24.9.2008 | 06:25
ÖRFLÖGUÍGRÆÐSLUR VERICHIP TENGDAR VIÐ KRABBAMEINSÆXLI HJÁ DÝRUM
http://agny.blog.is/blog/agny/entry/650880/

Chip Implants Linked to Animal Tumors
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/08/AR2007090800997_pf.html
Is microchipping your pet a good idea? Dr. Karen Becker discusses the benefits and risks.


With or Without Anesthetic?

Most veterinarians will likely tell you that microchipping your pet is painless. But at my practice we would never even consider microchipping without some local anesthetic.

And I highly recommend that if your pet gets a microchip, you insist on anesthetic. No matter what you have been told, the procedure hurts -- the chip is inserted with a really big 12-gauge needle!

Potential Microchipping Problems

Pet microchips are inserted underneath your pet’s skin right between his shoulder blades.

This poses some problems because on occasion the microchip can migrate under the shoulder blade or up to the back of the neck -- or even all the way down to the belly.

So if your pet has been microchipped, make sure you have a vet scan to identify exactly where it is. Once you know where it is, check it once a week to make sure there are no changes, at that it doesn’t feel any different.

If you can feel your pet’s microchip, it will feel like a grain of rice under your pet’s skin.

Are Microchips Necessary and Safe?

These are the two major questions that most everyone asks about microchips. One, are they necessary and, two, are they safe.

As with any medical procedure, you have to weigh the risks versus the benefits, and in this case it’s often a very individual decision.

If your pet has a high chance of being separated from you, for instance he bolts out your door every chance he gets and doesn’t come back when called, a microchip may be a good idea.

Millions of animals do escape or get lost from their owners every year, and less than 10 percent are ever reunited. Even if your pet has a microchip, however, its ability to help you find your pet depe