Microchipping your pets is a permanent ID system, which involves a chip, no bigger than a grain of rice being implanted under the skin of your pet’s scruff.
Each microchip has a unique number, which can be read by a portable scanner, which most vets, including Boundary Vets, local authorities and rescue homes have access too; ensuring your contact details can be easily obtained from the central microchipping database. Once your pet has been scanned and identified by their microchip, a simple phone call can reunite you with your pet.
Book a microchipping appointment
Microchipping your pets is not only for dogs, but also for cats, ferrets, rabbits, snakes, parrot, tortoises, and horses and comes highly recommended by all the team at Boundary Vets. It is now also a legal requirement for all dogs to be microchipped, and all puppies must be vaccinated by 8 weeks of age before ownership is transferred from the breeder. You can be fined up to £500.00 if your dog is not microchipped. It is also worth noting, that if you are planning on taking your pet abroad, they must be microchipped and have a pet passport.
Equestrian Microchipping
Defra's new equine identification regulations which came into force on Monday 1 October 2018, legally require every horse, pony, and donkey to be microchipped and also possess a valid UK passport, with details stored in the Central Equine Database (CED).
All horses born after 30 June 2009 are already required to be microchipped. Owners of horses born before this date will have two years from 1 October 2018 to get their equines microchipped, and from October 2020 it will be compulsory for all owners to microchip their horses, ponies, and donkeys.
The Central Equine Database allows local authorities and police to track down the owners of stolen or lost horses and will ensure they are reunited with their owners a little easier. It will also ensure the owners of dumped horses, ponies, and donkeys can be tracked down by police or local authorities, this offers a practical solution to animal welfare issues who can ensure the correct punishment is given to the owners, but also ensure the horse, pony or donkey are given the care they deserve.
Any changes in a horse's ownership or status - for example, if they are put down, lost, stolen, or signed out of the food chain - will need to be notified to the passport issuing organisation. The organisation will then have 24 hours to update the CED.
Before microchipping your horse, a veterinary surgeon from Boundary Vets will check that a chip is not already in place. Before inserting a chip, Boundary Veterinary clinic and hospital vet will ensure that the chip to be implanted is working and reads the correct microchip number. The microchip is also accompanied by six sticky bar codes which can be attached to a passport application and other paperwork. The bar code or microchip number should also be retained by both the veterinary surgeon and horse owner for reference.
The implantation takes place on the left side of the neck, at the mid crest. A patch of hair will be removed, and the area disinfected, and a local anaesthetic may be injected. The microchip is then inserted using a wide bore needle and the microchip is scanned to ensure correct placement. In some instances, bleeding may occur from the injection site, and very rarely swelling may develop at the insertion point. In most cases, this can be treated by draining any fluid that develops and with antibiotics.
Microchipping your pets at Boundary Vets
Sedation is not necessary for the implantation of the microchip as this procedure causes minimal discomfort and can be done in a routine consultation. And don't worry if you can't recall (or know) if your pet is microchipped - It is very easy to check for a microchip using a scanner. We can arrange for a member of the team at one of our Boundary Vets branches to scan your pet and check for a working chip. Rest assured, we all always check that an animal hasn’t already got a microchip before implanting a new one.
At the time of implant when microchipping your pets, you will be asked to complete a registration form, from which your details are then submitted to a national database by a Boundary Vets team member. Your details are kept on the database for your pet’s lifetime, and the fee for this is included in the cost of implantation.
It is important to update any changes to your contact details as soon as possible. At Boundary Vets, all our microchips comply with the International Standard (ISO) and can, therefore, be recognised by scanners abroad when used in the Pet Passport scheme.
For more information on microchipping your pets, please speak to one of our friendly team members at our practice in Oxford by calling the branch most local to your home address.
