Microchipping

To protect their pets in this scenario, many owners turn to technology in the form of microchips implanted in their pets. But don't rely on a microchip alone to protect your pet. In the event of accidental separation, identification tags are your pet's first ticket home. Microchips provide an extra level of protection in case your pet loses his collar and tags. Providing your cat or dog with both tags and a microchip can help ensure a happy reunion if the unthinkable happens and your companion gets lost.

When a lost pet is brought to a shelter or veterinary clinic, staff use a handheld scanner to read the microchip’s unique ID number. That number is connected to a registration database, allowing them to contact the pet owner and help reunite families faster.

Your pet's subcutaneous tissue usually bonds to the chip within 24 hours, preventing it from moving, although there's a small chance that the chip could migrate. But it can't actually get lost inside your pet.

Microchips are designed to work for 25 years.

Microchipping is a safe and effective way to help ensure your pet can be identified if they ever become lost. A microchip provides a permanent form of identification and increases the chances of being reunited with your pet.

Please check with your veterinarian or local pet wellness clinics for additional microchipping options. Please see our Local Veterinarians section for a list of local clinics and providers to see if they offer microchipping services.

Complete the paperwork that comes with the chip and send it to the registry, or do it online if that option is available. Some companies charge a one-time registration fee while others charge an annual fee. You'll also receive a tag for your pet's collar with the chip number and registry phone number.

Yes, and that used to be a problem. Competing microchip companies use different frequencies to send signals to scanners, and until recently there was no universal scanner that could read all the different frequencies. That was a problem if a pet had a microchip that a scanner couldn't detect.

Many microchip companies now produce universal scanners and provide them to animal shelters and animal control agencies at no or very low cost. If your local shelters don't have scanners, they can contact some of the major manufacturers to ask about getting one.

Yes, and that, too, used to be problematic. Different chip companies maintained separate databases. Now, some chip companies will register pets with any brand of chip Also, the American Microchip Advisory Council is working to develop a network of the registry databases to streamline the return of pets to their families.

Despite advances in universal scanners and registry procedures, microchips aren't foolproof, and you shouldn't rely on them exclusively to protect your pet. Universal scanners can detect a competing company's chip, but they may not be able to read the data. And if shelter or vet clinic personnel don't use the scanner properly, they may fail to detect a chip.

You need to contact the company that registers the chip to update your information; otherwise, the chip will be useless. You may be charged a small fee to process the update.

If you know what brand of chip your pet has, contact the corresponding registry to update the information. If you don't know what type of chip your pet has, find a vet or animal shelter that can read it.