Dog Chipping & Cancer

Did anyone hear the lady on talkback just before midnight lastnight talking about how apparrently there is now evidence in the States of how dogs are now getting cancer from the micro chips? She said that alot are getting malignant tumours where the chips have been put in. Apparrently it had also happend to the lab rats/mice to but they kept that quiet for some time. The announcer did a google and he also found alot of reading from the States which backed what this woman had said up.
Gee another thing to worry about. Now its law to have new pups chipped so there are going to be alot who refuse when they find this out.
I am about to go googling and see what I can find.

www.vetpathology.org/cgi/content/full/43/4/545 ?

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...007090800997_pf.html -

Sounds like one of these urban myths to me. The only way this could happen is if the chips are coated in a carcinogenic material. They are passive devices and are activated by the signal from a reader - they have no internal power source so can't emit a constant level of field. Goodness, if these things are supposedly doing that then don't get a pacemaker - those things have batteries!

powerguy - not arguing what you said at all but on another tangent. Friends of mine had their Bishon microchipped not long ago and the dog had a reaction to the chip. It was very ill for two weeks but has now settled down. If not cancer caused by something carcinogenic, what about cancer caused by the irritation that a foreign object may cause?

My father had no stomach linings (ulcerated) as a result of something that happened to him in the war and he knew all his life that he would get bowel cancer from the irritation - and he did. That is the premise I am using to ask this question. What do you think?

Hi Didi, I would guess (and that is all I can do from here) that it was most likely an infection in the puncture would than a reaction to the chip.

We enter into a very vague area with this discussion as there are so many variables. Not every person (or animal) will react to any substance in the same way. What some can handle no problem may cause an irritation or worse in others. Hay fever is a good example using a natural substance.

I just find it very hard to believe that with all the effort the various parties to dog chipping globally put into this product that they would be so silly as to use a material that would cause cancer! If you subscribe to the conspiracy theories (and it pays to keep one eye open on these things) the chips are eventually meant for human use so they would have developed them with that in mind - why would they use carcinogenic materials????

It is very easy to latch onto any story that can be bent to support a point of view. The only way to know is to have properly conducted studies. How many cases of "cancer" and is it really cancer? How many chips have been used? Is there anything used in the chip coating that is carcinogenic or if there is some cancer can it be linked to that material?

As a parallel I would, at the risk of starting a huge debate that is not directly related to this topic, use 1080 as an example. I frequently hear cases where people say "I went into the bush after a drop and all the birds were gone". Well, I have been into bush where NO 1080 has been used and seen no birds! Did anyone study the birds before the drop? No. Did anyone take into account that most 1080 drops occur in winter when bird numbers are lower and they are so busy trying to survive that they don't sit around singing? No. Did anyone do a follow up check in spring/summer to see what birds are present? No. Just one comment taken without any supporting evidence and used to try and prohibit the use of a material.

So, back to the chipping. I would want to see a whole lot more EVIDENCE before jumping to any conclusion about these chips. Why is it that this report has come out of America and no cases have been reported in NZ? Is the cancer at the chip site or is it just that the dog got cancer? Could that cancer have been caused by years of being fed processed food high in preservatives etc? Living in an environment where it is exposed to various toxic substances from car exhaust to pet shampoo?

Too many unanswered questions!

We have no intention of getting ANY of our dogs chipped so there won't be a problem there.

In one of the articles it says that some of the elderly with alzheimers are chipped in the states.
I am just abit concerned as our dog has some many allergies that this hopefully wont be another thing she reacts to.

My cat has had a microchip since 1998. He was 3 at the time and was being moved to NZ with me from Canada (and is still with me and is "happy as larry"). He has never had any symptoms related to having this implant. I read that vet pathology link and it sounds to me like the adverse reaction could just as likely have been caused by repeated vacinations.

I would have no hesitation in having an animal microchipped again.
the risk in humans may be a different affair.. humans live ALOT longer than dogs and are a completely different situation. Plus.. we don't get vaccinated in the same spot, year after year after year after year.... so who knows!

"We have no intention of getting ANY of our dogs chipped so there won't be a problem there"

I'll be quite happy to chip my dog, a friend recently had his 7 year old labrador stolen, it's been a month or so now & he's gutted. I keep thinking that if this dog was chipped, it'd be picked up on its next visit to the vet.

I dunno - maybe not. But I like the idea that my dog can be identified should she go missing & be picked up by the SPCA or whomever.

Exactly.. for a one time cost... there's a good number of potential benefits.. how many posts have there been on here along the lines of "Help.. my dog has been stolen" "Help my puppy's missing".."Help.. I've found a dog wandering on my property"

Resistance is futile !!

Just because it is chipped and gets stolen doesn't mean the owner would get it back. A person that would stoop that low as to steal a dog probably wouldn't even bother taking an animal to a vet anyway.

Oh, by the way, I have just got home from work and got breathalised on the way home. I resent that too.

Well yeah, I know there are no guarantees. And I continue to be surprised at how many think the chips can be tracked by satellite...

I do hope Toni, that they let you go

Llew, after I got let go I thought I should have said to the cop, who was very young indeed, "Shouldn't you be home in bed young man????????"[^] Next time.

You missed a good opportunity there Toni!

I guess with chipping dogs, if you get a puppy then you now have no choice but to chip it, is my understanding of the law... I had wondered about getting Oska done, incase he went missing, but as he spends most of his days asleep on the bed, there isn't too much chance of that happening!

Don't worry oskatd, I will get another chance. For one who doesn't drink and drive I get breath tested regulary. Next time I am going to slur my words, BEFORE they stick that thing by my gob and say, "Hello officerS."