MaryP Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 ! Home Again wants $17 a year for subscription, as opposed to AVID's one time registration fee of $20. Actually, this isn't true. But, I will admit that the way HomeAgain markets this, it makes it sound like you need to pay $17 a year to maintain your pet's registration. It is a big pet peeve of mine and I think it is sneaky and disingenuous. There are disclaimers on their website and in the fine print of the registration form, but it's not very obvious. When you register your pet with HomeAgain, your registration is for life. Your pet's info will remain in their database regardless of whether or not you maintain your "membership" with them. When you first register your pet, they give you a "free" one-year membership (at least that's the case with the pre-paid registrations). The membership includes things beyond basic registration like travel assistance for lost pets and medical insurance for lost pets, etc. Things you don't need. If you did accidentally purchase the membership, you can request to cancel it and your info will remain in their database and your credit card will no longer be automatically charged every year. The thing that I do like about HomeAgain vs. Avid is that you can log onto the HA website and change your info at any time at no charge (e.g., if you move or get a new phone#). Avid will charge you every time you make a change to your info and you can't do it on line. I use HA because I like the convenience of being able to access and change my dog's info at any time. When folks adopt dogs from us, I tell them that the dog's info has been registered in the HA database and that they can ignore any letters or emails about needing to renew their membership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlasl Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 I have Homeagain for my dogs, and everything Mary said is true...the "membership fee" is for added benefits, your information is always available and you can go online and change the info at anytime. I have had no problems with them at all, but thankfully have not needed it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixx Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Actually, this isn't true. But, I will admit that the way HomeAgain markets this, it makes it sound like you need to pay $17 a year to maintain your pet's registration. It is a big pet peeve of mine and I think it is sneaky and disingenuous. There are disclaimers on their website and in the fine print of the registration form, but it's not very obvious. When you register your pet with HomeAgain, your registration is for life. Your pet's info will remain in their database regardless of whether or not you maintain your "membership" with them. When you first register your pet, they give you a "free" one-year membership (at least that's the case with the pre-paid registrations). The membership includes things beyond basic registration like travel assistance for lost pets and medical insurance for lost pets, etc. Things you don't need. If you did accidentally purchase the membership, you can request to cancel it and your info will remain in their database and your credit card will no longer be automatically charged every year. The thing that I do like about HomeAgain vs. Avid is that you can log onto the HA website and change your info at any time at no charge (e.g., if you move or get a new phone#). Avid will charge you every time you make a change to your info and you can't do it on line. I use HA because I like the convenience of being able to access and change my dog's info at any time. When folks adopt dogs from us, I tell them that the dog's info has been registered in the HA database and that they can ignore any letters or emails about needing to renew their membership. Thanks Mary! I feel much better now. I had never heard of HA, and then I saw all the fee's, and was hoping it was a common enough microchip that it could be easily scanned in multiple places/states, etc. I also like that you mentioned you can go online and change info for free, as opposed to AVID, thanks for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligande Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 I am listed second on one of my dogs microchip, the rescue asked when they had it done if I would mind, and when I thought about it it actually made sense. Not as much as we used to, but my husband and I both travel overseas and if anything happened with the dogs there is always someone who will answer the phone and come rescue him from where ever he has ended up, if he got away from a house sitter. For me it is actually piece of mind knowing that there is a responsible backup person. That said I do now have a personal relationship with the person involved and am comfortable with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouBC Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 Thanks Mary! I feel much better now. I had never heard of HA, and then I saw all the fee's, and was hoping it was a common enough microchip that it could be easily scanned in multiple places/states, etc. I also like that you mentioned you can go online and change info for free, as opposed to AVID, thanks for the info! All of my dogs have Home Again chips. One, Kodah, also has an Avid chip, because that's what his breeder used. I put in a HA as well, since then I can update all of the dogs' information at once. I didn't think about it until immediately after about, "Well, what if they scan the Avid?" HOWEVER there is a big flaw with Avid chips. They might have corrected it by now, but at least as of 3 years ago it still happened regularly. Their chips tend to migrate. And it's not just a few inches to the side. Kodah's Avid chip is literally dead center on his chest. It's not doing a lot of good there. Personally, I highly recommend having chipped dogs scanned every year at their annual exam, regardless of what brand you're using. That way you know it's in the right place (HA can move too, it's just not nearly as common), that the chip # is correct, and that it's just plain working. I can't imagine it would be easy, but I have to assume that a chip could be broken or cracked in some freak accident/collision. There's nothing worse than trusting something that's not actually working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 My dogs have a mix of HA and Avid, depending on what the vet was using at the time. The majority now have the HA. But my Avid chipped dogs are also registered on the HA website. J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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