Instructions
Scan the microchip. Turn the scanner on and wave it slowly around the dog's or cat's shoulder blades and neck. A veterinary clinic has a microchip scanner. The scanner displays the microchip's identification number, as well as the toll-free number of the manufacturer. Even an unregistered chip will trip a scanner's sensor.
Try another scanner if the first did not pick up a signal or was not a universal scanner. Visit another clinic if necessary. Some older scanners only detect their associated microchips and either do not detect or provide incomplete information on other chips. Two of the most common chip manufacturers and registries in the United States are AVID, and their associated PETrac registry, and Home Again.
Call the toll-free number displayed on the device. Supply the chip number to the customer-service representative. Missing owner information alerts the representative to an unregistered chip. The veterinarian or clinic that administered the chip appears instead.
How to Tell If Your Microchip Is Registered
Veterinary clinics and shelters routinely provide microchipping services. A vet injects a dog, cat or exotic bird, implanting the rice-size chip as a permanent identification device. Prudent owners recognize a chip's integral part in recovering a lost pet. However, as the Humane Society of the United States emphasizes, injection is not enough. For the chip to be effective "you also need to register your pet with the microchip company." Registration attaches your contact information to the chip number in the microchip registry's database. To verify a chip's registration status, start by scanning your pet's microchip.