Have You Checked Your Chip? Check The Chip Day Is August 15th!

August 15 is “Check the Chip Day,” a day to raise awareness about the importance of microchips. The American Medical Veterinary Association (AMVA) and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) have partnered to foster this “holiday”; read on to learn a bit more about how a microchip can be beneficial to you and your dog.

Microchips can streamline the process of reuniting you with your dog or cat if they are lost. Microchips are tiny devices that are implanted underneath your dog’s or cat’s skin. Microchips use radio frequency to relay information, however, they are not trackers or GPS devices. They contain one piece of information: an ID number that will display when scanned by a microchip scanner. When searched in a registry, this ID number will link your pet to your contact information. You’ll need to register your dog or cat’s microchip with the manufacturer—this registration includes your contact information which will be stored in a database. Each manufacturer has their own registry, but the AAHA has also created the Universal Pet Microchip Lookup Tool.

Veterinarians and many shelters have microchip scanners. If you adopted your pet from a reputable shelter or rescue there’s a good chance they were microchipped before adoption, but the registration information may need to be changed once you bring them home, since they were likely registered with the shelter’s contact info. It’s very important to make sure the information linked to your pet’s microchip is accurate. If you move or change phone numbers you’ll have to update the microchip registration.

If your dog or cat isn’t microchipped now consider getting them microchipped soon—if they get lost a microchip can greatly improve your odds of getting them home safely. ID tags on collars are great, of course, but collars can come off and physical tags can wear down. The information attached to a microchip is available to anyone with a scanner; if a lost pet is brought to a veterinarian or shelter their chip can be scanned.

Check the Chip Day is a reminder to make sure the information linked to your pet’s microchip is up-to-date. Talk to your vet about checking your pup or cat’s chip, and if you haven’t had them microchipped yet, please consider doing so! For more information on Check the Chip Day visit this site by the AMVA.

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