It only takes a minute: Check the Chip!
By Jane Koska
Roughly 1 in 3 pet owners will experience the scary event of a missing pet during their pet’s lifetime. Pets can slip out an open door, jump out of a car, wriggle out of their collar and leash, or jump out of their person’s arms. Pets can be stolen, too. During natural disasters animals that are always indoors can end up outside and scared and run off.
One of the best ways to find a missing pet (in addition to a collar and ID tags) is to have your pet microchipped. According to the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), research shows that microchipped pets are three times more likely to be reunited with their families. Similarly, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) cites research showing that animal shelters were able to find the owners of almost three-fourths of stray pets with microchips.
For anyone concerned about the microchipping process, rest assured that it’s a safe and routine procedure that can be done during a general vet visit. The vet uses a needle to place the microchip—about the size of a grain of rice—under the pet’s skin. Although the needle is slightly larger than needles used for injections, no surgery or anesthesia is required. If your pet is already undergoing anesthesia for a procedure, such as neutering or spaying, the microchip often can be implanted at that time. Or you might opt for a low-cost vaccine and microchip clinic, like the one offered by the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria (AWLA) on the first Wednesday of every month. By the way, your adopted pet often came to you with a microchip. Many shelters, including AWLA and King Street Cats, microchip animals before adoption.
The research shows, however, that not all microchipped animals can be returned to their owners. Why? The most common reason is an incorrect or disconnected owner telephone number in the microchip registry database. To remind pet owners about the importance of microchips and accurate registration, AAHA and AVMA have teamed up to sponsor Check the Chip Day, celebrated yearly on August 15.
AVMA and AAHA recommend three actions for pet owners in conjunction with Check the Chip Day. First, if your pet isn’t already microchipped, make an appointment with your veterinarian for microchipping and registration with your contact information. Second, make a note to ask your veterinarian to scan the microchip during each of your pet’s annual wellness exams. And finally, use Check the Chip Day as a reminder to check and update your pet’s microchip registration information.
That’s the core message of Check the Chip Day: a microchip is useful only if its registration information is accurate.
Why is registration so vital to success? A microchip doesn’t have a battery. It’s not a GPS device, so it can’t track a lost pet’s location. The microchip is a small, electronic chip (transmitter) enclosed in a glass cylinder. The chip transmits a single piece of data—a unique identification number—only when it’s activated by a RFID scanner that’s passed over the pet. After a pet is scanned, typically at a vet’s office or shelter, staff will look up the identification number in the chip manufacturer’s registry and try to contact the owner using the information that the owner provided to the registry.
When a microchip is placed, its unique number must be registered with the chip manufacturer, where it’s kept in a database and linked to the owner’s contact information. (For those concerned about privacy, the only information about you in the database is the information that you choose to provide when you register the chip or update your information.) Because the owner creates the registry account and provides the info, it’s their responsibility to keep it up-to-date. If the information in the registry isn’t accurate, reuniting a pet with their person becomes much more difficult.
What if you don’t have the microchip number? Contact your veterinarian’s office—the number should be in your pet’s records. What if you have the number, but don’t know where the chip is registered? Unfortunately, there’s not a central registry, so you need to know the chip manufacturer to get to the right website. AAHA has a registry lookup tool that can help you find where your pet is registered. This tool does not disclose pet owner information or allow pet owners to update their pets’ microchips. It’s only a lookup tool to help identify the registry where a pet’s microchip is registered.
On Check the Chip Day, or any time your contact information changes, take a minute to call or visit the website where your pet is registered. (If you haven’t already created an account with the manufacturer, do that first.) Then, make sure that all of the information is correct, especially your phone number(s). Remember: missing, inaccurate, or outdated owner information is the main reason reuniting microchipped pets and their owners fails.
Microchips have helped vets and shelters reunite pets with their people immediately or even after several years have passed. So, remember to “Check the Chip” this month. Ensure your contact info is up-to-date and accurate to increase the chance of a happy reunion if the unexpected happens and your pet goes missing.
Animal Welfare League of Alexandria
AWLA vaccine and microchip clinics
AAHA universal microchip manufacturer lookup tool
Jane Koska is a writer and editor. She’s very thankful that microchips exist so that she doesn’t have to risk life and limb trying to get her two spicy and opinionated cats to wear collars.