We highly recommend inserting a microchip id
in your puppy. All our animals are 'chipped' dogs - horses - llamas -
any animal of value financially or emotionally. Microchip
identification chips are made by Avid – the number-on, most-recognized
microchip in the US and Canada. It is inserted under the skin,
over the shoulders. The chip is about the size of a grain of
rice, and is inserted by injection, the same as as any vaccination is
given. We do it here, it is so simple. Pups never even notice it
most of the time (just like getting vaccinations - I take a shot
worse than they do). The chip has a unique 9 digit number on it
that can be read by a radio scanner. This ID number gets
registered to you and you alone, as the owner of your dog.
If your pup is ever lost - most
vets, shelters, many sheriff’s departments and pounds have a scanner
(Avid provides scanners to any non-profit shelter or rescue group;
others purchase them). Scanning for a chip is usually the first thing
done when a dog is presented to any of these people or groups.
The chip itself does not contain your info. You enter your info in the
national lost pet recovery database ($15 to the database for the
service) and they call you, should your dog wind up lost and has been
located and scanned for a chip. . If you move, you change your
information in the database the same way you would change your car
registration.
Microchipping has become accepted
as the decisive identifier for pets; it can be vital not only in terms
of returning your pet to you, but also in proving ownership. It's not
unknown that more than one person shows up at the shelter or pound
claiming a lost dog - especially a valuable or highly-desirable one -
is theirs. In such a case, the person proving ownership via microchip
ID and registration is deemed the rightful owner. Should your dog ever
be stolen, likewise proof of ownership is demonstrated by microchip ID.
Unlike tattooing, microchips are virtually unalterable.
Birdwalk offers microchipping
service for all puppies for a $20 charge; it's done for you before your
pup leaves the farm. You will be supplied with the microchip
registration form to complete when your puppy arrives home to you.
This photo shows an x-ray of a
microchip in a 12 pound puppy.
Notice the faint image of a penny taped alongside, for size reference.
