Microchips & Help Finding Lost Pets

A microchip provides a permanent form of identification that can help a lost pet get back home even if it loses its collar and tags. A tiny transponder about the size of a grain of rice, it can be implanted under the skin between the shoulder blades and can transmit your pet’s identification number through radio frequency waves. A microchip is NOT a GPS unit. It does not allow you or your vet to track your pet’s location. But if your pet gets away from you and is found by Good Samaritans, they may be able to contact you if they take the pet to a veterinarian or animal shelter to have the chip scanned. You, the owner, are responsible for registering your pet’s ID number and your correct contact information with the microchip company so that this information will be available in the national database.

If you adopt a pet from a shelter, ask if it has been microchipped. Many shelters do their own microchipping now and will give you the form to register the chip. YOU MUST REGISTER with the company so that if your pet gets lost, finders can contact you. If your pet has been microchipped by his/her previous owner, be sure to update the contact information with the microchip company. There are a number of different companies that manufacture microchips, but many vets and shelters now have a universal chip reader that can find a microchip number from any company.

The AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup [https://www.petmicrochiplookup.org/] will tell you the company the microchip is enrolled with and you can call for more information.

A microchip is required for international travel with your pet. The 15-digit ISO microchip is the world standard. If you are traveling to an EU country and your pet has a 9- or 10-digit microchip, you must have a 15-digit pet microchip implanted or you will need to carry your own microchip scanner.

Before the worst happens, get your pet microchipped. And if it already is, check with the company to be sure your contact information is current. It’s also a good idea at your pet’s annual wellness checkup to have it scanned to ensure the microchip is still in place and sending information.

HOW TO FIND A LOST PET

1. Send a picture of your pet to Facebook > Pet Recovery of Centre County, a website for our area. Thousands of local citizens follow this page, and hundreds of animals have been reunited with their families this way. Additionally, this organization offers tips and tricks for helping people whose pets are lost.
   
   

2. If you belong to an online neighborhood group such as Nextdoor, post your pet’s picture, identifying & other information, date, and last known location, and your contact information.
   
   

3. Create a poster and put it up around your community.
   
   

4. Go door-to-door and ask your neighbors to be on the lookout. This is especially important for indoor-only cats, who often slip out a door and don’t go far. They could be lurking near a home beside or behind you.

HOW TO FIND THE OWNER OF A LOST PET YOU HAVE FOUND:

1. Take it to a vet or animal shelter and ask them to scan it for a microchip. If it has a chip, go to the AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup [https://www.petmicrochiplookup.org/]. This will tell you the company the microchip is enrolled with and you can call for more information.
   
   

2. Take a picture of the animal and go to Facebook > Pet Recovery of Centre County. They will post it where an owner may see it.
   ​​​​​​​
   

3. Create a poster bearing the animal’s picture and put it up in your community. Give people a way to contact you if they think the found pet is theirs. TIP: Require owners to tell you who their veterinarian is and call to be sure they have the pet on file so that someone who is not the owner cannot claim it