Lpt For Pet Owners About Microchips (from A Shelter Worker)

Check your pet’s microchip! It’s so frustrating the amount of missing pets brought in to shelters that have a microchip that either isn’t registered or the information is outdated.

MOST PET OWNERS DON’T UNDERSTAND: Just because your pet is microchipped, doesn’t mean it’s registered correctly. If it’s not registered or the information is outdated, there is no way to contact you!

To cover the basics:

-A microchip is just a number that has to be registered for it to be linked to your contact information. The microchip only stores a number, nothing else. The registry stores your contact information associated to the chip number.

-Microchips CANNOT track your pet with GPS. The chip only works when someone physically scans your pet with a special microchip scanner.

-Many shelters are only required to hold a stray pet without a chip for about 48 hours and around 5 days if they have one. After that they are legally allowed to find the pet a new home.

-Microchips can migrate from where they were placed, so it’s important to have your vet scan for it annually.

What we typically see:

-Pets are adopted or purchased already microchipped but it’s not communicated the chip needs to be registersd or transferred to their name.

-They changed their number or email and never updated their info with their registry.

-They didn’t microchip their pets because they are “indoor only”. Indoor pets get out. It happens way more than people think.

-Their registry went out of business or changed ownership and they never checked.

It takes a minute to check your pet!

IF YOU KNOW WHERE THEY ARE REGISTERED: log in to your registry and confirm your information is correct. Or call them.

IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE REGISTERED: there is a free tool that shelters and vets use called the AAHA Microchip Lookup which searches a microchip number across all registries at once to tell which it’s registered to. Search AAHA microchip lookup on Google, and search your pets chip number. It will show you if/where it’s registered. Then log in to your registry to confirm your information is correct.

IF YOU DON’T KNOW THEIR CHIP NUMBER: you can typically find it on your adoption paperwork or at the top of any forms from your vet. Your vet or any vet can also scan for the chip number for free if you ask. Save the number to your phone in your notes or as a contact so you always have it.

IF THEY ARE NOT REGISTERED: make sure you do it. The AAHA lookup tool lists all of their partner registries on their site so choose one of those. Our shelter registers with Pawbase and PetLink, but any of the AAHA partners are a reliable place to register your pet and show up when searched. Some may try to sell you subscriptions which aren’t necessary.

If your pet is chipped, please take a few minutes to check where it’s registered, make sure your contact info is updated, and add a backup contact if you can. If your pet isn’t chipped, please do it.

Checking not only helps you and your pet but it also helps the shelters that are already stretched thin on resources!