Do you need a little burst of “feel good” chemicals or a boost on a difficult day? Here’s a fun exercise: Go do an online search for these words” “dog reunited microchip” and read all the news articles that come up about dogs who were lost by their original families, and reunited with those families months, years, and even more than a DECADE later, thanks to microchips that were registered with their current contact information. Here are links to a few I just found:
“Missing Dog Reunited with Arizona Family After 12 Years”
“Stolen Dog Reunited With Family After 6 Years Thanks to Microchip”
“Valley Dog Reunited with Family After 12 years, Found 20 miles From Home”
Then, think about your dog’s microchip – he HAS an implanted identification microchip, doesn’t he? Is it currently registered with a microchip registration company? And if so, does the registry have your current contact information? You know, you can call the registry and ask . . .
Have you forgotten which registry that you registered the microchip with? Not a problem. Ask your vet or local shelter if you can bring your dog in and have him scanned. It just takes a few seconds and they won’t charge you! And they should be able to give you the manufacturer of the chip and contact information for that company. (But if they don’t you can use this link for a free microchip lookup-tool provided by the American Animal Hospital Association.) A shelter will also likely be able to tell you if and where it is registered – that is, if you registered the microchip when you got the dog . . . you did register the chip, didn’t you?
If you didn’t, no problem: You can register the chip at any time with any number of companies. All you need is the microchip number, which the scanner will give you. Here is a link to a list of microchip registries you can use to register your dog’s microchip. Our favorite is PetLink.net, which doesn’t charge for chip registration. (Edited to add: Follow the link, or make sure that you type in petlink dot NET, not petlink dot COM; the latter company does charge a fee for registration.) Some do, which is a tad worrisome, because what if you forget to pay them at some point?
Also, please go check your dog’s collar right now and make sure that the numbers on its ID tags are current. And if they aren’t, go order a new tag!
Just tried PetLink and they have a one time charge of $24.95
I also just tried to register with PetLink and they have a charge of $24.95
I should have emphasized, and I will go back and add this to the article: petlink dot NET, not petlink dot COM.
Just tried petlink.net, they want 24.99 fee
Dang and AHA! I was soooo puzzled, because I registered one of my dogs with this registry and wasn’t charged anything…and I recommended this one in particular because my shelter always tells people to use this one as it’s free. But with the THIRD report of the site asking for $25, I dug further and discovered that Petlink.net doesn’t charge for registering THEIR chips — and theirs are the one my shelter uses. MY BAD! I will look for other companies that do not charge for registration. (I will say, a ONE-TIME fee of $25 isn’t bad. But I feel certain someone doesn’t charge at all. I will report back asap.)
PetLink microchips sold by PetLink veterinary partners include a Free Lifetime registration. This includes Free account updates for the life of the pet as well. If you adopted a pet from a shelter/rescue, this does not guarantee any Lifetime registration or prepaid chip.
If your pet’s microchip did not come prepaid, you will be required to pay a one-time fee of $24.95 to complete your microchip’s registration. No annual renewals required!
If you prefer to register by phone, please call 1-877-PETLINK (1-877-738-5465). You may be charged a $4.95 fee for operator assistance.
I would like to add that cats are incredibly susceptible to escape and absolutely should be microchipped. I can’t tell you how many lost cat posts have been on my FB feeds lately. Conversely, there are bunches and bunches of cats showing up at people’s houses. Many of cross reference with the lost cat posts but they often don’t match.