AVID microchips---anybody using this company?

I plan to have Goldy and her kittens microchipped when they are spayed/neutered. Plus I need to get my other two girls chipped.

My vet uses AVID. Does anyone have experience with this company? What do you think of it--good, bad, or indifferent?

The other vet in town uses Home Again. I've heard more about this company, but there are several reasons for not changing vets. One, I like the clinic I go to already. Two, my vet will spay at 4 months and the other won't do it before 5 months. Three, the second vet charges more. It's not much, but with 6 cats it can add up.

I think they're all the same. As long as you have a chip, and your address updated, that's all that matters. It's the exact same sort of thing, and vets/shelters use universal scanners that pick up both.

We use AVID chips at work (not for pets), and they seem to work just fine. I really don't think there are problems with the function of chips made by any of the major companies. What really matters is that the local vets and animal control have scanners that can read the chip your cat has. It looks like HomeAgain and AVID chips are readable by (most of) the same devices, so readability probably isn't an issue when deciding between HomeAgain and AVID.

What about the ongoing costs? I did a google search for AVID and somehow ended up on the UK site first. They had a plan for which you pay an initial fee and no additional charges for changing information in their database. Then I found the US website, and they indicated that there is an initial fee plus a $6 charge for each change to the information.

I know Home Again has an annual fee, but understand that it is optional and your information is still registered even if you don't pay their renewal fee.

I currently microchip for two organizations. I have used both avid and homeagain. Both chips are great. Homeagain has a fair deal though. For $14.95(a year), or if the organization has a special deal with homeagain, you get a lot of services. Like free calls to poison control ($50-60 a call), lost pet insurance (your pet gets lost and injured your deductible is $50 they pay up to $3,000), If lost and found 500 miles from your house they will fly them home up to a certain amount, 24/7 phone vet assistance, and also do pet alerts (if you report your pet missing they send out alerts within a 50 mile radius to all vets, shelters, and rescues). And a few more small incentives.

If you get a homegain chip and don't want these services then you just pay the registration fee and you are good to go. And you will always be in the system. Same for avid.

Again both are good chips imo. I think the homeagain deal is good for dogs and outdoor kitties. All of mine are indoor so I don't feel the need to have all of those services

Good luck

All 3 of our pets have Avid microchips. It wasn't our decision (Mattie's was done before I adopted her, Chloe's was done by my vet and that just happened to be the brand they use, and our dog's breeder did his).

My issue with Avid is you can't update address info online in the US like you can with other micro-chip companies. Such a pain. The UK has a much better Avid website...but I don't live in the UK.

Originally Posted by Sakura

My issue with Avid is you can't update address info online in the US like you can with other micro-chip companies.

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My girlfriend said this too. She was trying to do a couple of kitties for some friends and had a difficult time.