NORFOLK, Va. — Many pet owners get their pets microchipped. That's where a veterinarian outfits the pet with a tiny electronic transponder. Then if the pet gets lost, a veterinarian or shelter can scan the microchip and find the owner's contact information.
Norfolk pet owner Imani Wilkerson told News 3 her "good boy" Bart is microchipped.
"Because I need to know where he is, I need to know if he gets lost or if he ends up at the shelter they have all of my information and they can say, 'Hey, we found your dog,'" said Wilkerson.
She said Bart's microchip information is up-to-date, but that's not been the case for every pet owner this week.
Texas-based Save This Life microchip company shut down unexpectedly, which pet owners said could have been devastating had their pet gotten lost. That's because a lost pet's Save This Life microchip, when scanned or searched on the national database, now doesn't appear to return owner information which could make reuniting more difficult.
"It was super surprising the information was just gone," said Callie Farrar, Virginia Beach pet owner.
Farrar said her dogs Oly and Bennie had been microchipped through that company. Luckily, her veterinarian let her know right away.
"Which was awesome that they disclosed that they did use the microchip," said Farrar. "And then they did post resources on what to do next to get them re-registered."
Some companies will charge a registration fee, others will do it for free.
Farrar found a free chip website to re-register the existing chip.
"I transferred all of their information over there. It was super simple. You just type in their microchip number and re-register all your information," said Farrar, who added it helped that she kept her all of her dogs' records on hand.
"If somebody is not sure which company their microchip is, how would they find that out?" asked News 3's Erika Craven.
"What they can do is stop by the Norfolk SPCA and we will scan it, scan them for you. Tell you who, what the number is and you can easily re-register it," explained Tammy Lindquist, community engagement manager of Norfolk SPCA.
Other veterinarians and shelters can also help pet owners scan for chips.
Lindquist said Norfolk SPCA has been getting lots of calls from concerned pet owners.
But even if your pet's chip was not impacted, she said this is a good reminder to double-check information.
She added that pet owners can make sure contact information is written on pet collars — which can be done in the form of a QR code that's easily scanned by phone — and she said microchip information should be kept up to date.
"How often would you say you see information that's not up-to-date?" asked Craven.
"It's pretty often actually. In fact, that reminds me I probably need to double-check my pets as well," said Lindquist. "If you adopt an animal and they are already microchipped, you must re-register it to the new owner."
If you've moved, she said, or any information (like a phone number) has changed it's time to update the information.
And pet owners Wilkerson and Farrar said it gives them peace of mind knowing their pets are registered.
"This is my company. He sleeps on my side of the bed, you know, he has all his favorite treats and I'm his mama," said Wilkerson as she held Bart.
"Pets are more than pets, they're our family and for me they're my children, so I can't imagine losing them. This just needs to be bigger news because people just don't know about it," said Farrar.
There are more than 40 microchip companies across the nation. Norfolk SPCA uses two companies called 24 Hour Watch and HomeAgain and the American Animal Hospital Association shared a list of companiesif you're looking to microchip your pet or want more information.
