would you microchip your dog?

3 dogs- no chips

3 cats- no chips

should I fee like a bad owner?

Dunno, the shelter did it for free. This was the second one they stuck in her, since the first one didn't show up on any of their scanners.

I just looked up what we pay, and it is $15/year. I thought you had to pay in order to keep the chip record active--I didn't realize it wasn't necessary! Upon further reading, I guess the $15 means that if we report her as lost, they'll send out lost dog alerts with her picture to all shelters and rescues and vets and volunteers in the area.

Not necessary, I guess...but again, even a 2% increase in the chance she's returned home is worth $15 to me!

just fyi, for the homeagain extra stuff, if you don't pay the yearly fee your chip will still be active and accessible, you just won't get the extra junk (fliers, free call to poison control, etc) BUT if at any time your pet goes missing and you WANT the extra stuff, you can just call them and reactivate it and it will all be available to you again for that $15.

Not at all. I don't think anyone is even suggesting that.

To chip or not to chip is a personal choice. Some choose to, others choose not to.

Ahh. I think the initial fee is what stops some people here. 24petwatch does chipping through vets.. depending upon the vet it can be $60 to chip or the office fee plus whatever they charge so it could be up to $120 or so. Pretty sure none of the 5 companies here have any sort of after the fact fee unless it's to transfer ownership on a chip..

Smudge got imported with the wrong version of an accepted chip brand he has a 24petwatch chip too.. CKC only accepts ISO chips.. and they aren't sold stateside. Breeder specifically asked, and was told she was getting ISO chips.. A rescue in QC offered me a chip if my vet would insert it. Even having the chip in hand they wanted to charge me $100.

So he's got an American chip. To my knowledge it functions, but he can't play in the CKC with it.. CKC accepts 4 other companies chips.. but the only way to get them is through the CKC. They are THE only retailers.. Have to be a CKC member to buy them. Love the spinning in circles..

Occasionally there are chip clinics that charge 20-40 but they aren't often. More often than not you hear that it happened.. after it happened. Way the system works here with the CKC so tied in turns me off.

My kids are pretty unique where I live. I have a billion pics. Only reason I'd chip Cider is the play CKC agility.. but it's $52 to get a PEN/ILP and whatever it would cost to chip her. Can't say as a semi broke student depending upon the month I care enough.

Heck it's Canadians on other forums claiming if you loose your dog they'd rehome it cause you suck as an owner. Not sure it really ups my chances of getting my kids back cause enough people in rescue here are fruitcakes.

If you are, I'm just as bad. We have 5 unchipped dogs.

Months of pictures vs YEARS of pictures, plus puppy pictures?

Months of vet records vs YEARS of records?

Plus lost/stolen posters with dates saying 'missing since' vs you only having this dog since after the date?

Holy crap that's expensive! Charlies breeder gave us his chip with all his paperwork, etc. It cost us $7 to take him to the vet and have the tech put it in.

Strider's we got through the low income shot clinic. It was only $23 for the chip and insertion. Then they send you home with the paperwork, and you mail that in yourself for a one time 20-something dollar fee to register it in your name. Otherwise it stays in the vets name. Which is okay too, because the vet has the dog on file with your name and address connected to the chip.

With the track record of judges awarding custody to whoever has current custody of a dog, I would want every possible legal identifier in place. Even then it's not guaranteed (as recent headlines have shown) but I want to stack the odds in my favor as much as possible.

i dont see why have a chip or even an id tag on Ruckus. if they ever got away from me, no one could get NEAR them. muchless read their tag or scan for a chip. Ruckus would eat them alive.
If figure if Ruckus is dead laying on the road someone would see the tag and call me. but thats the only use for an id I can think of for him.

I get the chip at cost..so it's about $3. And while at least one of my dogs probably wouldn't let a stranger grab him, if he were hit by a car or caught by animal control, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Our shelter does scan, and I believe everyone in town uses the universal scanner now.

Having seen so many pets reunited with owners, I'm just more comfy having them chipped. Avid doesn't have a yearly fee, so no problems there

If it was lower cost here, it might be more common. Breeders chip dogs, lot DIY and get them cheap through the CKC.. but if you get a pet from any other source.. chipping becomes stupid expensive. Enough that I think cost is a deterent..

Tonight my faith in microchips was reaffirmed. A breeder friend of mine was supposed to go with us to the local arts walk. She called and canceled at the last minute. She had to go and drive several counties away to pick up a dog of her breeding from the humane society there, before it got euthed from lack of space.

How did they find her? Well, the owners took the dog to the pound instead of calling her. The pound scanned for a chip, and she was on the chip. They called her and voila! Her dog is alive today.

Scummy people abandoning him though.

Neither of my dogs are chipped. However, anytime I go out I make sure they have id tags on even if it's just out to pee. When they get walked I like to have two collars on them. One to put the leash on and one to keep the tags on. Therefore if they slip out of their collar or it fails, they still have their id on them.

In our are, NO ONE scans for chips. It's not common here at all, the vets don't scan the shelters don't scan. I'd be more inclined to tattoo them. Not to mention I have over a thousand photos of them, from the time both of them were puppies, plus all their shot records past licenses and rabies tags. So I'm pretty sure I could prove ownership.

A chip is no guarantee, but it hedges your bet. If cost is an object, try the city dog pounds and local pet stores, they sometimes have low cost chip clinics in my area at least.

Peyton is chipped with Avid and wears a blue Avid dog tag, here's their FAQ.

http://www.avidid.com/faq/index.html

Both mine are chipped, and even if it wasn't required by their rescues, they would have had it done. It just seems more logical.

I only microchip them if I OFA (for their 'positive ID'). Otherwise, I do not.

My pug and boston were chipped by the breeder....My APBT we had done at our vets office

Both dogs and both cats are chipped. I had the boys chipped before we moved, and the dogs have had chips for at least seven years now.

Weighing the risks and benefits... I decided to do it. All were inserted while the animals were awake.

mine are chipped, they are required to be for the pet passport!