ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 15, 1996 TAG: 9605150030
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ALBANY, N.Y.
SOURCE: NEKESA MUMBI MOODY ASSOCIATED PRESS
The owner of 1-year-old Thistle MacTwittchit is hoping that her beep - not her bark - will lead her back to safety should she ever stray from home.
The bouncy little West Highland white terrier is one of a growing number of dogs, cats and other pets that are marked with a small microchip that will not only sound off, but give the identity of an animal in case it gets lost or stolen.
``At least it's under her skin and it will be there for the rest of her life, and it will always identify her as my dog,'' said Janet Gregory, of Clarksville, N.Y., about 12 miles northwest of Albany.
About the size of a kernel of rice, the microchip is inserted between the animal's shoulder blades with a needle and has an ID number that is recorded in a national computerized database. The database also records the name of the pet's owner, where it lives and other pertinent information.
When used in conjunction with a hand-held scanner, the chip will deliver a high-pitched beeping noise that transmits the pet's ID number onto the scanner, making it simple for animal shelters or veterinary clinics to reunite missing pets with their owners.
Owners ``need to understand that if they don't identify their pet, it could be lost or stolen without ever coming home,'' said Kevin Nieuwsma, sales manager for Destron-Fearing, which pioneered the technology.
``People can talk ... [but] dogs and cats, without this identification, don't have a way of telling people who they are,'' he said.
The idea for a computer chip-identification system was developed back in the mid-1980s after the prize horse of the owner of then-Destron was stolen, said Nieuwsma.
However, when the South St. Paul, Minn.-based company began working on the technology for the system, it had several obstacles to overcome before the finished product could be marketed.
``The basic problem that we had was making something small enough so you could put it in the animal without having to do surgery,'' he said.
What developed is a microchip encased in a material that bonds with the animal's skin and remains in place without getting damaged or broken, even in rough play. It has proven to be safe and inert, and will last even longer than the life of the animal, said Nieuwsma.
The average cost of the procedure is about $45. While it was not an enjoyable experience for Thistle (``I'd rather not print that,'' says Gregory about Thistle's reaction to the shot), the fluffy dog has experienced no problems since the chip was inserted two months ago.
``Once it was done, it was done, and she never gave it another thought,'' said Gregory. ``I must be rubbing over the area of where it is on her skin, and it doesn't seem to bother her at all.''
At the Parkside Veterinary Hospital in Albany, where Thistle had the procedure done, more than 400 pets have been inserted with the chip since the clinic started offering the program five months ago.
``I think it's an excellent response, it's better than we expected,'' said veterinarian Mark Will.
The chip is currently offered by three different companies, although Schering-Plough Animal Health's Home Again system created by Destron-Fearing is perhaps the most widely known.
The Union, N.J.-based company began marketing the system last year. Home Again currently has more than 50,000 dogs enrolled in its database registry, which is linked with the American Kennel Club and is accessible at all times, said company spokesman John Janelli.
So far, about 450 missing pets have been returned to their owners through the program, he said.
Since Thistle is a purebred and will be used for breeding, Gregory was just as interested in protecting her investment as protecting her companion with the chip.
``If I got a mutt from the humane society, I might not [have done it],'' Gregory admitted.
But Will says it's not just purebred owners. ``We also put just as many in [for] people who just care about their mixed-breed pets also,'' he said.
Nieuwsma said the company hopes to expand on the chip's technology in the next few years, enabling it to carry information on an animal's medical history and to be updated with changes in the pet's health over time.
But don't expect to have a microchip for that wandering teen-ager or spouse anytime soon - at least not from Destron-Fearing.
``We have to take one market at a time, and we have to basically know our limitations,'' he said.
End advance for Monday, May 13|
AP-DS-05-09-96 1152E
LENGTH: Medium: 90 linesby CNB