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Bob- as I was saying the hardest thing about reuniting an animal with its owner is when the incorrect info shows up.I do agree that whoever inserts the chip should be responsible for entering the info. I believe the shelters do upon adoption.
However, all it takes on the owners part is a simple phone call in most cases. Most companies change the info for free. One of my pups has an Avid chip and they charge $18 I believe to change the info.A small price to pay to have my little guy home fast.
I think it would be hard to have the State regulate it as most people don't have Hawaii contact info when they enter the state. In my opinion it just comes down to responsible pet ownership. Same with the tags, yeah its a pain taking a day to go to the Humane Society and get tags, but it is do-able as they are open 6 days a week and its only $2!! In CA they are roughly $50.Much more affordable here!
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PS. If you can't tell,this is a subject that I feel very strongly about! Its very sad to me when a pet acts up in the shelter out of fear and is microchipped but ends up being put to sleep b/c the owners didn't change their info.
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Rob - I just got a dog license today at the Keaau Humane society & they inputted the microchip info & everything... they were very helpful & it tookjust a couple of minutes at most (most Puna people go sorta near to the Humane Society at least every once in a while...) so if you can stop in, you can get a $2.10 license (guess there is tax on a license!)
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I was talking about a pet ID tag which lists your name or dog's name, address, and phone #. The County tags are very easy to get and cheap! Now I'd like to think that someone finding a pet with a license would be smart enough to call the Humane Society and give them the tag#, but that's a big assumption around here. Even so the info they have on file could be outdated, so it is important to have ID tags that tell people how to contact you. You can't just up and buy one at Stacey's or the Humane Society. And since you can't I think most people don't bother. Most dogs I see around here don't even have collars for that matter.
The nice thing about chipping your dog here is that you don't have to pay the expense of registering it with Avid. They match it up with what they have on file at the Humane Society. If you pet isn't leaving the island, there's no reason to register beyond the Humane Society.
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Rob, we have always magic markered our phone # on the collar with BIG numbers... (years ago we had a 'houdini' dog & were living right near a very nice walking "rails-to trails" path....many people that may not want to get up close to a dog could still see her phone # & call us... worked better than a charm!
and you can use a marker on most any collar.
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I ordered both of my pups tags from Staceys.. You just fill out the paper and they fax to a company on the mainland.We received them in the mail within a week.
With the Avid chips its still a good idea to register with the company in case your lost pet is taken to a vet not the Humane Society.A friend of mine lost her pup months ago,she was found in HOVE but taken to a vet in Kona who scanned her and reunited her with her owner.I'm not sure how you could register the chip w/the Humane society but not the chip company..
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To register with the Humane Society, take the chip info to their office.... They said they share with "everyone" on island... not sure how...
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If a vet has a reader they can call the Humane society and get the owner info by giving the ID#. But that is a good point, I never thought that some might find the dog injured and take it to a vet instead of the humane society. I also like the idea of writing your # on the collar!
