[Aidan]

I do agree with the limited usefulness of microchips but there are a lot of people out there who do know about them and who will take your dog to be scanned if they're found. Any shelter or even Banfield in Petsmart can scan for a microchip at no charge.

I am also a firm believer in the simple ID tags you can have engraved. Anytime I see a dog running arouind loose I always stop and if the dog will safely come to me I check for an ID tag and call the owner, always. Not everyone always has the time to take every wandering animal into a shelter to check for a chip, and if i have the time i will and have certainly done so... oddly enough i've never found a dog with a microchip but they are getting cheaper and more common now.

I think the low cost vaccinations at Petco can do a microchip for $50 and i remember paying a lot more when Pandora was a pup.

Vega and Dodger came to me already chipped and I haven't had Loki chipped but I plan to once I move to Charlotte.

I definitely love those ID tags, i make sure all of my animals have one on the various collars they wear. Even if animal control picks up your dog it gives them a contact info.

 

[Aidan]

Also i'd like to add that i believe a microchip and/or akc paperwork is the only way to prove in court that a dog belongs to you. Someone can correct me if i'm wrong but i think that's what I have heard.

 

[Aidan]

That's a neat idea about having it stitched on the collar. My shepherd Pandora is a ninja with her tags, no clue HOW she does it but tags just don't last for her.. i have tried the O rings and the little S rings, etc... no luck, a tag lasts for about a month or two. I end up keeping her rabies tag on my keychain if i ever need it for some reason.. she's lost two of them and the vet charges for replacements.

The only thing i've heard different about using photos, etc... to prove a dog is yours is someone can always claim they were given the dog and that now the previous owner is changing their minds, etc... i dont know how many judges would believe it, but you never know. When I adopted Dodger from Vega's breeder I had to sign a contract saying I would have all of her Microchip information switched to my name, etc... but all of her AKC papers were signed over to me so i feel pretty confident that if anything happened I could prove she's mine.

 

[Aidan]

Have you seen the new ones at some of the Petsmart locations? They're pretty nifty but even more amusing then the tag is watching it getting made... lol

They are a bit more expensive I think between $10-12.. i'll see if I can find a photo of one or ill take a picture of Vega's his name is on the front and then contact info on the back. It doesn't jingle nearly as much as the normal tags, but i also have rabies/microchip tag on there as well so I still hear a jingle now and then.

I also prefer the S hooks on them, and they dont get scratched up either. So far i'm very happy with them. I also hated using those little tokens that would never work.

 

[Aidan]

You can't really tell in the pic but with the tag comes this sticky plastic coating that goes on either side so it doesnt get scratched up like some of the other engraved tags that can hardly be read after several months.