Updating microchip information

    • Gold Top Dog

    Updating microchip information

    I just got off the phone with both Avid and Home Again to update the dogs and cats' microchip contact info. When we moved to MS, I updated Brown's info with Avid, and there was no charge, although I read on their website that they charged to change information, but it was for people who were transferring ownership. So I called to update Brown and Deuce's info with Avid, and apparently they charge $6 per pet everytime you need to update contact information. Meanwhile, I called Home Again to update Grey and Charlie's info, and there was no charge. In fact, the woman updated the info so fast that I wasn't even on the phone for a full minute. Aside from profit,  I wonder why one charges and the other doesn't. Even though it's only six bucks, it seems like paying for the chip and registration fee should cover any minor future information changes. Hmmm.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Thanks for posting that. I KNOW I microchipped Sofia and her sister, but even the "universal" reader at the Animal Control couldn't find a chip, so I don't even know what kind she has. So if I have to do it again I guess I'll definitely use the folks who don't charge to update information. Sounds like an opportunistic rip off to me. [:@]
    • Gold Top Dog
    Both of these made me wonder...
     
    I figured out Zoe has a chip even though the SPCA where I got her said she doesn't.  It was never registered so the original owners probably told them no because they didn't even know she had one. I asked my vet to scan her and they used a scanner and gave me the info to contact HomeAgain to set it up.  So, do I have to register with homeagain or can I do Avid since it has never been registered?

    Also, I just checked with the humane society who claims to have a universal reader and the spca said they use 24hourpetwatch.  I was confused of that is a company like homeagain and avid or if it is just an extra company.
    • Gold Top Dog
    ORIGINAL: smilee1079
    I asked my vet to scan her and they used a scanner and gave me the info to contact HomeAgain to set it up.  So, do I have to register with homeagain or can I do Avid since it has never been registered?

    Also, I just checked with the humane society who claims to have a universal reader and the spca said they use 24hourpetwatch.  I was confused of that is a company like homeagain and avid or if it is just an extra company.

     
    If your chip is an Avid chip, you have to register with them. If it's a Home Again chip, you have to register it with Home Again.
     
    There are other chips out there other than Avid and Home Again. The humane society we got Grey from had a Crystal tag scanner, which came with a microchip to test, so I'm assuming they're just another company who makes chips, but I think they're on a different frequency. I'm guessing 24hourpetwatch is just another chip brand too.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Also, I just checked with the humane society who claims to have a universal reader and the spca said they use 24hourpetwatch.

    That is what chip is used in this area aswell.[8D]
    • Gold Top Dog
    OK so now another person at the SPCA responded saying they have a universal reader and that Homeagain seems to be the most popular so since I know mine can be registered with home again and both area shelters have universal readers, I will register it this week.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I was looking to get Buster micro-chipped with in the next month or so. I didnt know they had multiple types of chips. So some of them dont register under certain scanners?? That isnt much help then. If anybody knows what is the widest used one? Do vets give you the option or do you just take what they give?
    • Gold Top Dog
    Call the local shelters by you and see which brands they can read since that is most likely who you'll need to read yours should your dogs get lost.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I've got homeagain, and I'm always updating Maya's info online, it's free and super fast.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Avid and Homeagain use the 125 kHz frequency technology; Crystal Tag uses the ISO of 134.2 kHz frequency technology.  The last time I was able to find any information on an universal scanner, Avid still had their technology patent protected and there wasn't any movement on one scanner being made to read both frequencies.

    I would check with your local animal shelters and vets to see which scanner(s) technology they have.  Avid and HomeAgain are the ones with the most history in the US, but the new ISO is being used more frequently now it seems.  Best to check to be safe....
    • Gold Top Dog
    What my vet told me was that Avid scanners can read most chips, but nothing but Avid scanners can read Avid chips.  My lab-x has a FECAVA chip which,l according to my vet,  is read by almost all scanners.  My dobe has an Avid chip which can only be read by Avid scanners and is therefore useless to me here since all the scanners used in humane societies are the ISO compatible ones.  I have to get him re-chipped.
    • Gold Top Dog
    these are some faq's direct from 24petwatch's web site (the chip that both amelia and sydney have)...

    Do your chips meet the ISO standard?
    The microchips throughout Canada do meet the ISO standard, however the Non-ISO chips in the United States run on a different frequency and therefore do not meet the ISO standard.

    Can Home Again and Avid Scanners read my Non-ISO chip?
    Yes, since the Non-ISO chips run on the same frequency they can be picked up by Avid and Home Again scanners.

    the question i have is, why arent all the microchip companies on the same ISO standard? i am also confused as to why 24petwatch makes ISO standard chips for canada and not for the usa. werent all the chips companies supposed to be in business to help people be reunited with a lost pet, not just make a buck and confuse the issue for pet owners? like i said both our dogs have the 24petwatch chip, and i want them to have a chip, but they were chipped  when we got them so we didnt have any say in which chip they got.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I happened to have emailed 24hourpetwatch to see if we can register with them free if our dog's chip is through another company since my local SPCA has a universal scanner but also goes through them (depending on who you ask) and this was the response I got:
     
     
    My email:
    I am confused on if I need to pay for your service or not. I got my dog from the SPCA and they said they use your service. However, my dog is not registered yet. Can I register her chip for free if I do not want the extra services such as emergency, etc. I just want them to be able to scan her and find me as the owner. Thanks! Stacy
     
    Their response:
    Yes you can register without enrolling in Emergency Care. Please contact 24Pet watch at 1-866-597-2424 and we will be more than happy to answer any questions as well as register you. [align=left]Devon Healey[align=left]24PetWatch Representative[align=left]1-866-597-2424 Ex.415[align=left][email=healeyd@petcareinsurance.ca]healeyd@petcareinsurance.ca[/email]    <--------- Looks like they are located in Canada so that may be part of your answer.
    • Gold Top Dog
    i just sent them an email to ask about the u.s. chips being non-iso standard. i will post the reply when i get one.

    i dont think that 24petwatch is a bad service and i hope my previous post did not convey that. i just want my dogs to have the best protection available (as i think all of us do), and i dont like the fact that none of the chip companies in the u.s. seem to be communicating too well. what i mean is we are using and registered with 24petwatch which seems to be widely used in this area, but what if we are on vacation with our dogs in another state or area of the country? i want our dogs' chips to be read by any scanner anywhere. according to 24petwatch web site their chip seems to be readable by most other chip company scanners, but some of the other chips arent necessarily as readily scanned.

    according to avid's web site.... "On the chip side, you can purchase AVID® Secure chips that can be read only by an AVID® scanner, and by shelter scanners. Or you can purchase our [linkhttp://www.avidmicrochip.com/products.htm#eurochip]EURO chip[/link], which can be read by our Multi Scanner and by many other types of scanners as well. The price of the chips is the same."

    why would you buy the avid secure chip knowing this? i couldnt find any info on the home again web site in reference to their chip standards.
    • Gold Top Dog
    The humane society where I lived sent me home with their Crystal scanner to see if it could detect other chips since I had both Avid and Home Again chips. It did not pick up Avid chips, but it did easily find Grey's Home Again chip. How? I don't know. But it did. Also, Avid's scanner will pick up Home Again. It reads you the number, but it doesn't indicate the brand, whereas it tells you Avid and the number when it detects its own chip.