Surgical Removal of Microchip

[rockonxox]

Came across a CL post where someone is looking for a dog explicitly without a microchip. Ver batim, this is what it said:

“Dont like the microchip…never have and never will. If you give the puppy the chip he will just have to get it surgically removed…PLEASE save the dog the stress and strain… just leave it out.”

Is this a thing? Are people really that against microchips and any idea why? Are they afraid the government is tracking them or something? They are wanting a “rare” breed so perhaps they are worried that they will get a stolen dog and removing any chips is their way of being able to claim it wasn’t stolen? I’ve never come across someone so adamantly against chips that they would have it surgically removed. Seems a little extreme. Do vets entertain this type of surgery regularly (or is this the kind of thing where you have to find a more unconventional vet)?

[Marshfield]

The microchip would have to be causing a problem for any veterinarian to remove. All puppies are microchipped by me before being placed in their new homes. It’s not optional

[Where_sMyWhite]

My second BT came pre-microchipped.

My first BT I had microchipped shortly after he arrived.

Any more, would not have a dog without one.

I’d be very suspicious of someone who wanted a dog without one…

[JanM]

I wouldn’t ever place or sell a dog to that person. They sound like a loon.

[Townsend]

My breeder chips her puppies before letting them leave for new owners. Can’t imagine a responsible breeder wanting to sell to this person… Can’t imagine any vet removing a chip unless it was causing a health issue for the dog, for instance by migrating somewhere unsafe. My older dog is 11, my younger coming 6 and I have their chips checked frequently at vet appointments and also at the annual health clinic where I have their eyes and hearts examined. Both chips are still where they were placed…

[rockonxox]

Oh definitely would never put a dog with anyone threatening unnecessary surgery. I advocate for microchips and would never own an animal without one. It makes me sad when I find strays and can’t find the owner because there is no microchip or no current information (thank goodness the last one had a current rabies tag we could trace to the vet). I just can’t fathom why you’d actually go in and remove it?

[PlanB]

I wonder if they have had a dog with a microchip that ended up being a problem (I’ve heard they can sometimes migrate), and perhaps it was a terrible, painful, expensive problem, which they are trying to avoid? That’s the best explanation I can come up with.

Like someone saying “I’ll never put a bucket hook in my horse’s stall because I had a horse that tore his face open on a bucket hook”?

[SonnysMom]

I have a dog where his chip migrated to his rib cage. A friend’s dog the chip migrated to the top of his head. It calcified a bit and you you could feel the bump but it wasn’t big enough to see. Another dog of mine the chip also migrated further back on the body than normally placed. Both of my dog’s chips were done at a shelter and not by a vet. Since friend’s dog was a puppy mill dog bought from a mall pet store I assume their vet put in theirs.

None of them caused issues. You just needed to wand the whole dog and not just the withers.

[Big_Tag]

I’d be more thinking the person doesn’t want the dog to be trackable. Like…along the lines of how people cut/burn off horse tattoos and freezebrands and the horse shows up at a low-end auction. Sounds suspicious to me and would certainly avoid rehoming with someone stating that.

[Simkie]

I’d guess this is someone who doesn’t understand pet chips are passive (have to be scanned for info) and instead thinks they’re emitting a signal.

People are weird :-/

[JBD]

I volunteer with a rescue and met a potential adopter who didn’t want a microchipped dog because they could be tracked… She assured me that was a fact because she was an engineer. As all of our pets are microchipped we couldn’t work with her. Too bad, so sad, take a walk crazy person.

[furlong47]

My guesses would be conspiracy theory nut who thinks the chip is capable of live tracking, someone who believes it emits radiation or other harmful stuff, or possibly a religious nut as there are some who believe microchips are the “mark of the beast” :uhoh:. I would also worry that such a person may attempt the chip removal themself if a vet won’t do it.

[Big_Tag]

@furlong47

My guesses would be conspiracy theory nut who thinks the chip is capable of live tracking, someone who believes it emits radiation or other harmful stuff, or possibly a religious nut as there are some who believe microchips are the “mark of the beast” :uhoh:. I would also worry that such a person may attempt the chip removal themself if a vet won’t do it.

Well that is the other consideration…what vet voluntarily removes a microchiip? I would be concerned they’re just cutting a chip out of a dog for stupid reasons.

[snowblaze]

The puppies I have raised have been microchipped before leaving my home. The first litter was chipped at an AKC clinic and a vet chipped the first 5 pups, then managed to injure herself while trying to chip the last boy. The other vet chipped him, while the first took care of her puncture.

Every chip on the first 5 pups travelled, one going down the rear leg of a pup! The last boy’s chip never moved, and the pups chipped since then by my vet have never moved. That leads me to believe there was an error in chipping technique by the first vet. The migrating chips were never reported to any agency.

Very rarely, a microchip can cause a foriegn-body tumor. I think the odds of that are remote, compared to the possibility that at some point a pet may need to be identified and returned to it’s owner.

https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Re…kgrounder.aspx

[S1969]

@JBD

I volunteer with a rescue and met a potential adopter who didn’t want a microchipped dog because they could be tracked… She assured me that was a fact because she was an engineer. As all of our pets are microchipped we couldn’t work with her. Too bad, so sad, take a walk crazy person.

LOL don’t we wish? All those lost dogs out there, and all people do is put up signs and post on Facebook. Obviously they don’t know the full tracking potential of the chip. Maybe you have to wear a tin foil hat to make it work.

[rockonxox]

If they make a microchip with gps or separate gps chip then I will be first in line to get them! My dogs aren’t runners, but I want the highest possible chance of us finding each other should an emergency situation occur. I’ve considered the GPS collars, but having a permanent solution like a microchip (well, unless a crazy digs it out I guess) sounds like a better idea to me.

[Garythesquirrel]

@rockonxox

If they make a microchip with gps or separate gps chip then I will be first in line to get them! My dogs aren’t runners, but I want the highest possible chance of us finding each other should an emergency situation occur. I’ve considered the GPS collars, but having a permanent solution like a microchip (well, unless a crazy digs it out I guess) sounds like a better idea to me.

I’d be in line right behind you. My vet and I were talking about this last month, about how nice it would be to have this option for cats.

[Lazy_Palomino_Hunter]

There is a subsection of people who believe microchips cause cancer. In my experience there’s a lot of overlap between the microchip conspiracy theorists and being anti-vaccine. Also in my experience, these idio- sorry, these people are also way more likely than the average person to get sucked into multilevel marketing schemes (e.g., NuVet).

This group is also generally willfully resistant to scientific evidence.

http://drandyroark.com/microchips-cause-cancer-war-truth/

[Sandysmom]

I’ve heard that there is a microchip with tracking capability. Never really looked into it though.

[furlong47]

@Sandysmom

I’ve heard that there is a microchip with tracking capability. Never really looked into it though.

There are collars or attachable boxes with GPS tracking ability, but as far as I know, nothing in a microchip. The technology still requires battery power in order to receive the satellite signals and to transmit its location. So it can’t be that small and it also needs recharging. Some foxhunts use these collars on their hounds, as well as other hunters using them on dogs.