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Q. Should pet owners be worried about the implants in their pets causing cancer? There have been no large-scale, statistically valid, clinically controlled, experimental studies involving microchip implants in dogs and cats, so we know very little about their long-term safety. However, the fact that we have not seen an epidemic of cancers in pets would suggest that only a small number of pets will be affected. As the chip-removal procedure is likely to be both costly and invasive, pet owners may wish to leave the implanted microchips intact within their animals unless a problem surfaces. Owners of pets that have been implanted should regularly check the area for anything unusual. Lumps, fibrous tissue, heat, and tenderness, for example, could all be indications of a problem. Note that the microchips have a tendency to migrate from their original implantation site, so pet owners may have to check the surrounding area carefully as well. If something unusual is found, it should be reported immediately to a veterinarian, and tests should be done to rule out cancer. The pet owner may be the key to detecting a problem in the early stages and saving the life of a pet. In the two published cases where dogs developed tumors around and attached to implants, it was the owners' astute eye and probing fingers that originally found the cancer, not a veterinarian.69,70 The only indication that there was a problem was the lump; all other laboratory tests came back within normal ranges. Q. My dog has cancer in another part of the body. Could it be related to the microchip? It is not likely that the microchip is the cause of your dog's cancer. The chip-induced cancers reported in the literature formed around the microchips themselves, not in other parts of the body. If a malignancy had formed around the implant and grown large enough to metastasize (spread) to another part of the body, you would probably have been able to feel the initial lump at the implant site with your fingers. While it is possible that a chip-induced tumor could eventually metastasize to another part of the body, unless your dog has a sarcoma or related tissue cancer at the site of the microchip, it is not likely that the chip has anything to do with cancer elsewhere. A biopsy of the tumor could help diagnose its source and either confirm or rule out that possibility. Q. Does the injection procedure pose a risk to pets? It can. The British Small Animal Veterinary Association reports an incident in 2004 when a struggling kitten died after being implanted with a microchip. An autopsy revealed that the microchip had been accidentally inserted into the kitten's brain stem.71 A similar error caused severe neurological damage to a cat when a microchip was accidentally injected into its spinal column.72 Permanent neurological damage from microchip implants has also been reported in horses. Even researchers who regularly implant animals can make serious errors. Researchers Rao and Edmondson report that 5% (7 of 140) of microchips implanted into the backs of mice were later recovered near the animals' kidneys.73 Another researcher admitted that "occasionally some [microchips] would be inserted too deep, the needle that put them in was probably held at the wrong angle."74 Q. I've heard that implants can migrate. Is that true? Yes, chips can migrate or tunnel through the flesh to a different part of the body. For details and evidence, please refer to the human chipping section of this document, "What is meant by 'migration?'" on page 1. Q. What other problems can implanted microchips cause in animals? In addition to nerve damage and the potential for migration discussed previously, microchip implants can lead to infection, abscess, abnormal growths and other adverse tissue reactions. The photographs below document just a few of the many instances in which this has occurred in horses.
Left and center: Infection surrounding the site of a microchip implant. Source: http://www.invisio.nl/antichip/fotos-eng.htm 
Q. What alternatives are there to chipping animals? There are other ways to help ensure that lost or runaway pets are returned to their owners. A well-made collar and a clear, legible tag with the owner's contact information are effective tools that have worked for generations of pet owners. Pedigreed dogs, horses, and farm animals can also be tattooed, and there are registries that will store their DNA for identification purposes. Should a pet go missing, there are now services and advice centers that make use of the latest technology and knowledge of missing pet behavior to help people locate missing animals. The book "The Lost Pet Chronicles" by real-life pet detective Kat Albrecht75 provides a great overview of this service. Â
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Horses injured by microchip implants