Riverside County Stories
By Stephanie Frith
The Press Enterprise

ID Microchips move from kennel to barn, and we are Mobile

It's not just for dogs anymore. That's the slogan that's painted on the back of Cindy Gudino's white truck. She said those words say it all.

Gudino runs Microchip Connection, a mobile implant service that permanently places a microchip

Cindy Gudino is pleased after her horse Delaney accepts a microchip without fuss. The microchip, injected into the mare's neck, will help identify her if she gets loose. Gudino runs Microchip Connection, a mobile microchip-implanting service.

inside animals to help identify them in case the become lost or stolen.

The Microchips can be read by scanners designed to help re-unite the pet and its owner.

Most people think of the chips for use in dogs and cats, but those familiar with the microchips say the product is being used increasingly in horses and other animals as well.

"In case of disaster, such as fire or flood, a horse can be found and placed in a safe pasture until the owners are located", said Hannis Stoddard, a Norco veterinarian and the designer of AVID, one of a handful of pet-identification microchips available on the market. AVID stands for American Veterinary Identification Services.

Dogs and cats can wear a collar, but horses are either left naked or with a freeze brand or lip tattoo that can fade, said Renee Power, "Director of Animal Control for Norco California Animal Services." A microchip is a permanent way of keeping your pets safe, she said.

Microchips are in place in more than 350,000 companion animals in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the largest portion of them being dogs, Stoddard said. Equines make up the fourth-largest group, following birds and cats, Stoddard added.

AVID recovers 575 animals each day in the United States and 1,345 globally. AVID has the only scanners that read "all" chips and are placed in shelters throughout the world.

'A free phone call home'
The chips, made by such companies as AVID and Home Again, are each about the size of a grain of rice. They are inserted into the animal using a needle and stay in place for the life of the animal by latching onto protein, Stoddard said. Animal control officers carry scanners that are rubbed over the lost animal.

"When you hear that beep, you know that the animal has been chipped, and it's like a free phone call home," said Dan Knox, director of shelter operations for AVID.

During last week's 150-acre fire in Norco, more than 100 horses, goats and other animals were transferred to Ingalls Park, where they were kept until their owners could pick them up, said Power.

Although many of these horses were micro chipped, animal control officers did not need to use their scanners because owners were able to identify their animals within a matter of hours.

"We had the scanners, though, in case we needed to use them," said Power, adding that her horses are chipped. "We were lucky that everything worked out so well."

Gudino, who has been implanting the microchips for veterinarians such as Stoddard since 1991, said horses never feel the scanner searching for the chip. The horses rarely react to the injection, she added.

When Gudino demonstrated the injection on Delaney, a 15-year-old mare, the horse barely moved her head. Gudino gently patted Delaney and told her quietly, "It's for your own good."

Never considered it
Other horse owners say it has never crossed their minds to have microchips injected into their horses because the animals are branded, tattooed or insured. Dianne Grod, a trainer at the Temecula Valley Equestrian Center, said her veterinarian has never approached her with the idea.

"I'm not against chipping," she said. "But our horses are pretty identifiable. They have some sort of mark that tells us who they are."

Tattoos can fade, however, and in a disaster, people may not be able to recognize their pets, said Stoddard, who began marketing AVID in 1991. In the chaos and panic of the recent fire in Norco, two owners were unable to identify their five horses and thought they had died in the fire, he said. After the fire, they calmed down and were able to locate their animals.

The microchip also carries information on the animal's health history and the name of an alternate contact, in case the owner can not be reached immediately.

Many states require animal shelters to scan strays for microchips before euthanizing them.

"It's a good feeling when someone finds their pet," Stoddard said. "We are saving lives every day."

Microchip Connection is High Tech Protection for Your Horse

By Erin Gilmore

The equine world praises itself for coming up with new innovations all the time to better care for, train and help horses. Cindy Gudino is Microchip Connection's Equine Specialist for California. She is working hard to spread the word about what is perhaps the best protection for a horse today. To those who are wondering how in the world something that sounds like it has to do with computers is related to horses, sit up and pay attention to this article. It could save your horse's life someday.

Cindy founded Microchip Connection in 2001, as an independent contractor who microchips dogs and horses. "Micro chipping" is a permanent way to identify your horse without branding or leaving a scar. Micro chipping sounds complicated, but actually it is a surprisingly simple procedure to inject a microchip about the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen into an animal. The microchip holds detailed information about the animal. When scanned, it will identify information about that animal, its owner and location, plus any special needs the animal might have. Better than a brand, it is completely undetectable and unmovable for life. Cindy has been using the microchip for years on her own horses and in her work. She worked in animal control for 10 years, micro chipping dogs and horses, and when she retired she decided to continue micro chipping with her own business. Today she is working to encourage horse owners that micro chipping is the best way to protect their horses.

This past August at a yearly USA Equestrian convention debates surrounding the use of the microchip we thoroughly discussed. The result of that convention was the passing of Article 811, which states that by December 1, 2003 all horses competing in USA Equestrian-recognized conventions must obtain a horse ID number. USA Equestrian is behind about 2,800 shows nationwide every year, which results in a lot of horses needing to be registered. Now the debate has turned to the question of whether or not the Horse ID number should be in a microchip or on a piece of paper. At press time the debate was still continuing.

"There are so many different directions this technology can go in," says Cindy. Recovering a horse involved in a disaster such as a fire is the number one use of the microchip. If animal rescue groups rescue horses from the site of a disaster they are usually taken to a central location and held for their owners to come claim them. But if two people try to claim the same horse, and the rightful owners papers have been destroyed, it is an argument of one person's word against another's. With micro chipping, rescue groups can now scan the animal and the rightful owner's name and contact information are instantly available so that person can recover their horse. This way no one can get away with stealing a horse that isn't his or hers.

Cindy and Microchip Connection are working with all auction houses that are willing to take the scanners and delegating them for free to encourage the auction houses to use them. "Right now we are giving them a choice of either taking scanners for free and scanning each animal or having animal control come in and scan for them. Only when animal control does it they stand the chance of being penalized for handling stolen property" says Cindy. "Either way they can't handle stolen property. We are consistently moving forward to get all facilities to put scanner into use, especially the auction houses." Insurance companies are also using micro chipping more and more as a way to be sure that a horse's identity can't be swapped for a horse that has passed away. This technology is also useful for large breeding and training farms. The microchip can hold volumes of information, including vet and farrier records, so that each horse's care can be kept track of and horses don't get mixed up. Mare collars on breeding farms are the most commonly used method in identifying mares in large groups right now. However, the collars can get caught in fences, foals can get caught in them, or they occasionally will break off. The microchip eliminates those dangers and mishaps.

Someday microchips might even play a part in protecting your horse from communicable diseases. Today when a horse goes to a show, there is no guarantee that every horse on the show grounds has been fully vaccinated. We don't like to think about it, but there is always the risk of an infected horse coming onto the show grounds. Even with a Cogging's test a horse could have been exposed to a number of different diseases; strangles, EPM, etc. Ideally, if every horse were micro chipped each owner would have proof that their horse had been fully vaccinated and the risk for contagious diseases being spread at horse shows would go way down.

The actual procedure to inject the microchip is very simple. A 12 gauge needle is used to inject the microchip, no different than giving a shot. On all horses the microchip is injected in the same place, on the left hand side of the neck, at the bend of the poll about 12 inches down from the ear, right below the muscle on the main line. All that is needed is for the area to be disinfected. The microchip itself has a synthetic membrane around it, which adheres the microchip to the muscle. The microchip is injected as close to the muscle as possible, because you want the microchip to adhere right to the muscle. The key principle is injected into the right location. The actual injection is very quick, and most of the time is spent filling out paperwork. It is very important to have all the information that goes on the microchip precise so if the horse ever ends up being separated from the owner all the information on the horse will be correct. The scanner that reads the chip identifies the horse's number, which can then put into the universal database. The database can be maintained either by a monitoring station or the client. The microchips don't leave any kind of bump or abrasion on the skin, and so are undetectable to judges in the show ring, as well as potential horse thieves.

Cindy travels through California doing microchip clinics all year round. She also makes trips to home barns by appointment. Service includes the trip to the location, the microchip and the injection, as well as the registration of the microchip and lifetime monitoring. Prices vary according to group size and Northern or Southern California. In addition to the microchip clinics, Cindy also does educational clinics. This helps people who are uncertain about the benefits of micro chipping to learn all the facts and advantages straight from Cindy. To Cindy, Microchip Connection's motto sums up the value of the microchip; "Until your pets can use the phone, this is their best chance for getting home."

Certifications

1. We are certified through AVID for California as a mobile implan service
2. We are certified through Riverside Emergency Animal Rescue System (REARS). The group for Riverside Highway Patrol , County Sheriff, Fire Departments, Department of Forestry for animal evacuations
3. We have become area coordinators for the evacuation program, and work with other area cooperative efforts