Dear Dr. Forsythe: How does a microchip actually work? Does it have a battery or is it electric, or is there a magnetic strip?
Emma’s Dad
Dear Emma’s Dad: None of the above. The “chip” is a little piece of material the size of a grain of rice. Once installed, it sits safely between the shoulder blades of the pet. Once a pet is injected with the chip, he can be identified throughout his life by this unique ID number. His identification cannot be lost or altered or intentionally removed. A scanner works by sending and receiving a radio signal matched to that in the microchip. So when you have your pet “micro chipped” you are turning your little pet into a miniature radio channel with its own individual number that can be scanned at 125 kHz. However, Microchips are not GPS devices.
Dr. F
Dear Dr. Forsythe: Last week my Briard puppy suddenly started limping and couldn’t walk on his front leg. It turned out that all he had was a broken toe nail, but you would have thought he had a broken leg! He is doing much better now, but can you tell me what the normal indications of pain are for dogs and cats? I wonder what he would have done if he HAD broken his leg?
Worried about Pain
in Diamond A
Dear Worried: Pain management in pets is a very important topic, so I appreciate your question. Pain behavior that is common in both cats and dogs includes: hunched up body, irritable or aggressive, no appetite, hiding, and protecting the hurting body part. Dogs more often exhibit crying and/or whining, a glassy-eyed, vacant look, restlessness or changing positions a lot and shaking and trembling. Cats are known to more frequently display growling and/or purring, not grooming, squinting, and not moving from one spot when uncomfortable.
Pain is a common part of illness, injury and medical therapy. It starts with some sort of insult to the body, becomes perceived as the signals travel thru the nervous system, and ultimately alters the physiology and behavior of the patient. It is really miserable for our family pets, and you can almost see the agony in some of their eyes, while others don’t seem to show any signs. But pain is not pleasant, and if it is severe or prolonged it can be quite difficult to tolerate. Just when this experience turns into “suffering” depends on the patient. Most pet owners agree that avoiding, preventing or reducing pain for their pet is really important.
Thankfully the veterinary profession is advanced enough to successfully manage pain in our pets. We have medications, techniques and a current standard of care that allows the majority of patients to be made comfortable most of the time. Owners should feel empowered to be part of the medical decision-making and discuss this topic with your doctor to ensure that your pet is receiving the best pain control therapy available.
Dr. F
