Pet Microchip Company Shuts Down: What It Means To Illinois Pets

Right now, it would be totally understandable if you're trying to remember whether or not you've had your dog or cat microchipped. We have three animals at our house that allow us to live with them, and to be honest, I don't know if they're all microchipped. One is for sure, but the rest...I'm just not sure.

However, based on the news of the closing of a large pet microchip company, I think that a whole bunch or us are going to have to start checking because even if we have microchipped our pets, the microchip might not be able to be used to identify our pet any longer.

For those who don't know, a pet microchip is about the size of a rice grain, and it's implanted under the animal's skin around the shoulder blade area. If your pet gets lost, they can be scanned by a vet. The chips have no batteries and only work when scanned. The scan gives the vet a number that corresponds with your information, and they can then reach out to you about getting your pet back.

A National Pet Microchip Company, "Save This Life," Suddenly Closed Its Doors This Week, And Now An Unknown Number Of Pets With Their Microchips Have Been Unregistered

Which would be a nightmare scenario for a pet owner with a missing pet, because if the chip has been unregistered, there's no way for someone who finds a missing pet to locate its owner.

So, What Should You Do Now?

According to SaveThisLife.com, if your pet's microchip number starts with either 991 or 900164, then you have one of Save This Life’s microchips. If that's the case with your pet(s), there is some good news here: Pet microchips can be re-registered with a new microchip company, and still use the same chip.

USAToday:

Nationwide, there are more than 40 microchip companies which include Avid Identification Systems, Inc., BuddyID, HomeAgain, National Microchip Registration and others. No data exists on how many pets are microchipped. The American Veterinary Medical Association said six out 10 pet microchip devices are registered.

Here are more details: