to register with the chip manufacturer is that chip mfrs
sometimes go out of business. I have an online friend experiencing that situation today.
Has chip # and Mfr name but no one to call, as the Mfr is no longer in biz. I’m totally
surprised that the AVA (American Veterinary Association) doesn’t spearhead a solution to
this massive out-of-control problem. Saving dogs through identity devices should not be
about profit… as American pet owners we can do better.
This is hard to believe and looks self serving to me. Everyone keep in mind that registries are very inexpensive to run, there are free options run by nonprofits, and they can be a huge source of revenue for the chip companies.
The AHAA lookup tool is widely known, and linked and endorsed by the Coalition for Reuniting Pets and Families. It searches all the free registries and 3 of 5 corporate registries. From their website, members of the coalition include: AAHA, American Humane Association (AHA), American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), American Society of Veterinary Medical Association Executives (ASVMAE), AVMA, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), National Federation of Humane Societies (NFHS), and the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators (SAWA). If you Google search microchip search or similar it is at the top of the list.
Using the AHAA lookup is the first thing a finding organization does because it pulls from almost all the registries with a single search.
If a microchipped pet is found, beyond credibility that the finding organization would not take 5 seconds to look up the ID number in this free and well known tool before giving up. Chip companies and their employers (and vets who make money selling ‘premium’ chip products) would like you to believe that this is obscure or unusual so that pet owners are not tempted to use free registries. Humbug to that.
So, my thought is avoid using the two companies that don’t participate in the AHAA database, register your pet in one of the better known free registries, and make a donation to a no kill shelter with the money you save.
Hi, I think your blog may be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your web site in Safari, it looks fine
however, when opening in I.E., it’s got some overlapping issues.
I merely wanted to provide you with a quick heads up!
Other than that, fantastic site!
I just spent 2 hours registering my cats with all the sources you mentioned that are free (I also have Petlink) So glad I found this!
OK, this is really interesting. It’s the day after I did all that registering and I get a call from Pet Key because “they are missing key information on my pet”. Yes they are, because I stopped entering it when I saw that it cost more money to register with them and I already paid Pet Link. So the lady said she would look it up, and oh, see they are not registered. I asked her what database she was looking at and she said the American Animal Hospital Association. I asked her for the web address, she said petmicrochiplookup.org. THEN she said, “oh, let me check again” and LO AND BEHOLD both my cats were registered. Can you say “caught you trying to scam me out of more money Pet Key”? Incredible.
WOW – I just had my cat chipped at vet and they gave me the AKC.org form to register. $17.50 for a one-time enrollment (15 digit number on the chip). I’m sure it’s reputable but this article gives me pause. I came across FREE PET MICROCHIP doing my own research and I guess I’d better register my big fluffy galoot with a few of the free registries as well. Thank you so much for doing this research and I plan to link this article on my Facebook page for other pet parents!
99Disney Junior Magazine #15 (Disney Publishing
Worldwide), $4. The gameplay involves hacking and slashing enemies, battling big bosses and solving puzzles.
A society without Ninja Kingdom Hack is a lot like a society without
practical knowledge, in that it irons out
misconceptions from some of our consciousness.
It’s awesome to visit this web site and reading the views of all colleagues concerning this piece of writing, while I am also eager of
getting familiarity.
Remotely monitoring premises using internet protocol (IP) camera equipment
is a relatively new technology arrival even more
so with wireless equipment capable of pan-tilt-zoom
(PTZ) with wireless connectivity. In the present day We’re the right to contact most people close to hay
day hack and even principe, the explanations these aren’t actually
exasperating but yet very dangerous, solutions to individually keep on being rigorous in order
to avoid these people. Anyone who witnessed his backhanded
acceptance of a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Globes
knows that Robert De Niro is a character.
To Receive Vine’s American solitary public exhibit All Of The Waltz using
2006 here at MONA, your darling made a “feed ideas for painting performing”, the five day process, of a giant-scope mural
the particular public. Very best way to receive directions
is certainly proposition. These are just some of the disturbing news
stories I read while researching this article.
Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve visited this website before but
after going through some of the posts I realized it’s new to me.
Nonetheless, I’m certainly delighted I found it and I’ll be book-marking
it and checking back often!
Some players who have both helms, use the Harlequin Crest for themselves, and put Andariel’s Visage on their mercenary.
These tractors can breakup asphalt, dig large holes, transport materials and aid in demolition. It
is vital that your system for centralizing audit log trails is robust
and comprehensive.
Hi to every body, it’s my first pay a visit of this website; this website consists of awesome and in fact good material for visitors.
Highly descriptive blog, I loved that bit. Will there be a part 2?
So indeed, there are good reasons to advertise and in today’s competitive business
world, it is a must. In England, during the Victorian period, lovers used bouquets to send secret messages to their sweethearts.
As you know, since the recent past online business has become popular.
When you connect, this number sends commands out too
another IP adsdress to get information. Satellite Internet is one of
the fastest growing consumer electronic products out there and its target demographic continues too be rural America, where dialup is the only option. This
command allows you to observe Phase 1 ISAKMP negotiations.
Hi to eνery body, it’s my first pay a visit
оf thսs web site; tɦіѕ webpage сontains amazing аnd in fact excellent data in ffavor ߋf readers.
I can’t believe the amount of professionals and supposed SEO professionals who don’t know anything
p.s Never take guidance from people on the Warrior Forums lol
I’ve been browsing on-line greater than three hours as of late, yet I by no means discovered any
fascinating article like yours. It’s pretty
price enough for me. In my opinion, if all site owners and bloggers made excellent content material
as you did, the net will likely be a lot more helpful than ever before.
To go along with the free data, Verizon’s Connection Day includes goodies from other companies, avfailable to everyone who signs up online, even those wwho aren’t Verizon customers.
Now that you know howw to ind the best flat rate wireless phone
for you; all that is lefft is to get started with your research.
Some of the most important VIP lounges in the airport are Cathaay Pacific Airlines, Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines.
Azure Internet sites is a fully managed Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) that enables you to
make, deploy and scale enterprise-grade web Apps
in seconds.
Josh..
I applaud you for writing about this, but some of your information is not accurate at all… specifically about microchip databases. The US does NOT have a Universal database and NO company claims to be “Universal”, only that they will enroll any brand of microchip.In the scheme of things in your pets life, $20 to enroll in the manufacturers database is a drop in the bucket. In respect to the petmicrochip lookup, it is merely a search engine and NOT a database, that searches participating companies databases to see if the chip is registered. You should in fact be angry with Avid because they do NOT participate in this lookup tool so that is WHY it didn’t show up as registered in Avid. This is why it IS imperative though for each microchip to be registered IN the manufacturers database. Should YOUR pet go missing, the finding organization will in fact CALL Avid as they will know it IS an Avid chip. SO having your pets registered with AVID is KEY and Found Animals is a bonus. Its a bonus because no one will even KNOW it is in Found Animals unless they use the microchip look up tool, which if you say lined up 100 organizations, maybe 10 of them even KNOW about the microchip look up tool or use it.
The second error is that Bayer did not create ResQ, they merely named the chip and marketed the microchip for the manufacturer, which is the global company, Datamars. Those chips were registered in PetLink which is the animalID Portion of Datamars. So, PetLink chips go in the PetLink database
The Found Animals Foundation, which yes does have a microchip registry, IS in fact a non profit and their microchip registry is free. It is NOT a “universal” database anymore than any other microchip provider. Just like any other microchip provider, they will enroll any microchip. As I mentioned, enrolling in Found Animals is a bonus registry but chips SHOULD be enrolled in the manufacturers database AND be kept up to date in that database. Found Animals sells chip but the microchips they sell are white labeled BY Datamars and then resold by Found Animals reps.
PETMAXX is an international search engine that merely does the same thing the US microchip look up tool does. It searches 31 international databases of which PetLink IS one of them. It is in fact NOT a database in and of itself.
Not many companies worldwide HAVE a countrywide Universal Database, unless microchips are regulated in said country. So to call your listed microchip databases posers, is false. The free registries?? Good luck trying to call one of them and getting someone on the phone if you have a question.. they are automated, which is WHY they are free. They don’t have to PAY anyone to man phone lines
Is a lot of the chip industry confusing? Yes. ANYONE who has their pet chipped , enroll it in the manufacturer database, keep it up to date if you move and your pet will be reunited with you should it be lost and then found. Enroll in as many free databases are you want, but if your chip is NOT up to date in EVERY database you have it in… you are putting your pets life at risk.
Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular article!
It’s the liittle changes that will make the most important changes.
Thanks a lott foor sharing!
Do you miind if I quote a couple of your artiicles as long as I provide credit and sources bacck to your blog?
My website iis in the verry same area of interest as yours and my visitors would definitely benefit from a lot of the inmformation you provide here.
Please let me know if this alright with you. Regards!
Dreary Day
It was a dreary day here today, so I just took to piddeling around online and realized
While the term universal scanner is apropriate, it is not really the 3 frequencies that matter, since a universal scanner usually adopts a single medium frequency which is able to activate chips of the 3 frequencies, because they are close enough. What is more relevant is being able to read the different digital protocols used by different types of chips. In other words a scanner that claims to read 3 frequencies may not read all protocols that exist, not even the the most common ones, so when shopping for a universal scanner, look for more in depth information than just the frequencies. Since the ISO chip conforms to a specific international standard, and is required for travel to Europe, we chose that one for our cat. Consumers could promote standardisation of chips by choosing this one. As far as I know it’s not more expensive. Unfortunately our cat’s Datamars ISO chip failed after 3-4 months and we were not able able to travel any further without rechipping and re-vaccinating against rabies (which we chose not to do)!(Many vets claim there is no negative side effect to re-chipping or re-vaccinating, but they have a monetary interest and choose to ignore the increased risk of injection site sarcomas).
Thank you a lot for sharing this with all folks you really know
what you are talking about! Bookmarked. Kindly also visit my
website =). We can have a hyperlink alternate contract among us
PRACTICAL SHORT ADVICE:
1.) Have chip implanted from one of the 5 major manufacturers. (None of them have gone out of business. Ever.)
2.) Register your chip with the manufacturer.
3.) Place a reminder in your smart phone once a year to review and update your info with the manufacturer.
If you do this your pet has THE BEST chance of being recovered.
LONGER MORE DETAILED (for those interested)
As for brand preference I have worked in the vet field for over 30 years and have heard the rumors and stories about every chip. There is NO peer reviewed double blind studies that PROVE one of the 5 major brands is SIGNIFICANTLY better than another. You can choose to believe the personal biases of individuals.
By choosing a NON iso chip you can’t travel out of the country with your pet, BUT it is detected by more US scanners at this point in time.
A universal database would be great, BUT having scanned thousands of animals over the years the primary problem is people don’t register them AT ALL. The next problem is people don’t UPDATE their telephone numbers and addresses. NONE OF THIS WOULD BE SOLVED BY A UNIVERSAL DATABASE.
BUT by following my advice at the top of this post you SOLVE these problems.
I work in a vet clinic. We have used AVID chips for 20+ years. They are registered to our clinic when we purchase them and we keep a database of all customers that they are implanted into. When scanned if the owner never registers the chip at least AVID directs the person who scanned the chip to call the vet that implanted the chip and we have the info as to which pet it was implanted into. Again I really don’t care what chip people use as long as it is from a long time established manufacturer. Just pointing out how AVID works (even if not linked to AHAA) and we have reunited every pet that we have received a call on over the years.
AVID appears to be the worst of the bunch. They don’t participate in the database searches because they don’t have an up to date database. The internet is filled with horror stories from AVID and their sole purpose is to make money off unsuspecting pet owners. They could care less about pets and only about money. They are a joke and should be run out of business.
I registered one of my bird’s chips with Avid, and they cashed the check. Nonetheless, when my bird escaped, the local vet scanned him, and Avid refused to give the vet my address (because, they claimed, I hadn’t paid them). That is THEY HAD MY CONTACT INFO BUT WOULDN’T GIVE IT OUT because of a clerical error that they had made.
[…] The microchip mess | SwayLove.org – SwayLove.org ~ Creative Pit Bull Advocacy … In addition to the mess with non-universal data bases and/or chip readers,I have found through the search of my lost dog … […]
Usually I do not learn article on blogs, but I would like to say that this
write-up very pressured me to take a look at and do it!
Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thanks, very nice post.
[…] The microchip mess | SwayLove.org – SwayLove.org ~ Creative Pit Bull Advocacy … In addition to the mess with non-universal data bases and/or chip readers,I have found through the search of my lost dog … […]