# Opinions on which Microchip to get?



## mtrai (Nov 28, 2011)

I am trying to decide on which micro chip to get for Hitch. Any thoughts or opinions?

HomeAgain 25.00 18.99 Annually
24PetWatch 25.00


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

We use 24petwatch and are happy with them.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

i didn't know homeagain had an annual fee, i better check into that. thanks!

when i made my choice i just went with the one the vet used. didn't know i had a choice and maybe at my vet i didn't.

and that hitch is one lucky boy to have you as his guardian!


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## mtrai (Nov 28, 2011)

They do for the premium service. 

And call me crazy but I just might go to an animal shelter today in North Atlanta and check out another German Shepherd. OMG Kanji is really going to hate me lol. This Shelter is a high Kill shelter.


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## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

I use Home Again, that is what my vet uses.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

I've got home again and there's no annual fee. I think I paid $30 and Lucy's set for life.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

My vet uses Avid- no annual fee.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

I think the annual fee might be voluntary. You basically get a bunch of extras that you don't need for that annual fee, but it's not mandatory with the chip.

Annual Membership Services | HomeAgain Pet Microchip


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## mtrai (Nov 28, 2011)

Hitch got HomeAgain....he is now registered to me.


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## law1558 (Feb 20, 2008)

We use Avid for our dog (it's what the rescue uses and they're listed as secondary contact). One lifetime fee, but you can pay more for some add'l services.

We use HomeAgain for the cats (it's what the Humane Society uses). Again, one time fee, annually.

I prefer the internet support that we have with HomeAgain.


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

My recommendation would be NOT to go with 24PetWatch.

When you get a chip with HomeAgain, you get a year's service with the fee. After that, you can still log onto the website and update your address if you move, without paying the annual fee. With 24PetWatch, the ONLY way you can update your address after your first year "expires" is if you pay annually ($15) or a $45 fee to change your address one-time. 

I do not like any business that does not give you the option of a free basic service (just changing addresses) and instead forces you to buy a premium service or charges you a ridiculous fee just to change your address (and I think $45 is ridiculous for that).

I would never, ever, get a dog or cat done with 24PetWatch and will not recommend them to anyone else.


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## brembo (Jun 30, 2009)

Is there a reason not to get both? For what looks like less than 50 dollars initial outlay you would be assured of a read from a scanner and at least a hit in a database if the people doing the scanning didn't have access to one or the other.


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## Gwenhwyfair (Jul 27, 2010)

Shouldn't have to get both, just gotta make sure the chip is full duplex ISO compliant, which most chips are nowadays. Any company that tries to block via proprietary scanners/encryption/dbases should be avoided.

I like petlink for the online dbase part, one time fee and it cross references other databases.





brembo said:


> Is there a reason not to get both? For what looks like less than 50 dollars initial outlay you would be assured of a read from a scanner and at least a hit in a database if the people doing the scanning didn't have access to one or the other.


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

mtrai said:


> HomeAgain 25.00 18.99 Annually


HomeAgain is sneaky in their marketing, but there is NO annual fee for the chip. That annual payment is for the extra services they offer, not for the chip registration itself. To register the chip is just the one time $25 fee, no annual renewal.

Regardless of what brand of chip you purchase, I think it always wise to register the chip with multiple registries. There is no central database for all chips in the US. Each brand has their own, and then there are independent ones like 24 Pet Watch, AKC's CAR, etc... The chip won't do any good if it is only registered with company A but the vet/shelter scanning the dog only calls company B, so the safest bet is to register the chip with both it's manufacturer and the big independent registries. The chip


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

When I adopted Nadia, she was already micro chipped. When I took her to my vet, who uses Home Again, they scanned her and had difficulty identifying the chip. Turned out it is PetLink. I registered both dogs with multiple companies to assure they can be traced back to me, and pray that someone would be able to identify her chip if she was ever lost. Not an idea I relish knowing how hard it was in the beginning. Her chip is registered with AKC, and she also has AKC CAR, as does Zisso. His MC is Home Again. I wish they were both HA


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## Witz (Feb 28, 2011)

Two extremely friendly Pit bulls showed up at our door the other night. They were obviously well cared for. One had no ID and the other had an AVID chip tag on. So I am thinking we can find the owners very quickly. So I make the call and find out that the ID number is in the system but no contact info was associated to the number. 

Fortunately, the owners had just moved in down the street and were out looking for them. Happy ending. Turns out they were both rescues and they had forgotten to call AVID and give them their contact info. I got the feeling that they were quite embarrassed and hopefully went home and made the call. 

It would have been a real shame if these dogs ended up in a shelter as they were as sweet, friendly and zero dog aggressive. Of coarse, my wife and I for a moment, were going thru the "how were we going to make it thru the night" with our 2 GSD's, my sons Pit (who were allready barking up a storm) and 3 cats wondering why there were 2 strange dogs in crates in the basement. 

Might be worth everyone just checking their chip registrations to make sure they are up to date.


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## Anastasia (Oct 7, 2011)

*ResQ*

There have been several threads about Microchiping. 
I read them (especially the latest one) with interest and they usually are comparing Home again and 24 hour pet watch so I tried to remember the good and the bad and when I took Jack for his first vet visit Tuesday I was ready to discuss all that I had learned. I asked the vet about Microchipping and she said they used ResQ I had never heard of it and was wondering if anyone here has and what were your thoughts and opinions.


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## bruiser (Feb 14, 2011)

I use Pet Link and it doesn't have an annual fee. Our animal shelter uses it so that's why I got it. Also, they have a fund raiser 2 or 3 times a year where it only costs like ten bucks to have your pets micro-chipped, a really nice thing for the community.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

We get more AVID chips that are not registered, we can only trace them to where they originated, or who purchased them that is, for implanting, usually a vet clinic or shelter. 
More shelters now use 24petwatch or HomeAgain. 

It is my understanding that you can still update on the website with 24petwatch but that to call them requires a fee after the 1st year?


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

> It is my understanding that you can still update on the website with 24petwatch but that to call them requires a fee after the 1st year?


This is incorrect. You can not update your information on the website unless you are either subscribed annually or you pay a one-time fee. With HomeAgain, you can both update online and call to update your information even without being subscribed.


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## VonKromeHaus (Jun 17, 2009)

I use AKC CAR and HA chips. I prefer them to the other brands and find their databases the best! I also register their chips with other MicroChip companies so that they can be identified no matter what company is called, they also always wear tags that have their microchip information on them!


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

Ozzy has the Home Again chip. $25 to have it done, shelter activated it and everything for me. No extra (required) fees here.


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