Veterinarians and animal rescues around the country are sounding the alarm after a major microchipping company ceased operations.
Microchipping is a procedure in which a small, permanent identification chip is placed under a pet’s skin. That chip contains a unique number that can be linked to a pet owner’s contact information, making it an easy way to reconnect lost pets with their owners.
The microchipping company ‘Save This Life’ ceased operations earlier this month, according to tax records from the Texas comptroller’s office.
The sudden closure could affect you and your pet if they were registered with Save This Life.
Megan LeBlanc, a technician with White Oak Animal Hospital in Baton Rouge, says her office has not identified a pet with a microchip from Save This Life, but said there are ways to check where your pet’s microchip is registered.
LeBlanc said pet owners can use the AAHA Universal Microchip Lookup Tool at this link.
If the microchip is linked to a company that no longer exists, LeBlanc said her office can call the company they work with to see about re-registering the pet. She said re-registration should only be done as a last resort, however.
“It is important to avoid microchipping the dog again because it can get very confusing when scanning for the correct chip,” LeBlanc explained.
While Louisiana law does not require pets to be microchipped, the American Kennel Club says microchipping is an important step in ensuring your pet’s long-term safety.
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One Response
Why would re-registering a pet with another company be a last resort, unless you mean inserting a second chip? You can register your pet with another company using your existing microchip number. I have a cat that was registered with ‘savethislife’ and found that their website is still running, but the search tools available online no longer interact with their database. I went to the ‘Homeagain’ website and registered my cat there using her existing chip number. Took me all of 5 minutes.