Microchipping Services

What they do

A microchip is a small electronic chip, about the size of a grain of rice, placed under the skin, usually between the shoulder blades, with a needle in a quick appointment. It carries only an identification number — no battery, no tracking, and no personal details stored on the chip itself. When a scanner is passed over the pet, the number appears and staff look it up in a registry.

That lookup is where chipping succeeds or fails. The number only helps if it is registered to you, with a phone number you still use, and kept updated when you move, change numbers, or take over a pet from someone else. Unregistered chips and old details are a common, preventable reason found pets sit unclaimed. A good service registers the chip before you leave and shows you how to check the record.

Chipping is most often done by a veterinary practice, and many animal shelters and rescue organizations chip pets before adoption or offer chipping clinics. Some pets are chipped while already under anesthetic for another procedure, but a standalone appointment is routine and brief. Ask who will handle registration, which registry is used, and whether your clinic keeps the number in the pet's medical record too.

A chip is not a tracker and cannot tell you where your pet is. Its strength is permanence: unlike a collar, it cannot slip off at the moment your pet is lost. It belongs alongside visible ID on a collar, not in place of it.

Services you can expect

• Microchip implantation for dogs, cats, and other pets
• Registry enrollment at the time of implant
• Chip scanning to check an existing chip and its number
• Registration transfers for adopted or rehomed pets
• Contact-detail updates and registry corrections
• Chipping during routine visits or other procedures
• Recording chip numbers in veterinary medical records
• Replacement advice for migrated or unreadable chips

What to expect

• A quick, calm appointment with the process and brief discomfort explained honestly
• The chip scanned in front of you after placement to confirm it reads
• Registration completed or clearly handed over, with the registry name and chip number given to you in writing
• Guidance to check the registry record yourself within the first days
• Your pet's chip number added to their clinic record
• A reminder that moving house or changing numbers means updating the registry

How to choose

• Use a veterinary practice, shelter, or established provider that scans and registers as standard practice
• Confirm which registry the chip goes into and that shelters and clinics can search it
• Choose a provider who hands you the chip number and registry details, not one who keeps them vague
• If adopting, confirm whether the chip will be transferred into your name and when
• Keep your own copy of the number somewhere separate from the pet's paperwork folder at home

Questions to ask

• Will you register the chip for me today, and in which registry?
• Can you scan the chip now so I can see it reading correctly?
• How do I check and update the registration myself, and is there a fee to update?
• What happens if my pet is found and my first number does not answer?
• Will the chip number go into my pet's medical record here?
• My pet was adopted or rehomed — how do we transfer the registration properly?

Red flags

• Implanting a chip with no plan or paperwork for registration
• Telling you the chip stores your address or works as a GPS tracker
• No scan after placement to confirm the chip reads
• Refusing to tell you the chip number or which registry holds it
• Suggesting a chipped pet no longer needs a collar and visible ID

What affects the price

• Whether chipping is standalone or added to another appointment or procedure
• Species and any handling or sedation needs for nervous pets
• Registry enrollment and whether future updates are included or charged
• Clinic, shelter, or community clinic setting
• Scanning and transfer work for a pet with an existing chip
• Number of pets chipped at one visit