Microchip

We recommend that EVERY pet be microchipped, regardless of species or age. This is your pet’s permanent ID, and the best chance at bringing them home should they ever get lost.

Veterinarian uses a scanner to check for a microchip on a white sheepdog

What does it mean to have my pet microchipped?

A microchip is a small, electronic chip encased in a cylinder approximately the size of a grain of rice. It’s implanted just under your pet’s skin using a needle. Each microchip has a unique serial number that gets registered to you as the pet owner and serves as a permanent form of identification for your pet, should they ever get lost.

How does a microchip help my pet if it gets lost?

ID tags on pets are important for quick and easy means of identification and contacting owners, but they are only effective if still on your pet at the time they are found. When a pet isn’t wearing their collar, or has lost it while on their misadventures, a microchip can be the only means of identification for the finder of your pet.

When any animal is found and taken to a shelter or veterinary hospital, one of the first things the staff does is scan the animal with a small handheld device that emits radio waves. When the scanner passes over a chip, the chip transmits its unique identification number back to the device, which displays the number on the screen. If your contact information is up-to-date in the microchip database, we can then use this number to identify you as the owner, and reunite you with your pet!

Keep your microchip registration up to date!

Microchips are only as good as the information you link them to. The chips themselves only contain a registration number. It is your job as the pet owner to register your pets’ microchips, and keep the information up to date whenever you move, or contact information changes.

If you have your pet’s unique microchip code, use The American Animal Hospital Association’s Microchip Registry Lookup Tool to find participating registries for that manufacturer.

If you no longer have your pet’s microchip number, contact our office. If you are a current patient we can look it up in your pet’s medical record. If not, you will have to bring your pet in to be scanned.

A dark, sad, longhair cat looks out from behind the bars of a cage in an animail shelter

Pet Microchip Questions

You might be wondering…

No! In fact, we recommend ALL pets get microchipped, regardless of species or age. We have chipped turtles, ferrets, and more! If any pet ever gets lost, we want them to have the best chance at getting reunited with their owners.

No, microchips only contain an identification number, and must be present to be scanned for owner information. They do not have GPS tracking capability, or a battery.

No, your data remains private and in the secure hands of the manufacturer’s microchip registry. The information you provide is only used to contact you in the event that your pet is found and cannot be looked up by any random person, or even at-will by a veterinary hospital.

Having your pet microchipped is only the first step. You must register your pet’s new ID with the manufacturer for it to be effective! We will give you all required information on how to complete this during your visit. If your information is missing from the registry, incorrect, or out of date, your chances of being reunited with your lost pet are dramatically reduced.

Yes! Microchips are a great, tamper-proof form of identification to be used as fail safe, but there is no replacement for a collar with up-to-date tags on your pet. If your pet is wearing tags when they are lost, it’s often quick and easy to contact the owner. If your pet has lost their tags, then a microchip might be the only way a pet’s owner can be found, but it can take significantly longer. The finder will have to take the time to transport your pet to a location that can scan for a tag and obtain your contact information from the manufacturer. Particularly if your pet gets lost over a holiday, weekend, or other time outside of normal business hours, this could take additional unnecessary days that your pet could have been back at home already.

Additionally, your pet’s rabies tag should always be on its collar so that people (and law enforcement!) can quickly see that your pet has been vaccinated, as required by law. Rabies tag numbers can also allow tracing of an animal’s identification through the issuing veterinary hospital, but this process can also be difficult after hours. Microchip databases are available 24/7/365.

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Modern Pet Care

With all new, top-of-the-line equipment and a gorgeous new facility, we’re modernizing the entire pet care experience. Our hybrid primary-and-emergency care model eliminates day-to-ER transfers, reducing stress on both pets and owners, while also allowing for consistency in treatment planning and standard of care.