I had no incidence of my 4 babies scratching or chewing by companions (except at first while it healed). Yes, it was evident something was there by feeling it. In the event some unsuspecting vet/tech/shelter removed the chip, I would see no problem with it being re-implanted by the owner's vet. Should they be aware of chip implants, they would know what it was as it is only implanted between the shoulder blades. I do agree, however, that awareness is key it the effectiveness of locating the owner with this form of ID. HOWEVER, if your animal has any conditions requiring medication, special needs, all this info can be stored in the computer file at the sponsoring company. This form of identification is PERMANANT - that's wonderful, but it should never be considered a replacement for harnesses, collars, tags, and tattoos. I located the other company's name and number here - it should be good in Canada and USA. Unfortunately, one of the two companies here will not contact the other in the event the chip scanned is not one of theirs, yet the other company WILL contact it's competitor for information on a found animal. Obviously one company is suceeding in its business. I understand from my conversation with the Identi-Chip company they mentioned they were the oldest company doing this. My first ferrets were done by the INFOPET system, but they no longer exist and their records were transferred to the other company -> PetNet 1-800-463-6738, Here's the # for Identi-Chip too in case you missed my other post 1-800-926-1313 Pam, I agree with you that standardization is key. If there are 5 service providers in your area, it would be vital that you select the one that will converse with the other providers for information should your critter be found by someone with a scanner, if the chip doesn't happen to belong to the 1st company that was contacted. Also, the scanners must be able to read everyone's chips - the intended purpose would be defeated if a non-profit shelter had to purchase more than one scanner at (last time I checked) a cost between $2,500 and $5,000! Also, awareness to scan *ALL* stray animals by vets, shelters, pounds and humane societies is *ESSENTIAL*. In rural areas, I would doubt that anyone would have a scanner, but it is not impossible as it is also used as identification for horses, bovines and many other 'farm'-type animals. The tattoing issue is a tough one. Here in Calgary, ferrets are inspected for flank tattoos, but unless it is suspected that there is one, or that one with a reported tattoo is called in as missing, they won't shave every animal coming in - it's just too time consuming. Points at a ferret show - I would think the judges would have to understand - it's not a physical defect, but I would recommend that the we make the circuit judges aware in writing if we did decide to place an animal in the ring, and then judging standards might be investigated and ammended. I see this as an invaluable tool for breeders and pet owners alike, but nothing beats a collar and tag for the average person's identification purposes. [Posted in FML issue 1170]