16 Comments:

• As a military member, overseas with pets, I recommend the HOMEAGAIN chip.... We have an avid reader at the shelter I work in and it reads the chips as does the european microchip readers! I have done extensive research on the matter because of the shelter and Homeagain WINS

  By  beth, at 1:22 AM, November 06, 2005  

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• Looks like the lobbies got their way. People will have to get their dogs implanted with a different kind of chip if their pet's does not match the one determined by HSUS and AKC.
  
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  
  Source: PRNewsWire Website. Accessed: 03Nov05.
  http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/11-03-2005/0004207823&EDATE=
  
  PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Banfield, The Pet Hospital applauds
  new legislation directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement open
  microchip technology for Pets in which all scanners can read all chips. Right
  now, a standard for open microchip technology does not exist in the U.S. and,
  as a result, some companies have chosen to encrypt their microchips so that
  only certain scanners can read the chips. This has effectively blocked
  competition in the marketplace and prevented distribution of a scanner that
  could read all microchips. The language is included in House Report 109-255,
  accompanying the 2006 Agriculture Appropriations Bill, which was approved by
  the House of Representatives on October 28, the Senate on November 3 and sent
  for signature to President Bush.
  The following language appears in the ag conference report 109-255:
  
  "The conferees support the microchipping of Pets for identification under
  a system of open microchip technology in which all scanners can read all
  chips. The conferees direct APHIS to develop the appropriate regulations that
  allow for universal reading ability and best serve the interests of Pet
  owners. The conferees also direct APHIS to take into consideration the effect
  such regulation may have on the current practice of microchipping Pets in this
  country, and to report to the Committees on Appropriations within 90 days of
  the date of enactment of this Act on progress toward that end."
  "This new legislation is a huge win for America's Pets. Shelters and
  veterinarians should be able to help reunite lost Pets with their families
  using one microchip scanner capable of reading all microchips, no matter if
  the chip was implanted in San Diego, Chicago, Miami or Toronto," said Scott
  Campbell, DVM, Banfield Chairman and CEO. "Until now, an open microchip
  technology has been blocked by companies who are focused on maintaining their
  market share and profit margins."
  
  When an open technology is in place, any scanner will be able to read any
  microchip in contrast to today where encrypted chips operate with a
  proprietary identification code requiring specialized scanners, the
  computerized version of a decoder ring. In addition, when an open technology
  is used with International Standards technology (ISO), any scanner anywhere in
  the world will be able to read the microchip. Credits cards are an example of
  ISO technology in use today. The standards enable credit cards to be read no
  matter which merchant swipes them, anywhere in the world. ISO technology
  standards for Pet microchips could have the same result.
  Banfield also applauds the Coalition for Reuniting Pets and Families.
  "This new legislation would not have passed if it weren't for tireless efforts
  by the Pet health organizations in the Coalition and their commitment to
  keeping America's Pets safe," said Dr. Campbell. America's animal care
  organizations banded together to form the Coalition in July 2004 and have
  advocated the use of a scanner that can read all chips, including encrypted
  and unencrypted 125 kHz, 128 kHz and 134.2 kHz ISO chips. (Read more about the
  Coalition at http://www.readallchips.com.)
  
  Less than 5% of America's 164 million dogs and cats have a microchip
  despite the fact the technology has been around for more than 20 years. In
  other countries that have established an open technology, the number of Pets
  with microchips has increased dramatically. In Great Britain, which uses an
  international standard (ISO) 134.2 kHz microchip, 25% of Pets are now
  microchipped.
  "As one of the nation's largest veterinary practices, our main concern is
  for the safety of America's Pets. We believe requiring an open microchip
  standard will eliminate current incompatibility issues and allow more
  competition among all companies, resulting in lower costs and more Pets with
  microchips," said Dr. Campbell. "Natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina
  revealed just how few American Pets have microchips and clearly shows how the
  system needs improvement."
  An open national standard for Pet microchip technology is recommended by
  many national animal health organizations, including:
  
  -- Humane Society of United States
  -- American Humane Association
  -- American Veterinary Medical Association
  -- American Animal Hospital Association
  -- Society for Animal Welfare Administrators
  -- American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
  -- American National Standards Institute
  -- American Kennel Club - Companion Animal Recovery Program
  -- American Association of Feline Practitioners
  
  Unlike much of Europe and Canada which already use an open standard for
  Pet microchips, the U.S. currently has various standards which include 134
  kHz, 128 kHz, 125 kHz non-encrypted and 125 kHz encrypted. These differing
  forms of technology cause Pets to get lost in the system, highlighting the
  importance of establishing one global system for Pet microchips. The U.S.
  already only uses ISO standard microchips for wildlife, fish, zoo animals, and
  livestock. It makes sense that microchips used for Pets should follow suit.
  "We believe strongly that America's animal health organizations, the
  Coalition for Reuniting Pets and Families and the USDA should work together to
  determine what the national standard should be and how the transition should
  be completed," said Dr. Campbell. "Banfield supports a transition to
  international standard organization (ISO) 134.2 kHz microchip as the national
  standard and we look forward to working with the USDA, the Coalition, and
  microchip manufacturers in this important initiative."
  
  Banfield, The Pet Hospital is celebrating its golden anniversary in 2005.
  Founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1955, Banfield has become the largest
  privately owned veterinary practice in the world, with more than 500 locations
  across the U.S., in the U.K. and in Mexico. Banfield helps extend the lives of
  more than 3.5 million Pets each year. Banfield used an open ISO 134.2 kHz
  microchip in early 2004, but temporarily halted microchipping in all hospitals
  until a national standard could be established and scanners that read all
  chips could be distributed to shelters nationwide.
  
  Contact: Dana Peterson, Public Relations, 503-345-5597,
  dana.peterson@banfield.net
  
  
  SOURCE Banfield, The Pet Hospital
  Web Site: http://www. banfield.net

  By  Anonymous, at 6:42 PM, November 08, 2005  

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• So how do we reverse this???
  All the big organizations
  such as AKC, HSUS, ASPCA
  sure have rich powerful
  lobbies.
  
  Has President Bush signed
  the Ag Bill yet?
  
  Bothers me to have orgs get in the way of my quiet enjoyment of my pets.
  
  They are up to much more... take
  PAWS for instance.
  
  http://users.chartertn.net/jgantt/TheScottyAppeal/BulletinBoard.html
  
  ============================
  
  The language is included in House Report 109-255, accompanying the 2006 Agriculture Appropriations Bill, which was approved by the House of Representatives on October 28, the Senate on November 3 and sent for signature to President Bush. The following language appears in the ag conference report 109-255:

  By  Anonymous, at 6:47 PM, November 08, 2005  

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• US market is probably one of the most organized with good rehoming and well established database system for registration of animals.This is clearly because of only two companies which are responsible for what they do.Apart of selling microchips they care for pets and their owners offering them full service to include registration and reunification of pets when they get lost.
  
  All other companies which maufacture ISO microchips (more than 20) would love to get in the US market and sell their microchips although strong position of Homeagain and AVID secures American market from their irresponsible activity.
  
  Everyone who is in favour of ISO microchips provides Europe as a shining example of good existance of ISO technology.
  This is not true.Since 1997 when ISO entered market we have started to register significant problems with new companies appearing on the market who sell their ISO microchips with no responsiblity.
  They do not offer trace back system or any support when animal has not been registered on database.
  This results in thousands of animals being put to sleep in shelters across Europe every month regardless they are identified with microchip.It is impossible to find their owners since they have not been registered on any database and companies which manufactured their microchips have not taken any responsiblity for registering them on database or to at least take note on where this has been sold.This fight is certainly not originated to promote ISO and safer animals but to increase business of companies selling ISO technology.

  By  Ella Johansson, at 11:05 AM, November 19, 2005  

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• Your article fails to address the problem that a person traveling to the EU with a dog MUST have an ISO-standard microchip. Now how is one to get an ISO-standard microchip put into their dog if they are not yet legal here????

  By  Anonymous, at 7:57 PM, November 27, 2005  

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• To the anonymous commenter above: My article actually did address the issue of American dogs traveling to Europe. I stated in the answer to my first question, that AVID makes readers that read both types of chips, and that these readers are available in all countries other than the USA. So, if you take your dog to Europe, and he gets lost, his AVID chip will still be read by the animal control authorities there.

  By  Steve, at 9:37 PM, November 27, 2005  

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• I am a person intimately familar with the litigation between AVID and Banfield. Let me provide you with a few facts:
  
  Fact 1: The ISO standard IS NOT a foreign standard. ISO stands for international Standards Organization, and is well represented by American organizations. In fact, ANSI (The American Standards setting body) has publically come out IN FAVOR of ISO. Thus, this is not an issue of "foreigners" coming into the country. ISO is well backed by many AMERICAN organizations.
  
  Fact 2: Avid's use of encryption increases prices and results in FEWER pets being tagged. In Europe, almost 30% of pets are chipped. Even at aggressive estimates, the percentage here in the states does not exceed 4%. This is because Avid, being a monopoly, has no invcentive to change its practices, extend its marketng efforts, or lower prices for its products. Indeed, the average price for RFID products here in the states is almost twice that of Europe. Without encryption, more competitors would enter the market and make chips would be made accessible to the public. This is PRECISELY what happened in Europe when the ISO standard was adopted there. When ISO was adopted, there was a HUGE surge in pet chipping and prices came way down.
  
  Fact 3: Avid has done all it can to keep ALL COMPETITORS other than itself and Digital Angel (HomeAgain) out of the Market. If a competitor seeks to introduce a scanner that reads only its chip, Avid sues them claiming that that would be irresponsible because such a scanner would not read the AVID chips already on the market. If a competitor seeks to introduce a "universal" scanner capable of reading chips of different manufacturers, Avid sues them claiming they have the patent on the idea. If a manufacturer distributes ISO chips, Avid sues them claiming that the vast majority of readers do not read such chips. This is precisely what Avid did when suing Allflex, Datamars, Philips, and Banfield. Couple this with Avid's encrypted technology and -- whalla!! Avid has created quite a vehicle to protect its monopoly and ensure that others do not get into the market.
  
  Fact 4: HERE's a SHOCKER!! Avid manufacturers a "universal scanner" capable of reading the Banfield Chip and those of other manufacturers BUT REFUSES TO SELL IT IN THE US. Yup -- that's right. AVID manufactures a reader called the PowerTracker II which is marketed and sold all over the world and is capable of reading the ISO chips and its own AVID encrypted technology. It does not distribute such a scanner in the U.S. because, if it does, then other manufactures will start distributing ISO microchips and AVID will lose its monopoly on chips.
  
  Fact 5: Many AMERICAN organizations are IN FAVOR of a universal scanner: check out www.readallchips.com. Some of those supporting a universal scanner are the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), the American Kennel Club (AKC), the American Humane Association (AHA), the ASPCA, the American Society of Veterinary Medical Associtation Executives (ASVMAE), the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and the Society for Welfare Administrators.
  
  The truth is that there are many technologies and standards out there. What is needed is a true "universal" reader which can read all of them and protect our pets. However, until Avid starts placing the lives of our animals ahead of its profit margin, I fear this goal will be difficult to achieve.
  
  regards.
  
  -A concerned pet owner

  By  Anonymous, at 3:22 PM, November 28, 2005  

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• It is important to note that in the development of the ISO standard it was agreed that for a reader to meet ISO standards it must be able to read older technology such as AVID as well as the newer technology, designated FDXB microchip. This wasn't just to meet US requirements, but also to ensure the UK and European animals chipped with the older technology at that time could continue to be identified. Readers in the UK at shelters and vets meet this standard, except for AVID encrypted. AVID will not allow other readers to read their code. Nobody wants to pay for an encypted reader or scan twice.In Europe the vast majority of readers meet the ISO standards, however there are now readers appearing in the markets that only read the latest technology. Since they can't be sold into the US the manufacturers can see no benefit for the extra costs in meeting the ISO requirments.The issue shouldn't be whether a old technology chip or a new technology is sold in the US since the ISO standard has sought to solve the problem. The problem lies with the supply of readers.While foreign manuafacturers are unable to sell or give away ISO standard readers for fear of being sued then it is possible that animals will die unneccessarily.

  By  Stuart, at 9:49 AM, December 15, 2005  

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• This letter was written and sent to me concerning the very issues I have always had with chips placed in cats and dogs in this country. Until recently its been a scam. This letter will help explain it all nicely. Its nice to see someone with spine and integrity speak up, and also do something about it.
  
  
  
  April 14, 2004
  
  Banfield Pet Hospital
  
  11815 NE Glenn Widing Drive
  
  Portland, Oregon, 97220
  
  
  
  Dear Dr. Raymond Hinkle,
  
  In January of this year we began providing the new ISO compliant microchips to patients in our practice nationwide. In addition, we sent a letter to about 1400 humane societies and animal control agencies explaining this and how to get more scanners.
  On March 26, I received a letter from the San Diego Veterinary Medical Association. The letter addressed the need for I.D. microchips and readers that read all microchips. In its letter, the SDVMA also expressed a concern that Banfield may be incurring some liability by using a state of the art ISO compliant I.D. chip rather than the nonstandard, older technology 125-kHz chip that has been used commonly in the U.S.
  We really appreciate the concern of the SDVMA and assure them that, as far as our practice is concerned, there is no need for worry. Like most veterinarians, we believe in the need for consistent standards and the need for readers that read all chip. That is precisely why we made the decision to use the technology adopted by the International Standards Organization for our clients and their Pets. Because standards are not yet fully implemented in the U.S.. we notify each of our clients that there is no guarantee that any particular chip will be read by every animal control agency and make sure that every one of our patients has an ID tag on their collar.
  There is a lot of conflicting information about microchips - and some that is just plain wrong - so please let me explain what we found out and our thinking and position, in case you are contemplating what approach to take in your practice:
  
  "ISO" is the Global Standard for Pet Identification
  After careful consideration of all the facts and stories, we believe that the standard adopted by the International Standards Organization (ISO) for Pet identification is the best (longer read distance, faster read speeds, an open standard). As such, it likely will become the dominant protocol in the U.S. just as it has in the other major developed countries throughout the world: Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, Japan, Australia. New Zealand. Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, and so on.
  As you may know, this standard was created after years of meetings and analysis, then deployed in the late 90's for all countries throughout the world. Compliance with these standards is voluntary, but who wouldn't adopt these standards when it costs no more and is better?
  
  American Standard for Pet Identification
  The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accepts and recognizes ISO Standards 11784 and 11785. which the currently marketed "ISO" microchip and scanning technology in the U.S. meets or exceeds. These "ISO" chips are marketed by Allflex, Crystal Tag. DATAMARS, 24PetWatch and others (including AVID outside the U.S.). Because both ISO and ANSI are well-recognized standards organizations and they agree on one standard, we feel it is best for all Pets if everyone in the industry migrates to a high level of compliance with this accepted open standard.
  
  Traveling with Pets made easier and safer with ISO Standards
  Our clients frequently travel with their Pets, nationally and internationally, just as some of yours probably do. In our practice, this is evidenced by the number of calls we receive from our clients concerning the regulations of each country they visit with their Pets. As you probably are aware, many of these countries require an ISO compliant microchip to avoid quarantine, unless the Pet owner carries a scanner with them (probably a little difficult going through security with a scanner!). We just don't believe requiring Pet owners to purchase and carry their own scanner is reasonable. One reason we have chosen to use ISO compliant chips is to help our clients avoid this situation.
  US Census statistics show that over 14% of the U.S. population moves each year - many people and their Pets relocate, and even more vacation with their Pets. Many animal control agencies and shelters across the U.S., such as the Oregon Humane Society and the Wisconsin Humane society, have adopted the exclusive use of ISO compliant microchips and currently are implanting only microchips that meet this higher standard (they also scan for older chips). Unfortunately, we have heard that some animal control agencies do not yet scan for microchips that meet the ISO standard - only for the now outdated 125-kHz chips. Please find out about the agencies in your practice area, and ask them to carefully consider the purpose and advantages of standards. Pets who are adopted from shelters in Oregon and Wisconsin and elsewhere deserve a chance to be found if they move to or vacation anywhere -or if they are implanted with the current standard in your community. So do Pets who move with their owners from other cities, states and countries or are implanted with ISO compliant chips from the several companies named above.
  We believe everyone involved in the important mission of getting lost Pets home has a responsibility to be part of the American and International community with respect to Pet I.D. chips by scanning for all chips in common use and that all new scanners should be "backwards compliant."
  
  The Only Constant is Change - Especially Technological Change
  Experience shows us daily how technology advances with time and requires us to adapt to those changes. For instance, I can't use my old Sony Betamax to watch the new Lord Of The Rings movie with my children. This is true for every industry that uses technology including Pet RF identification.
  In our tests, "ISO" clearly is better technology than the old 125 kHz chip. The 134-kHz ISO chip has a better return signal, providing a much quicker reading time, and in most cases an extended reading distance. This helps keep our team members safer (less likely to get bit) whenever they are working with scared, lost Pets because it is faster and easier to adequately scan with the ISO standard technology. It also opens the opportunity for "walk by readers" to keep team members even safer, and could make scanning in shelters easier and more efficient.
  Up until now, several corporations have sold chips at a high price and given away scanners. They have given thousands of scanners to humane societies, and sold them to veterinarians. In our experience, they don't work very well. We have encouraged the manufacturers of the ISO chips to provide free or low cost opportunities for agencies and humane societies to get universal scanners, but if an agency wants dozens of scanners, they likely will need to purchase them. In fact, Banfield just purchased one for every exam room, more than 1500 scanners for our own hospitals in the last few months.
  Upgrading computers, video machines or any other technology is a normal cost of doing business. We've learned that new chips are in development that will read temperature and blood glucose levels, which may well require purchasing new scanners again. The good news is, we've been told that most of the scanners in use today can be repro-grammed by their manufacturers to pick up all chips currently in use. So, maybe no new scanners need to be purchased.
  
  Advantages Over Other Chips
  We've used various 125 kHz chips in our practice in the past. We experienced a number of problems with these chips, including poor read distance and, on occasion, a number of chips seemed to migrate a very long way (i.e. to the carpus) where they were missed with regular scans. The state-of-the-art chips we now use are encased entirely in surgical plastic, which is much lighter than glass. Because the chips are lighter and more porous to better adhere to the subcutaneous tissue, they seem far less likely to migrate. Also, these new surgical plastic chips won't
  break or crack as glass can. This is important because if cracked, the body fluids short out the antenna in the glass chips and they don't work any longer.
  We see these as substantial advantages that influenced greatly the choice of chip we chose to provide to our patients, but there certainly are several other makers of ISO compliant chips that also have the advantage of longer read distances, shorter read times, and open standards so that anyone can make a scanner to read them.
  
  The Industry Endorses ISO
  ISO compliant microchips are the most widely used standard for Pet I.D. in the world, and most groups agree that ISO compliant chips will be used the most over time in the United States. Several of the major groups in our industry AVMA, AHAA, SAWA, HSUS, ASPCA recognize that ISO is very significant for the future and have formed their own opinions about its introduction. In fact, SAWA (Society of Animal Welfare Administration) states, "The standard should require that all scanners in use in animal shelters and veterinary hospitals be able to detect both the 134-kHz ISO compliant chip and the 125-kHz microchips. We've been told the manufacturers could make scanners to read every available chip if every company would give them permission to read their chips (these companies sell the ISO chip in much of the world).
  We believe the move to ISO is inevitable, and that within 10 years it will be difficult to even purchase older technology chips or scanners. Many of the puppies and kittens we implant today will be alive in 10, 15, some hopefully even 20 years from now.
  We have more than 3 million patients and are working to implant a large percent of them over the next 24 months to help keep them safe. We have currently been implanting with the new technology nationwide for only a few weeks, and I suspect we already have implanted tens of thousands of ISO compliant chips.
  
  The Banfield History with Microchips
  Our first hospital used AVID starting in about 1988. At the time I bought and distributed AVID readers to our local shelter groups to get them to start scanning. If I remember correctly, I paid several hundred dollars for each reader, and about $20 for each chip. We implanted some each year, but found the cost to the Pet owner ($25 plus $15 or so for registration) was just too high to get a higher percentage of compliance of the Pet population in my practice. Most Pet owners seem to rationalize that "their Pet won't get lost or their collar won't come off" if the alternative is "a $40 or $50 for a microchip with registration."
  The price and acceptance of the need for I.D. chips obviously still is a problem because there are about 118,000,000 dogs and cats in the U.S. and the two main Pet recovery databases have, in total, less than 6 million registrations from their inception. (Since most Pet owners don't call to have their names removed from the database after their Pet dies, this number is probably closer to 2 million live Pets with current addresses in all databases). Even if every Pet to ever receive chips is still alive, that's only 5% of dogs and cats in the U.S. with chips. Obviously, I don't think anyone would call 5% compliance after 15 years a successful implementation of a critical life saving procedure!
  We did an RFP (request for proposal) about eight years ago, about the same time AAHA did their first microchip comparison study, and our conclusions were essentially the same as theirs: poor reading distances, migration, high expense, no standardization, additional registration fees that owners didn't want to pay or just plain forgot about, inadequate database management, a big percent of the shelters weren't scanning at all, and the fact that ISO was coming. Today everything is the same with the same old products (although some have gone out of business), but more shelters today are scanning and ISO technology is finally available!
  Well, ISO compliant microchips weren't available eight years ago, and even though a few clients asked for chips, we made the "noncommercial decision": We chose not to offer any microchip service nationally because of the problems outlined above. We continued to sell a few chips in a few hospitals to monitor the market (a few hundred per year total), but only after fully informing clients of the issues.
  We believe in permanent ID, as we always have, and we believe all Pets should have chips. We believe in it because our telephone call center already is taking hundreds of calls each day from people who have found a Pet with an
  old-fashioned Banfield collar (rabies) tag with a unique number. Through these tags, we have helped reunite tens of thousands of Pets with their families, and the number is rising constantly. Currently, far more Pets are recovered due to collar tags than microchips. We know that with permanent ID there is the opportunity to help even more families, but the solution we recommend to our clients must be real and comply with our high ethical standards for the total life of our client's Pets (20+ years). It must be easy to read, and it must be economical.
  In the past few years, ISO compliant chips have become the standard throughout most of the world. Prices have come down outside the U.S., where more Pets have been chipped, the chips are easier to read and even U.S. -based manufacturers have converted to selling ISO chips in much of the world.
  
  Our Promise to Clients and their Pets to do What's Right
  Like most veterinarians, we make a promise to our clients to do what's right. We believe we have an ethical responsibility to offer our clients the best product at a fair price. Our microchip product currently includes the microchip compliant with ISO standards, the chip implanted by a doctor, a collar tag, automatic lifetime registration in our database and the promise of discounted emergency services even before the owner can be located - and since these new ISO chips are much less expensive, we pass much of that savings on to our clients. We believe more than 5% of Pets would have chips today if everyone adopted a value equation equal or superior to ours - and Pets lives would be saved.
  In written statements, the World Small Animal Veterinary Medical Association has stated. "In those markets that have adopted the ISO-standard as the basis for RFID implementation, healthy market competition exists." This is not yet the case in the United States for Pet microchips, though. We understand more than a million ISO standard microchips have been sold in the US over the past few years for fish and wildlife, along with ISO scanners for all these chips. We believe encrypting chips makes it even more likely that Pets will be killed by "accident," and we have urged the manufacturer to remove the legal hurdles and let all scanner manufacturers read their encrypted chips to save more Pets lives.
  For the many reasons outlined, we decided we could not continue to implant the older chips; we just didn't feel it was the right thing for us to do. However, now that many humane societies are implanting and scanning for all chip technologies, we believe it is appropriate to start implanting the new ISO chips - even though they are not yet read everywhere. Something in addition to collar tags is better than nothing, and they will be read everywhere eventual-
  We think anyone who provides scanners that read ISO and encrypted chips in other countries should provide that same product to U.S. shelters and veterinarians. This is about Pet lives, not market share. We look at chipping Pets as an extra service, not a profit opportunity for our practice, and we hope you will do the same. We will all win if the lost Pets get reunited with their families and stay patients for the rest of their natural lives.
  As advocates for our clients and the veterinary profession, we believe strongly that using ISO standard chips and readers that are backwards compatible is the only real solution to the current problem and we hope you will help us push for this solution.
  We hope to implant over 1 million ISO compliant chips this year - about 1/3 of our regular patients. Our clients appreciate the quality services and value we provide them, and trust us to do what's best for their Pet today and over the long run. We expect all organizations that process lost Pets in any way will scan for all microchip technologies - especially the technology accepted by the American Standards Institute and the International Standards Organization. We think that is a reasonable expectation.
  We recognize that the ISO compliant microchip is a very good technology and a standard that shelters must prepare to accommodate if they are not already. Using a scanner that reads both technologies before a Pet is euthanized in a humane society seems a small price to potentially save the life of someone's family member.
  
  Where Does the Shelter Community Stand?
  ISO compliant microchips have been sold in the U.S. for some time before we began selling them in our practice. We believe everyone should be scanning for the new, better technology - especially since it is already in use by a
  number of humane societies and shelters in the United States (as well as ours and other veterinary practices). However, it appears that a few animal control agencies and humane societies have reasons not to adopt the chip standard of ANSI and ISO yet. One reason cited for not scanning is that some agencies evidently do not yet have scanners that will pick up ISO chips. Both Allflex and Crystal Tag have distributed many scanners and are in the process of distributing thousands more. We have been told that every shelter that has requested a new scanner has received at least one for free. Large shelters that want many scanners will likely need to purchase some of them or purchase a bunch of chips to receive additional "free" ones.
  If agencies choose not to scan for ISO compliant chips, that is their choice. We are all part of a larger community that includes Pet owners across the United States. Pet owners across the country likely expect their shelters and animal control agencies to be responsive to their needs - the same expectations those same clients have of us as veterinarians - and I am confident everyone will scan for the ISO chips when they are ready to.
  Our practice has communicated in writing with agencies and societies that we can get addresses for across the country. We have to assume they are all scanning for all technologies, and as Pet owners themselves, our team members who live in communities across the country are calling local shelters on their own to verify.
  Please let me or anyone in our practice know if you know of an animal control agency or shelter that isn't scanning for both ISO compliant and older technology chips so we can try to persuade them with you to adopt the new standards. Banfield stands ready to help anyone in this transition, in any way our practice reasonably can do so.
  I thank you for reading this letter and trust you will support this initiative that will help save Pets lives. Sincerely,
  
  Scott D. Campbell, DVM

  By  Anonymous, at 7:02 AM, December 20, 2005  

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• I'm confused at your adherence to the way things are currently. I don't know if it's brand loyalty, or anti-Banfield, or avoiding change.
  
  I think the important issue at hand is that there are multiple scanners, multiple chips, and god forbid one of our pets should get lost, the chip they have may be unreadable.
  
  My cat has an AVID chip, and I would never use Banfield's vet services, so I don't advocate either side of the fence. However, I do side with a universal system so that all pets with chips can be read everywhere, at all times. Does this just not make sense to people? According to your article here, you don't seem to believe that all chips should be read everywhere, everytime.
  
  Also you focus on USA vs EU, but totally miss Canada. Canada uses the ISO standard. Any pet that gets lost and travels a great distance can surely end up in Canada, where their chips may not be read. I live close to the Canadian border, and have family in Canda where I bring my dogs. Should I get two chips so that my dogs are readable in both countries? That's absurd!
  
  It's all about bringing home our lost pets. Let's have one system that guarantees a chipped animal will get home!
  
  -Yani
  WA

  By  Anonymous, at 1:15 PM, February 21, 2006  

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• I have been working rescue for over 15 years- the microchip has 1 major fault, most rescues do not see to it that the chip becomes registered to the owner and when an animal shows at a shelter it points only to the implanter. Most shelters/rescues have manual filing systems and find an owner is nearly impossible- coupled with an attitude that if the owner lost it they are lousy owners and the animal shouldn't be returned, which is very common means a large number don't get back to owners.

  By  Anonymous, at 9:16 AM, March 09, 2006  

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• I think the legislation is a good move. Why would anyone be against universal chip readers? They'll read the chip your dog has and mine. Even if you choose to ignore the positives of a universal reader, you must recognize that the majority of the world is using the ISO chips.

  By  Anonymous, at 1:08 PM, April 13, 2006  

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• Having read through all of the comments and advice above, I am struck by how arrogantly "American" it all sounds. I am preparing to move to Finland, for this very reason, with my dogs chipped with an ISO standard chip,where we will become international citizens, respectful of our place in the world, not just on this one very insulated continent whose inhabitants seem to think that they alone can make the rules for the entire world to follow. When did Americans forget how to "play nice in the sandbox"?

  By  Anonymous, at 6:30 PM, June 01, 2006  

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• Bought a dog from Europe with the ISO chip,
  
  USA should follow the world standard and uses ISO chip.

  By  Anonymous, at 2:44 PM, November 05, 2006  

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• Aren't you people missing something here? Isn't a pet identification device something that Animal-Loving Volunteer Strangers have a reasonable and foreseeable need to read? So if a pet identification device is deliberately made hard to read through designed-in cryptographic obfuscation, how can that not be a DEFECTIVE PRODUCT? And if the millions of AVID encrypted chips are a defective product, isn't that more serious to talk about than whether AVID was "seeding the marketplace" or trying to block competition, or even being a "Bully?" The ISO chips sold in the U.S. may have had a defective ROLLOUT STRATEGY, but they are not hard to read by design. My Max Microchip scanner, which you can build with parts from the Radio Shack and no soldering, reads them just fine, along with other Open Microchip Technology types such as the HomeAgain chip.
  
  I have a constructive purpose in suggesting that the AVID encrypted product should be considered defective. Sometimes it's possible to design a work-around for something that is defective, and the first step is to realize that a defect exists. You can read my proposed work-around for turning the AVID encrypted chips into Open Microchip Technology chips without requiring knowledge of the secret algorithm (and without surgery) at http://maxmicrochip.com/137.htm and decide for yourself if it's elegant or kludgey.
  
  Some have said that the U.S. Congress among others agreed on ISO technology. In fact, what Congress specified was "Open Microchip Technology." This is a much wider class of chips which includes even the AVID Encrypted chips if my proposal or a similar one is adopted.
  
  Datamars and Crystal Imports appear to have now obtained the decryption algorithm, maybe as a result or settlement of an antitrust action or maybe some other way. But they seem to be keeping it a secret just like AVID did, so this is not a victory for Open Microchip Technology; quite the opposite, it is an expansion of the Cartel of Secrets.

  By  Andy Kluck, at 10:34 PM, November 13, 2006  

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• Chip Implants in dogs Linked to MALIGNANT Animal Tumors
  
  BREAKING NEWS-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
  September 8th, 2007
  
  MICROCHIP IMPLANTS CAUSE FAST-GROWING, MALIGNANT TUMORS IN LAB ANIMALS
  Damning research findings could spell the end of VeriChip
  
  THIS STORY IS SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE ACROSS THE WORLD.
  
  To read the story with pictures click below:
  http://www.citizensadvocate.net/newsletters/albrechtVeriChipAP.html
  
  Associate Press story:
  http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hYssebw3_FRuof2bdR1YdCo8OgXA
  
  Picked up by Forbes:
  http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/09/08/ap4096034.html
  
  Google results:
  http://www.google.com/search?q=Chip+Implants+Linked+to+Animal+Tumors

  By  Pop ARF, at 2:33 PM, September 10, 2007  

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