Has your pet gone missing?

Is your pet lost?  Yes.

Is your pet microchipped?  Yes?  Fantastic!

It is absolutely critical that you contact your microchip company ASAP as soon as your pet goes missing.  And we do mean, right away!

Why?

Most individuals who find pets will take the pet to have it checked for a microchip right away.  If your pet’s microchip does not have the most current contact info associated with it, the person who found your pet will often end the search for the owner at this point.  The general population will not take into consideration that you haven’t had a chance to update the microchip because you are out searching for your lost for many hours, or even days.  That individual that found your pet will likely not follow up with the microchip company after a few days to see if any new contact information is available through the microchip company.

Can you imagine?  Your pet is microchipped.  You thought you were golden.  Only, you didn’t remember that your chip was out of date.  Here are some reasons why a pet’s chip may not be up to date:

• You moved and just forgot to update the microchip.
• Your pet’s microchip is unregistered.  Maybe you took advantage of an amazing low cost clinic to get your pet microchipped.  Or perhaps you adopted your pet from a local shelter or rescue group.  Or, you had the microchip implanted by your veterinarian.
• Perhaps you are the new owner of a pet who was rehomed, and you didn’t realize you needed to update the microchip.  It happens.

If you are unsure of your pet’s microchip information such as the chip identification number, call the agency who placed the microchip company as soon as possible.  Get the microchip ID number, as well as microchip company contact info.  Call them and register your pet’s microchip number.  Many of the microchip companies do have a registration fee.  It is a cost that you will never regret when you have a missing pet, as the microchip will help your pet return to you.  Maintaining updates to contact information after the registration is complete is free.

Perhaps your pet is not lost, but you want to take a proactive step to ensure your pet’s microchip registration is up to date.  Thank you – and we love you for being on your toes!  Check out our tips on how to do this!

Have you found a wandering pet?

Are you a Good Samaritan that found a wandering pet?  First and foremost, thank you for being compassionate to help!  We couldn’t get lost pets home without people like you!

One of the first things you should do is to get the pet to a local veterinary clinic to be scanned for a microchip.  However, it is imperative that you ensure that the clinic is using a Universal scanner.  Why, you may ask?  Well, without a Universal scanner, the pet’s microchip can and will be missed.  Click here to read more about Universal scanners.

Found the microchip?  GREAT!  Write that number down on a piece of paper, and hold on tight to it!

Here are our tips on how to trace the owner of the microchip:

After having done all of the above steps, perhaps it leads to a dead end.  Please don’t give up yet. A lot of times, owners are not aware that they need to call the microchip company to report their lost pet until days later, at which time, they find out that the information on the chip is not up to date.  Please call the microchip company over a 7-10 day period to see if any updates have been made on the microchip registration.  This is so important.

Every pet deserves a chance to find their rightful owner.  Can you imagine how you would feel if you spent every waking minute of every hour searching for your pet, only to find out that you did not remember to check the microchip registration?  It happens.  Sometimes owners assume the microchip was registered automatically by the person who placed it.  This is not always the case, unfortunately.  It is up to all of us as pet owners to ensure our pet is registered appropriately to us.

Thank you for giving a found pet the chance to find its owner.