International microchip

[Zande]

@elbrant Everywhere you go these days, people warn you of dog-napping. No-one seems to have heard of an actual case, just 'heard tell it is running rife.'

Mostly I believe, from the newspapers, that it is from gardens and homes that the thieving goes on, more than out on walks. Some people I have met have been asked if their dog is a puppy - they say, no, he/she is rising 16. The questionner then loses interest.

A couple of people have become nervous (in the London area) when someone comes up quietly behind them and then sheers off when they stop and turn around. But I think we are all nervous on those occasions. May be quite innocent.

Some people where I walk have loud clusters of small bells on their dogs' collars so they can be heard if not seen. I am seriously thinking of something along those lines. Kito doesn't roam as far away as Mku does. And although I don't think he would allow himself to be caught, you never know. Kito will do anything for treats.

This house has a large garden and I tend to make sure I know where the boys are at all times if I am not out with them. If I am working in the garden, they are usually sunbathing close by. But at night when they go out, I go with them, with a flash-light.

It is scary.

[tanza]

@zande - In the US, dog napping is a real problem.... even from people walking their dogs let alone stealing them from peoples yards.... Not that there have been any in our neighborhood but one of the reasons that we have 12ft solid privacy fences and gates are padlock. No one enters our yard unless we are there. And our home is set back from the street, quiet street also. Again one of the reasons I would never, ever use invisible fences.... for any breed.

[Zande]

@tanza Some areas over here have always been bad. There is a town just along the South Coast from us where people living on state benefits are said to steal dogs to order, to enhance their 'dole' money.

But this year, since prices have gone through the roof and puppies of all breeds are in short supply, the problem is far worse.

[JENGOSMonkey]

@beth314 said in International microchip:

I would really like to travel to Italy with my pup. Italy is (or was) welcoming to dogs (unlike the UK where it was simply inhumane to put your dog in quarantine for months on end). But they do (or did) require a chip recognized internationally - or something like that. So I want a chip that would work there and in the EU in general.

The rescue I volunteered for will chip her for no cost but it's the "old school" fat needle (no details here). I'm happy to pay for a less painful needle/chip. So if you know of the chip best to use for EU travel and can fill me in that would be wonderful.

Got it. I was able to find a bunch of opinions on which microchips are best. It seems for convenience sake it might be best to consider an ISO compliant (11784 and 11785) one. From what I could tell most EU ports of entry have universal readers, which means they could even read a non ISO chip from the US, but not all vets, or animal shelters/rescues do. So one opinion was that having an ISO compliant chip might make it easier to get your pet returned. I'd definitely research that some more and ask your vet for an opinion. Gives you someplace to start.

As far as who to register the chip with... there's a ton of choices that I could find. Search "International microchip registry", "EU microchip registry", or something similar. All kinds of info will pop up. Some are free and some have yearly subscription fees. Again, your vet might have an opinion on which registry is widely used across the UK and EU.

[Beth314]

@jengosmonkey Thank you! That helps. I did read the ISO stuff but wasn't sure where to go with that. I'll talk to the vet this week.

[Beth314]

re: dog-napping ... the now well-known case here in CA was Lady Gaga's dogs stolen from her dog walker. He did his best to prevent the theft and was shot in the chest for his efforts. It was captured on video. He's alive but I believe he lost part of a lung. I believe the dogs were found.

[tanza]

@beth314 - Yes the pups were recovered....

[JENGOSMonkey]

I suppose this proves that microchips work albeit a very delayed response...

Massachusetts Basenji Dog Missing Since 2016 Returned to Owner 9 Miles Away

A dog has been reunited with her owner after being missing for nearly five years thanks to the efforts of a local rescue group and a microchip.

Bay, a 6-year-old Basenji mix, had escaped from dog-sitters at her Framingham, Massachusetts home while her owner was away in June of 2016. The non-profit group Missing Dogs Massachusetts announced that Bay had reunited with her human "mom" after the extended absence in a Facebook post on Tuesday, alongside photos of the healthy-looking pooch.

[Kembe]

@jengosmonkey
This story on the missing basenji mix has been on all our local news stations (since it occurred nearby) along w/ the video how they captured her (which was a job because she was so smart). There were two things that amazed me about the story - 1: how did she survive the winter months? (our winters in MA are brutal with a lot of snow and temperatures below zero) and 2: I was surprised how “chubby” she was after being on her own for almost 5 years. Basenjis must be good SCAVENGERS for her to survive on her own for that length of time.

[elbrant]

@kembe said in International microchip:

There were two things that amazed me about the story

I assumed that someone "adopted" her and she was reunited after getting away from them.

[Kembe]

@elbrant
You’ll have to Google and read some of the articles or view the video clips to understand why the rescuers felt she was on her own for the five years. The woman who contacted the dog rescue to catch her said she first thought she was a neighborhood dog because she was kind of plump and had a collar. She occasionally would leave out food for her. It wasn’t until she got a closer look and could see that the collar was too tight and digging into her skin that she decided to call the dog rescue. They later found out from the owners it was the original martingale collar (just faded) that the dog was wearing 5 years ago when she escaped and it had to be cut off by the vet.

[elbrant]

@kembe thank you for that!