Are You Ready For Check the Chip Day?
August 15 is National Check the Chip Day, a day that encourages pet parents to get their furry family members microchipped, as well as reminding those who’ve already done so to update the registration information.
According to American Veterinarian Medical Foundation, 1 in 3 pets go missing during their lifetime and 90% of them never return home. Microchipping them can help increase the chance that your lost pet will safely return to you. This form of identification is extremely reliable since it is always with your pet and cannot fall off the same way a collar can.
What Are Microchips?
Microchips are identification devices implanted between your dog or cat’s shoulder blades. The device itself is an electronic chip enclosed in a glass cylinder that is only the size of a grain of rice, which makes the implantation procedure no more painful than a typical injection. The microchip works using radio frequency technology to safely and permanently connect your pets to information that will help them find their way home again. If your pet is lost and brought to a vet, shelter or pet store, they can use their microchip readers to get your pets’ information.
How to Register/Update Your Pet’s Microchip?
Your pet’s microchip is only valuable if it is registered and the information is up-to-date. A great number of lost microchipped pets end up in shelters, never making it back to their home due to incorrect or missing owner information.
Steps to Register/Update Your Pets Microchip:
- Find your pet’s microchip number
If you’ve microchipped your pet but are unsure what the number is, there is a chance that your veterinarian has it on record. If not, you can bring your pet to a vet’s office, animal shelter, animal control or many pet supply stores to have your dog’s microchip scanned.
- Find your pet’s microchip manufacturer
If you are unsure what type of microchip your pet has, simply type in the microchip number in this database: AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup site.
- Call or visit the microchip manufacturer’s website to register or update the microchip information.
It is advised to update/register your pet’s microchip both with the manufacturer’s registry and with the Found Animals registry. Found Animals registry is a non-profit organization that provides a universal and completely free microchip registry.
With these few simple steps, you can keep your pet safe and feel confident that they will have a better chance of returning to you should anything happen that causes them to be lost in the future.
