Penny is going to visit the vet tomorrow so that he can check out a lump on her stomach. When he examined her last week I felt rather silly suggesting that maybe it was her microchip, which started out on her back between her shoulder blades. But he didn't laugh at me. He checked, and her chip was still in the original place.
Today, when we were at K9 Kompany for dog training I told Cindy, the teacher,about it and she didn't laugh either. She told me a story about a GSD that came into the shelter at Coldstream. (K9 Kompany is associated with the shelter.) The owners were adamant that their dog was microchipped but scanning the body showed nothing. However, as the worker turned to fill out the form to say the dog was not microchipped, the scanner chimed.
The chip was at the TIP of the dog's tail. Cindy reckons all that tail-wagging might have helped it on its journey to the end of the tail.
By the way, for any local readers, I've just seen on the Coldstream site that their wonderful Dog's Day Out at the Lilydale Showgrounds has had the date changed. It's on 6th April now. The details are on their site.
Hi Parlance! Every time when I find by feeling microchip in neck of my dogs I feel relief.Hope you
ReplyDeleteunderstand me.
Oh wow, the microchip sure can travel far in the body! I wonder if mine is still in place. I have not been scanned for two years now...
ReplyDeleteLove licks,
Solid Gold Dancer
Slavenka, I know what you mean. It's a relief to know the microchip is still where it should be.
ReplyDeleteAmber-Mae, you lead such a busy life that your microchip could be anywhere! But I'm sure that it's just where it should be, like Penny's is.
ReplyDeleteThat is an amazing story Parlance. We didn't know that microchips could move about the body like that.
ReplyDeletePinky B says Willow's has moved to the top of her head and that is why she is a cone head haa haa haa.....
Noah
xx
Oh, poor Willow! I hope she wasn't looking when you typed that, Noah. If I hadn't heard it from a reputable person I wouldn't have thought it was a true story. But I think it's probably true. I thought Slavenka's comment was interesting, that she checks her dogs' chips. I'll have to have a feel around Penny's shoulders and see whether I can feel it. On the other hand, the vet didn't feel for it, he got out the clicker thingy.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know a chip could travel that far! My dog had an x-ray a month ago and it show up on the film and it was, thankfully, where it should have been.
ReplyDeleteHi, aphasia decoder!
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing about the microchips travelling seems vaguely disturbing, but I guess we would be awfully unlucky for it to travel anywhere bad. However, it does make me think of a thing I once heard somewhere about how if a child falls and gets gravel rash you should clean it up carefully so there aren't any teensy tiny stones left in the graze, because they might travel around in the body. It might be an urban myth, though.
YIKES! I dodn't know they moved around like that.
ReplyDeleteSharon, it's a scary thought, I agree. I think most of them stay where they should.
ReplyDeleteMy dog Sid has a chip that has moved. It went from between his sholder blades to under his armpit. At first we thought that he had a splinter or something in him so we took him to the vet. He was amazed as well that the chip traveled that far. We monitor it just in case it would become a problem for him.
ReplyDeleteI find it a bit scary that Sid's microchip moved so far. Thank goodness Penny's chip was still in the same place!
ReplyDeleteThey definitely can move. My puggle was microchipped in October and it is now in his front chest area. I can feel this tiny little "tube" just under his skin.
ReplyDeleteCarrie, isn't that rather quick for it to move? Are you sure the lump is the chip?
ReplyDeleteJust a question??? Could my dogs microchip move from his head to his side? And could it harm him?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, my vet says microchips don't move around much. We checked Penny recently and hers is still in the same place it was inserted.
ReplyDeleteI'm absolutely not an expert, so if you're worried maybe you should talk to your vet.
In my opinion, so many dogs have been reunited with their loving families and saved from being killed in "shelters" that microchipping is worthwhile.
Good luck.
Only this evening i found my dogs microchip near her shoulder. Interesting to no it does happen as i was thinking it could be a different sort of lump. But its definitely like a tiny tube and i can hold it in the skin
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, maybe you should check the lump with your vet just to be sure. I think you could just call in and ask the girl on the front desk to scan for the chip. It shouldn't cost you anything.
ReplyDeleteI had my dogs chip checked out by my vet. It's definitely the chip that migrated and she said this was completely normal if it wasn't placed under the skin correctly. It hasn't migrated from that area in his front chest since it moved there. My vet checked the chip with the sensor and that's exactly where it was at. She said vets and kennels are told to scan dogs all over to find microchip because they can migrate.
ReplyDeleteCarrie, that's so interesting. Next time I go to the vet, just for interest I'm going to ask where Penny's chip is these days. It's been eight years since she was microchipped.
ReplyDeleteMy friend moved house recently and lost her old cat. She was sad but resigned that her cat had hated the new home and gone somewhere to die. To her joy the cat was found, identified and is now happy in the new home. Microchips are great!