What is a microchip?

Thousands of pets go missing every year for multiple reasons, and many do not make it home. Even if your pet wears a collar and ID tag, they can’t ensure your pet’s safe return because collars can break off and tags can become damaged. Fortunately, we offer microchipping, which is a simple form of identification that can significantly increase the chance that your pet will return safely. Along with kittens and puppies, adult pets can also receive microchips.

A microchip is about the size and shape of a grain of rice and is placed underneath your pet’s skin between the shoulder blades. Microchip implantation takes only a few minutes and is very safe. Each microchip is unique and carries vital information about your pet—including your name, address, and contact information. When a microchip is implanted, the pet owner is given a registration form to complete. Registering the number on the microchip includes your pet in a national pet recovery database. Veterinary hospitals, animal shelters, and animal control offices across the country are equipped with special electronic scanners that can detect the microchip and read the identification number. If a lost pet is picked up by animal control or found by a good Samaritan and presented to a veterinarian, a quick scan of the microchip reveals the identification number.