Microchipping

Our Veterinarians in Cambridge Offer Microchipping

Microchips are the one type of identification that cannot be lost. They are the only thing that will be with your pet, no matter where they go; ready to return them home to you. Our veterinarians in Cambridge offer micro chipping of all pets.

What is a Microchip?

A microchip is a tiny computer chip, about the size of a grain of rice that stores a number inside it. The chip can be read using a device held up to the animal’s skin and the number can be used to look up owner information in a registry. The chip itself contains no sensitive data and has no batteries, so it cannot wear out. A microchip is only as good as the registry information it points to, so make sure to register your pet’s chip and keep the information up to date.

How is a Microchip Implanted?

Microchips are placed under the skin of the animal and remain there permanently. They are inserted using a hypodermic needle a bit bigger than the ones used for normal injections. Most pets seem to find the process painless, but it can be done while your pet is anesthetized for another procedure, such as spay or neuter surgery.

Is Microchipping Effective?

In a word, yes. A study of over 7,000 animals found that dogs who were microchipped were more than twice as likely to go home as dogs that were not (52.2 percent versus 21.9 percent), and cats that were microchipped were more than 19 times as likely to go home as cats that were not (38.5 percent versus 1.8 percent). The pets that were microchipped but not returned home were usually the result of incorrect information in the registry databases, according to the study.

Are Microchips Safe?

British veterinarians have recorded only 391 instances of problems in over 4 million chipped pets. The most common problem is migration from the injection site, which can make it hard to find and scan the chip but is usually not dangerous. The risk of a pet not coming home is far higher than any minuscule risk that could be associated with microchips.