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11:14 pm
February 3, 2009
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cemil
| | SF Bay Area | |
| Tripawd Lover | posts 397 |
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On the Anatolian list today, there's a link to a Dr. Katherine Albrecht Radio Show
http://tinyurl.com/bpragb
where the guest is a woman whose 6-month old dog died in her arms as a result of being microchipped. In the press release, it says
"The implants have been widely reported to migrate within animals' bodies, and can cause abscesses and infection. In at least two documented cases, dogs have developed cancerous tumors surrounding or adjacent to microchip implants. "
Cemil's cancer was very near his shoulder, very near where the microchip was placed when he was a puppy. I've been searching for a reason that a 3-year old dog in excellent health (and with no cancer in his close family) would develop cancer when none of the others in the same environment did. Could there be an answer here? The point of the interview is that microchipping shouldn't be mandatory, and this is just one obscure reason of many why it shouldn't be, but it struck me. Statistics would be interesting..
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Cemil and mom Mary, Mujde, Radzi and Alle….appreciating and enjoying Today
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11:22 pm
February 3, 2009
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jerry
| | The Rainbow Bridge | |
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Thanks for bringing up this important topic and the link. We've often talked about that with friends, but I can't recall discussing it online.
I also had my cancer start up high in the shoulder, very near my scruff by the microchip the humane sciety put in me as a puppy. The surgeon told us it was a little rarer for dogs to have the tumor start so high, but not unheard of. Still, it makes us wonder….
What do you guys think of this?
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11:54 pm
February 3, 2009
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tazziedog
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This microchip /cancer story has been going around for a few years now. It is based on a study in mice where a few had tumors at the microchip site. The one or two dogs with tumors near the site were not proven to be due to the microchip.
If a tumor would be caused by a microchip it would most likely be a fibrosarcoma (similiar to the tumors cats can get from vaccines) because this is a tumor of SQ tissue. You would not expect osteosarcoma, unless the microchip had been implanted in bone.
The main problem with microchips in the States is that different companies have different frequencies which are picked up by different scanners. Shelters are supposed to have "universal scanners" to read all microchips but this is not always the case. The most common chips are AVID and Home Again.
The AVMA did a survey of oncologists after the internet report came out and not one oncologist reported cancers that they thought were due to microchips, yet many lost pets have been reunited with their owners because of this technology! I guess it is a personal choice, but all 3 of my dogs have microchips.
Pam and Tazzie
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12:47 am
February 4, 2009
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jerry
| | The Rainbow Bridge | |
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Wow, thanks for the education and setting the record straight. We had no idea that this was borderline "urban myth."
I can definitely see the benefits over the risks of having a microchip put in.
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11:18 pm
February 4, 2009
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cemil
| | SF Bay Area | |
| Tripawd Lover | posts 397 |
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me too. All my dogs are microchipped, and it's worth it (now that I understand the urban legend thing) for the peace of mind. Interesting side-story…one of mine, a rescue and a fence-jumper, was picked up by Animal Control, and they didn't read the microchip I put in..they read one from the distant past, many states away. Thought that was interesting, and that maybe I should take my dogs to the shelter and have them scanned just to be sure my microchips can be detected.
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Cemil and mom Mary, Mujde, Radzi and Alle….appreciating and enjoying Today
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11:28 pm
February 4, 2009
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jerry
| | The Rainbow Bridge | |
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I've heard the same thing about microchips not being universal. I think your idea of taking your pup to the local shelter to see if it works in your hometown is a great idea!
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3:44 pm
January 18, 2010
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jerry
| | The Rainbow Bridge | |
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Here's an interesting update to the possible link between pets and microchips, written by Dr. Patty Khuly of Doolittler.
So what's the vet's point of view? I've never much worried about the safety of these implants after the first few years they were available. Seeing as I’d never heard of a reaction — not even a simple infection — I figured we'd put this issue to rest for good. That is, until someone emailed me the story of Leon, a little French Bulldog, which urged me to consider the possibility that Leon’s might be the index case for microchip-related cancer in pets.
Microchip Safety in Pets (Leon's Story)
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2:17 pm
January 20, 2010
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admin
| | Here and Now | |
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Today's Dolittler post by Dr. Patty Khuly discusses Microchip safety: Privacy, public policy, and individual pet health with some interesting links to case studies about rare animal mortality caused by microchips.
But one very important thing brought up by a comment is the issue of magnetic resonance imaging icompatibility. If a dog has a microchip, it makes sense that he/she should not undergo an MRI scan. Period. Not without the chip being removed first at least. For anyone who's pup needs an MRI, please inform your vet if the dog is microchipped.
Jerry was chipped but never had an MRI. We'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has dealt with this.
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4:57 pm
January 20, 2010
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Sarah
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Tripawds, regarding MRI & microchips:
I'm an MRI tech at a veterinary clinic and we've never had an issue. I've scanned 500+ patients a year for 4 years! The chips do continue working after an MRI procedure (we don't check them all, but the last patient I checked has had two MRI scans within a year on two different scanners – we upgraded between her visits – and her chip still worked fine). There is an image artifact at the chip location, but it very rarely obscures what we need to see. If it does, we can run a different type of scan that isn't affected as much. We don't ask owners if the pet has a chip because it doesn't influence our procedure at all.
I suppose if you injected a chip and immediately did an MRI, the chip could possibly migrate because it wouldn't be encapsulated by scar tissue…but then we would be aware of that and would delay the procedure.
Has anybody heard of an issue? I'm always looking into safety & patient considerations as a tech.
~Sarah
P.S. – I posted the same response on Dolittler and then figured I should just come over here – I love your blog 
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5:19 pm
January 20, 2010
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admin
| | Here and Now | |
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Sarah said:
I'm an MRI tech at a veterinary clinic and we've never had an issue. I've scanned 500+ patients a year for 4 years!
Thank you very much for the clarification Sarah! We had visions of exit wounds formed by the magnet pulling out the chip. Too much Hollywood perhaps.
Please feel free to register and contribute to our Ask a Vet discussion forum, the more professional advice we can provide the better. Your posts will then appear immediately without requiring moderation.
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