geonni banner Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Still confused...you said initially Then you called Home Again, right? Did you ever call AKC/CAR and see if she is registered with them? So, why pay Home Again, if you already registered her with the other program? This is the "owner responsibility" I am speaking of. You yourself filled out the paperwork, why the indignation, unless AKC said they did not have her registered and they simply took your money? I don't get it, it's not like the dog wasn't registered at all was she? Or is it that she was registered somewhere you did not want her to be, yet you filled out the paperwork? Ah, OK. THAT kind of responsibility. Ok. She IS registered with the AKC. As I said, I sent in the papers that I got with the chip. That info is available IF the person finding my dog can read the number on the collar tag she has now. No problem with that part of it - but when the AKC split with Home Again they "took their registry dogs with them." So if my dog had turned up at a shelter sans collar, the chip reader at the shelter would find a Home Again chip. It would get a Home Again number. Then the shelter would contact Home Again. But Home Again would have no information to give the shelter about my dog because she was registered with AKC/CAR NOT Home Again. I didn't CHOOSE to register her with AKC instead of Home Again - I simply registered with them because those papers came with the chip. I didn't know that Home Again had its own registry. It isn't the fault of the AKC that my dog was running around with chip unregistered by Home Again. It's my vet's fault for giving me the AKC registry papers instead of Home Again registry paperwork. Where I see fault with the AKC, is for all the dogs that were registered with the AKC prior to 2005 when AKC and Home Again shared a registry. Because when the two "companies" split, AKC "took" the dogs with them that were registered under the AKC registry - so their information (which is accessed by using a number on a microchip made by Home Again) was no longer available through the Home Again database. The chip and its number would read as originating from Home Again, but Home Again no longer had that information because the AKC took it when they split with Home Again. That information should should have remained in BOTH databases. Now there are some shelters that might be diligent enough to pursue the matter beyond the point at which the Home Again database tells them there is no information attached to that chip number, but many would not. In ten years it won't be a problem - most of the dogs chipped prior to 2005 will be dead. What I want people to understand is that if their dog received a Home Again chip in the window of time that those two databases were connected, they may "come up empty" when their chip number is accessed. And then there are the people like me, who through the misdirection of the vet or whomever implanted their dog with a Home Again chip AND gave them the wrong registry papers after the split between the two companies happened. It may be that in 2005, the AKC and/or Home Again may have informed their customers en masse that the split had happened and they might need to alter or augment their chip registration data. I don't know. I didn't have a pet with a chip/ registry with AKC OR Home Again during that time. I was tattooing my animals with my driver's license number. I would still be doing that now, but with the growing popularity of chipping, tattoo clinics are few and far between. I think the tattoo is preferable because it doesn't have to be read by a chip-reader. And even a chip in good working order, with proper data-base backup is no good in a situation where there is a widespread power-failure. I live in earthquake country. It seems to me that an ID method that isn't affected by a widespread power-failure is the one to choose. Of course if the dog changes hands it's a little harder to change the info - but it hasn't been an issue for me so far. Ok, I'm tired now. If there are people who still don't understand, can someone else take a shot at clarification? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerus Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Personally I think all these new registries popping up with microchips are a bad thing for people who just want to get their pets back. I wouldn't chip my own pets with anything but Avid or HomeAgain, but we seem to get a lot of pets with AKC/CAR chips. Agreed, definitely. My older boy was chipped at a dog fair when he was young. We moved a couple years back so I've been trying to get in touch with the registry to update his information. Well, the registry is gone. From what info I can gather, they were a branch of a registry in Europe, but the local branch apparently lasted a couple of years and then shut down. Is my dog in a database overseas? I don't have a clue. Have had zero luck getting in contact with them either. Next time we go to the vet I'm going to get him chipped again with one of the big two. I wish I had done that from the beginning, but I didn't know any better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaisingRiver Posted October 24, 2009 Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 Question: So if my dog is found collarless and is scanned, is it possible that my dog's chip won't be identified as a particular brand and therefore the vet/shelter won't know who to call to get my info? (seems to negate the point of the chip). Also, I'm a wee bit confused why my dog should wear the chip collar tag which is presumably on the same ring as the collar tag w/ my number on it. If found, ppl would call my number, not a chipping service to get my number. My dogs only wear a jingle tag w/ their name and my cell on it as well as a Boomerang collar tag with the same info plus the house # and county license and county name on it. I never thought to have my dogs scanned at their annual visits to verify the chip, but I'm going to do just that. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geonni banner Posted October 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 Question: So if my dog is found collarless and is scanned, is it possible that my dog's chip won't be identified as a particular brand and therefore the vet/shelter won't know who to call to get my info? (seems to negate the point of the chip). Also, I'm a wee bit confused why my dog should wear the chip collar tag which is presumably on the same ring as the collar tag w/ my number on it. If found, ppl would call my number, not a chipping service to get my number. My dogs only wear a jingle tag w/ their name and my cell on it as well as a Boomerang collar tag with the same info plus the house # and county license and county name on it. I never thought to have my dogs scanned at their annual visits to verify the chip, but I'm going to do just that. Thanks. If you have and Avid chip or a Home Again Chip you are probably OK. As for the tag, Sometimes chips can be a bit elusive - the tag has the chip# on it, so it's easier for the pound - especially if their employee isn't especially diligent about finding that chip. Aren't Boomerang collar tags the best? One thing I've discovered is that those little plastic rings that fit over the "handle" of a regular door key work great on dog tags. No more jingle jingle against the other tag, and no more clang clang clang against the side of the water bowl! And the words don't wear off the tag so quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrayburn Posted October 24, 2009 Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 Also, I'm a wee bit confused why my dog should wear the chip collar tag which is presumably on the same ring as the collar tag w/ my number on it. If found, ppl would call my number, not a chipping service to get my number. My dogs used to wear their chip collar tag because if they were lost, calling the company would provide more information than just their normal tags. Their normal tags have my name and number but the chip company has multiple numbers for me, my home address and multiple numbers for my backup contact. After the problem with Nellie's chip tag, I took them off. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbirdguy123 Posted May 19, 2010 Report Share Posted May 19, 2010 I disagree with them beacause show dog brreding for looks takes away from the real reason for border collies working dogs I. Disageee with showing dogs breeders are different for show I like hearding trials thoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCjetta Posted May 19, 2010 Report Share Posted May 19, 2010 It can be a bit annoying to search for a dog's microchip. At work one of the companies gave us a sheet with a bunch of the different brands, the number to call, and an example of what one of their microchip numbers looks like. Even so, if I scan an animal and find a chip, I may need to call 2-3 different companies to see which one the dog may be registered with. The one time I did this, I called one company and they said it was a chip they manufactured, but they'd sold the chip to the CKC so I'd have to call them to find out who the chip was registered to. I did eventually find out but it is not necessarily a quick process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njnovice Posted May 19, 2010 Report Share Posted May 19, 2010 It can be a bit annoying to search for a dog's microchip. At work one of the companies gave us a sheet with a bunch of the different brands, the number to call, and an example of what one of their microchip numbers looks like. Even so, if I scan an animal and find a chip, I may need to call 2-3 different companies to see which one the dog may be registered with. The one time I did this, I called one company and they said it was a chip they manufactured, but they'd sold the chip to the CKC so I'd have to call them to find out who the chip was registered to. I did eventually find out but it is not necessarily a quick process. Sinead is microchipped, I keep her microchip tag on her collar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberviewfarm Posted May 19, 2010 Report Share Posted May 19, 2010 I have 24petwatch chips in my dogs. I know where in NC you can get them chipped but you can also call the company and they will tell you what vets in your state microchip with their company Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda-pop Posted May 19, 2010 Report Share Posted May 19, 2010 When we shelter folk scan your dog A.) We have good scanners. Most shelters have better/multiple scanners than the vets office because we scan so many animals. I'm not saying it's perfect, (it's not) but generally our scanners are good and most shelters have at least one truly universal reader. B.) When we get a chip most of us know what the number looks like for which company and we call them. If we were wrong, a lot of the time (most of the time!) the company will tell you who registers that particular chip. If they cannot, we are bound by law to track it down, so yes, we have to take the time to find the registry. The real problem comes with foreign registries. I had a cat with a Canadian Avid chip and no joke, it took me 30 full minutes to find who registered it. Even American Avid couldn't help (the company split to two separate companies) C.) There is actually a generic # and a website you can call (i can't recall it off the top of my head) that will tell you who the chip is registered with and will direct you to them. Chipping is a good backup, but a collar and id are the best front line. ETA: About 80% of the chips we find are registered to nothing or the people no longer reside at that address/phone number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geonni banner Posted May 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2010 Wow. 80%. Yikes. And all it takes to update is a phone call... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda-pop Posted May 19, 2010 Report Share Posted May 19, 2010 Wow. 80%. Yikes. And all it takes to update is a phone call... If you have AVID, you have to have a form and mail it off and it's like $7. It's kind of a PITA. Also, a lot just plain aren't registered. They dogs are bought/adopted, whatever and they never bother to register the chip. The 80% is just my gross guestimate, btw. Not an official #. But I feel it's accurate of what I've experienced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Bo Boop Posted May 20, 2010 Report Share Posted May 20, 2010 I rescued a cat off of the hwy on Tuesday, he'd been injured, so took him to the vet, they said he was chipped, so I thought wonderful! They tried two readers on him and could get no info on him ;-( I now have a new cat Really sad, as the cat has been very well taken care of, is a sweetie, and was obviously someones beloved pet...they went to the trouble of having him chipped, lot of good it did ;-( I'll still make some calls to the area shelters, see if anyone's posted a missing cat... Betty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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