Ok, so to do this move both the dogs had to be chipped with the ISO compliant 15 digit chips. I ordered the chips online since my vet only carries the 9 or 10 digit ones.
Now, I implanted them myself after reading the directions (note: they also said to have the vet do it but I just spent money at the vet before this for all that good stuff and didn't want to spend more because I still have to bring them back, etc). Really, it wasn't that hard at all and neither seemed to really noticed I'd done anything to them.
So today, I took them down to the shelter here in town to have the chips scanned and verify that they work and match the ID numbers I have. Well after getting dirty looks from some patrons for taking my 2 dogs to the "relinquishment" department (hey I know it looked bad, but both bozo's came home with me and they were the people with the scanner) they were happy to scan them for me.
However, the first scanner they had didn't even pick up the chips at all, he scanned all over in case they had migrated. It picked up nothing. He went and got a second scanner that picked them both up first swipe (yay for proper placement and correct ID for both chips!).
It is a HomeAgain chip, just a 15 digit one and ISO compliant. These seem to be pretty common brand name chips. My guess is the first scanner wasn't the right hertz or whatever it is, I know these chips are 134 Hz. But that makes me wonder, while we have a large humane society with more than a single scanner, what if? The guy that scanned them had to go get batteries for the other scanner, so I'm guessing it doesn't get used quite as frequently.
What if they had only used the first scanner if my dog was lost...they'd come up as not being chipped since it didn't even pick up the presence of a chip, just nothing.
So, after the long story, here's the question. If a dog is lost with a chip that is not a regular 9-10 digit, what can the owner do? When alerting the HS and vets for their lost dog, inform them they are chipped with a non-standard US chip? Or is it common practice to use both scanners on incoming strays?
Now, I implanted them myself after reading the directions (note: they also said to have the vet do it but I just spent money at the vet before this for all that good stuff and didn't want to spend more because I still have to bring them back, etc). Really, it wasn't that hard at all and neither seemed to really noticed I'd done anything to them.
So today, I took them down to the shelter here in town to have the chips scanned and verify that they work and match the ID numbers I have. Well after getting dirty looks from some patrons for taking my 2 dogs to the "relinquishment" department (hey I know it looked bad, but both bozo's came home with me and they were the people with the scanner) they were happy to scan them for me.
However, the first scanner they had didn't even pick up the chips at all, he scanned all over in case they had migrated. It picked up nothing. He went and got a second scanner that picked them both up first swipe (yay for proper placement and correct ID for both chips!).
It is a HomeAgain chip, just a 15 digit one and ISO compliant. These seem to be pretty common brand name chips. My guess is the first scanner wasn't the right hertz or whatever it is, I know these chips are 134 Hz. But that makes me wonder, while we have a large humane society with more than a single scanner, what if? The guy that scanned them had to go get batteries for the other scanner, so I'm guessing it doesn't get used quite as frequently.
What if they had only used the first scanner if my dog was lost...they'd come up as not being chipped since it didn't even pick up the presence of a chip, just nothing.
So, after the long story, here's the question. If a dog is lost with a chip that is not a regular 9-10 digit, what can the owner do? When alerting the HS and vets for their lost dog, inform them they are chipped with a non-standard US chip? Or is it common practice to use both scanners on incoming strays?
