By Bob Christiansen

You open the door to get the morning paper and your beloved cat bolts outside, never to be seen again. You forgot to latch the backyard gate and now your faithful canine companion has been missing for over a week. These stories, and many like them, are told regularly by sad-eyed owners when they visit shelters searching desperately for their lost pets. "Why didn't you put identification on your pet?" the shelter worker asks. "We did but the tag was lost. We were meaning to replace it, we just never got around to it."

Every pet owner has experienced a moment when his or her beloved pet was lost, if only for a moment. These moments can be heart wrenching. Every pet has the potential to roam or run away, especially when disaster strikes.

Some pet owners intentionally forego identification, thinking the pet is secure in a house or yard. When pets are exposed to fireworks or other frightening stimuli in which they are not accustomed, or when they are simply bored, they will flee. If your pet becomes lost or stolen and you took precautionary steps, you can rest assured knowing your pet will have an excellent chance of returning home, safely. A simple chip the size of a grain of rice could save your pet’s life and save you a lot of heartache.

In theory, license laws, with accompanying ID tags, is the system that society relies on to return lost pets home. In reality, licensing programs, as a means of returning lost pet's home, are a failure. In California, one out of three dogs are licensed. That's about standard nationwide. Cat licensing is also being enacted in many jurisdictions, with poor public acceptance.

Visual tags often become lost, misplaced or obsolete — even for those who obey the law. The best strategy is to use a microchip as the primary, permanent identification and to use a collar-tag as a visual, secondary back up. This will make it possible for anyone to identify a lost pet at a glance yet protect the pet when its tag has been lost. Permanent microchip identification will also make it possible to reclaim stolen pets and prevent animals from being inadvertently seized and killed (especially cats).

More pets die each year as a result of being lost than from all diseases combined. Thanks to medical advances, we can protect pets from contagious disease, but we haven't had a truly safe and permanent means of protecting pets in the event they are separated from their owners, until now. While organizations strongly endorse the use of external identification, the sad truth is that 90 per cent of lost pets are never identified and recovered. A microchip is with your pet for life and can greatly increase the chance of recovery if a pet becomes lost.

Furthermore, the current sheltering system relies on license revenues and impoundment fees to support animal programs. When stray animals enter shelters and owners cannot be found, there are two negative consequences; first and foremost, the animal usually loses its life. Secondly, shelters receive no compensation for their services.

Currently, this high-tech, lost-pet recovery technology is lying dormant, slow in catching on in the pet world. Shelters promote visual identification (pet tags) through licensing as primary identification despite its historical poor performance as a means of returning lost pets home. Not all shelters are scanning pets for microchips.

Up until 1996, there were no scanners that could reliably identify microchips produced by all current U.S. manufacturers. Therefore, three scanners were required to identify an implanted microchip. Shelters also questioned the sensitivity and accuracy of available scanners, and were concerned about the capability between newer scanners and their ability to read older chips.

Differing opinions and facts they hear regarding microchip technology have confused shelters. Shelters have also become frustrated from scanning thousands of pets while only observing a few hits. Whether it is faulty technology, lack of technique or low hit rates, shelters have been slow in espousing microchip systems.

Originally designed for use in livestock and wildlife, Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) technology was applied to identification of companion animals. Originally, three companies marketed microchips, InfoPet, Schering-Plough Animal Health and Avid. In 1998, the InfoPet company lost a patent lawsuit and currently is not marketing microchips. Today, two companies, Avid and Schering-Plough market microchips in the United States. 

Unfortunately, these companies got off to a shaky start and set microchip implementation for companion animal's back years because of technological conflicts. The three major chip companies used proprietary technology so that the scanners from one company could not read the chips (transponders) of another company. This was not a problem for its original intended use, with horses, fisheries and other livestock, but it poses a major problem for companion animals.

In the spring of 1996, Schering-Plough Animal Health, marketer of the Destron microchip, in a joint project with Avid, announced distribution of a multi-system scanner that can read or detect the presence of a competitor's microchip. Thus, for the first time, the possibility exists that a shelter could identify lost animals with a single scanner, regardless of the type of microchip implanted in that animal. This removed a major obstacle to widespread acceptance for microchips. Multi-system scanners are distributed free of charge to most shelters and veterinarians throughout the United States.

Two decades ago, bar code technology revolutionized the way goods and merchandise were identified, priced and inventoried in retail facilities. Bar coding rapidly became an integral part of modern business, providing a firm foundation for the concept of automatic identification. Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) uses similar technology to identify an object remotely. RFID codes can be read without line-of-sight or physical contact.

Microchips, more than any other program, will foster responsible animal ownership. Modern RFID technology provides solutions to the pet euthanasia problem.

Electronic identification products are widely used in Europe, where permanent companion animal identification is mandatory. Years ago tattoos were the norm. Modern technology, in the form of microchips is rapidly surpassing tattoos. Mandatory systems are coming into place in several other countries.

The latest figures from the English National Dog Warden Association show: 73,230 dogs picked up, 12,966 (18%) returned directly to the owner, 24,391 (33%) claimed by their owner from kennels. This indicates 51% of dogs are being returned to owners in England. The United States, slow to implement permanent identification, has a 14% national return to owner rate.

A microchip is a tiny, totally inert electronic transponder about the size of a grain of rice. The chip is implanted into an animal using a simple, painless procedure similar to a routine vaccination. For most animals (dogs, cats) the chip is implanted in the scruff of the neck (the loose skin over the pet's shoulder blades). In birds, the chip is implanted under a wing. This procedure takes seconds and does not require anesthesia.

Once implanted into the animal, the microchip remains inactive until read with a scanner. Scanners send a low-radio-frequency-signal to the chip, providing the power needed by the microchip to send its unique code back to the scanner with the animal's ID number. After implantation, the device remains with the animal for life. Once the microchip is inserted it would require a veterinarian to surgically remove the chip.

The use of a microchip allows the ID number to be stored permanently inside the animal, just under the skin, where it cannot be lost or altered or become worn and unreadable like an external pet tag. 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. The microchip will last the life of the animal. This safe, lifetime protection takes just minutes to complete.

Microchips are powered and read by scanners using a low frequency radio band. Scanners generate a magnetic field that is intercepted by the microchip. The microchip uses the energy from this field to power itself and transmit a return signal to the scanner that converts it into the microchip's identification code. The resulting alphanumeric identification code is displayed.

The best way to obtain a microchip is to contact your local veterinarian for information about acquiring permanent microchip identification for your pet. Veterinarians will provide you with an enrollment form and visual collar tag at the time a microchip is implanted. The enrollment form must be filled out and sent in immediately to the registration agency to activate the process.

Schering-Plough and Avid systems retail between $25 and $60 depending on the number of pets owned and whether the pet is enrolled in a national database. Shelters offer the chip for under $15. Microchips are considerably cheaper if they are bought in lots and implemented as part of a group clinic or through a shelter agency. Like most items, the more you buy, the cheaper the cost.

Electronic ID offers a number of physical advantages over external tags. It is remarkably more reliable. The process is quick and painless, similar to receiving a vaccination. The chip is permanent and can't get lost. The pet's identification number is unique in the world and the database can contain the pet's pertinent history. Cats, unlikely to carry visible ID and always in danger of being picked up and transported to shelters can benefit immensely from this technology.

We need to start now to resolve issues that are impeding the mass distribution of microchips that will save millions of animal lives. National animal protection organizations must work to shepherd implementation and overcome looming manufacturing debates on compatibility, open standards, legal patents, number integrity, manufacturer accountability, backward compatibility and cost.

Animal protection organizations must embark on an all-out educational campaign to put microchip identification on pets and, if necessary, subsidize the cost. Government officials must come to the realization that there are tremendous animal welfare and financial benefits associated with implementing a community microchip program. Progressive, far-sighted government animal control organizations offer free, lifetime license registration or reduced rate license fees upon proof of a microchip.

Shelters and veterinarians must join forces and work progressively to protect pets from harm. Shelters must scan all impounded and lost pets twice (upon entry and before euthanasia), microchip all adopted pets and develop a publicity campaign to educate their community.

A community microchip program will return lost animals home, protect pets from theft and accidental euthanasia, foster responsible animal ownership and produce a healthier pedigree. Microchips are the main weapon to combat our nations number one animal killer, unidentified animals. In short, microchips will protect pets and save animal lives.

HomeAgain ™
Marketed by Schering-Plough Animal Health
Chip and Scanner Manufacturer: Destron-Fearing 
Registration and Recovery Services:
AKC Companion Animal Recovery Network (aprox $12.50)
Phone: 800-252-7894, Email: found@akc.org