Not sure what to do re Microchip

billy_the_kid_2

We are in exactly the same situation, We got our dog from a rescue charity who have not been able to give us the chip paperwork from the previous owner. We took the dog to get scanned, however we dont know which company the chip belongs too. Our vet couldnt give us this information. Any ideas as to how I can go any further?

EmptyPockets

Hi Billy,

Well we're no further along yet re our dog's chip. I have left it well over the two weeks that the previous owner (before the lady who gave us the dog) was supposedly in Turkey, so he should be home by now. I have emailed her and asked her to please put me in touch with him so that I can get the details transferred over. As yet, no reply from her :mad:

If she doesn't get back to me in a couple of days I will have to ring Pet Log and see what they have to say. Don't know how much they'll be able to help me when I don't even know the chip number and I don't know the details of the man the chip is currently registered to!!!

I thought rescue centres always took care of chip details before rehoming a dog, surely this shouldn't have been left to you to do when you don't even have any paperwork? Isn't the cost of that supposed to be covered in the adoption fee..?

If your vet scanned the chip then they should have given you a phone number which will be the company that the chip is registered with - why didn't they do that?

Sagz_2

Although I would be worried about an ownership dispute further down the line, for identification purposes the simple solution may be to chip the dog again.

billy_the_kid_2

The vet will categorically not rechip the dog and will not tell us who manufactured the existing chip.

Silveralice

There was a letter in one of the veterinary papers last week, by a vet who works for one of the big charities and who therefore deals with this sort of thing a lot, saying that the microchip companies are evading their responsibilities if they don't try to help sort this sort of thing out. Providing your vet can read the chip successfully, they should be able to phone PetLog or another database and find out with whom the chip is registered. That company is then meant to make "reasonable efforts" to track down the original owner, and if not successful, transfer the details to you. The vet is not meant to tell you the details directly (or the system would be useless in cases of theft) but is meant to contact the microchip company as described, and it's up to them to proceed from there, although they may need nagging, apparently. This is a common problem and one that the chip companies really ought to be able to help with.

EmptyPockets

billy_the_kid wrote: »

The vet will categorically not rechip the dog and will not tell us who manufactured the existing chip.

No, but any vet who scans the chip should give you the phone number and the name of the company that the chip is registered with! Two different vets have already done that for us. If yours won't, just pop in to a different vet and ask them to scan it and give you the telephone number!

dalsicle

Billy the kid

It may be worth you checking with the rescue you adopted from if they actually allow you to change owner details. I know the rescue I foster for and a number of others state that the dog must always be registered to them on the chip and you keep them up to date with your details.
This means if the dog ever ends up in a pound or another rescue they can get it back to the rescue and the rescue trace the owner. This helps to stop people just giving dogs away if they've signed to say the dog will go back to the rescue if the new family can no longer keep them.