Microchips explained: why chipped pets still don't get home
4 min read
Vets scan thousands of found animals whose chips return a dead phone number or an old address. Five minutes of maintenance turns a chip from a formality into a genuine safety net.
What a microchip actually is
A microchip is a passive rice-grain transponder that returns a unique number when a scanner passes over it. It has no battery, no GPS and no location. It cannot be tracked from your phone.
The number is looked up in a national registry, which holds your contact details. If those details are stale, the chip returns nothing useful.
The three failure points
Unregistered chips: implanted at the breeder or shelter and never transferred to the new owner. Extremely common.
Out-of-date contacts: an old mobile number or an address from two moves ago.
Chip migration: chips occasionally drift down a shoulder or leg, so ask for a full-body scan, not just a pass between the shoulder blades.
Your five-minute check
Find your pet's chip number on the vaccination paperwork or ask your vet to scan. Look the number up on your national pet registry lookup tool and confirm your name, mobile and email are current.
Then add a visible backup: a collar tag or a QR tag. Most finders can read a tag; almost none own a scanner. Pet Social's printable QR tag links straight to your pet's profile and opens a private in-app chat.
Frequently asked questions
Can a microchip track my pet's location?
No. It stores an ID number only and must be physically scanned. A GPS collar is a separate device.
Does a vet charge to scan a found animal?
Scanning a found animal is free at almost every clinic.
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