Microchips
We use Tracer Advance Microchips. Tracer is the only non-glass microchip in the UK - it is shatter proof and 10 times stronger than glass. These are 12.8 x 2.2 mm and weigh 0.106 gm. The reading distance is up to 30 cms. The liquid crystal bio-polymer Vectra A530 surrounds a tiny wafer of semiconducting material designed to fit comfortably under the skin.
It is inert and cannot dissolve, corrode or interact with living tissue. The chip does not hold any information other than a unique 15-digit number. It is a rudimentary transponder, and when the "scanner" is passed over the chip the chip's number is displayed on the screen. The microchip is a passive device, meaning that it carries no battery and remains inactive except when it is being scanned. This is inserted under the skin of an animal as a means of identification.
Registration
When we implant a microchip we record that permanent number our database, and register it (for life) with Petlog, the largest UK database which is available 24/7. Database amendments are chargeable unless the owner has additionally taken out Petlog Premium, when they have free Internet access to their own data and can change it at will. www.petlog.org.uk
01296 337 517
Petlog is run by The Kennel Club in conjunction with the RSPCA and the SSPCA.
The re-unification Number is: 08444 633 999
For animals chipped outside the UK, registrations are kept on the Europet database at www.europetnet.com
Lost and Found
As virtually all practices, charities, rescue kennels, police and wardens have scanners, a lost microchipped pet is seldom lost for long, and is generally back home within hours. It is important to notify Petlog if you move home or change contact details. We occasionally have a found animal brought in for scanning. The registered address is in Scotland. Obviously the owner moved, but to where? In the UK, about 1/3rd of dogs (31%) and a 1/5thof cats (21%) are microchipped.
Pet Passports
The microchip is the starting point for the Pet Passport Scheme. The microchip must be implanted before the rabies vaccination. Sometimes the chip moves around a bit, especially if implanted in a very young animal. For this reason it is good practice to get us to check the microchip on every visit.
Microchip Failure
It is recorded that very occasionally a microchip will 'fail'. This means that it cannot be read by the scanner. More often than not the problem is solved by recharging the scanner, but occasionally no reading can be made.
If the pet is to travel under the Pet Travel Scheme, an x-ray must be taken to identify the location, the dud chip must be surgically removed and a new chip inserted. Then the old chip has to be sent back to the manufacturer and the Pet Passport must be so annotated and signed by an Official Veterinarian. If, on return to the manufacturer, the number can still not be read, the pet must undergo a further blood test at three weeks, and wait a further six months before the passport is once again valid. If the manufacturer can read the number, then we can so sign the passport and it remains valid with the new microchip number straight away.
Two microchips
This does occasionally happen (typically an animal chipped in the USA with the old 10 digit FDX chip is re-chipped with an ISO 15 digit chip for travel to Europe). The animal then had two different types of microchips, read by two differing technologies (our scanners read both). If this is the case both numbers must be recorded in the Pet Passport. Occasionally a second ISO microchip is implanted because a reading could not be made of the original microchip, but an x-ray has not been taken, nor the original removed. This causes big problems for the Pet Passport as in this case the animal cannot be identified by two numbers, and as often as not it is the 'old' microchip which registers on subsequent scans. This sort of mix-up can lead to a pet being quarantined, which is why we insist on taking an x-ray if a microchip appears to have 'failed'.
For the technically minded
The microchip is an FDX-B type RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device). It and the scanners conform to ISO 11784 & ISO 11785 which is accepted as the standard everywhere except the USA where the old 10 digit FDX-A chips are still in use, and these cannot always be read by some modern scanners.
We buy the chips from Bayer plc Animal Health Division ?01635 563 000. www.tracer-microchips.co.uk
The chips and readers are made by DataMars SA in Lugano, Switzerland. contact@datamars.co
The UK code is 826. All Tracer microchips then have 0981. The remaining 8 digits are unique to the animal. For more general information, see www.wsava.org/MicrochipID.htm