Microchipping Your Dog: Essential Information for Pet Owners

A microchip can be an important tool for helping reunite a lost dog with their family. Unlike a collar or identification tag, a microchip is placed under the skin and can provide permanent identification if a pet becomes separated from their owner.

What Is a Pet Microchip?

A pet microchip is a small identification device, approximately the size of a grain of rice, that is placed beneath the skin. The microchip contains a unique identification number that can be associated with the owner’s contact information in a pet recovery database.

A microchip is not a GPS tracking device. It does not provide your dog’s location or allow you to track your pet remotely.

Why Microchipping Can Be Helpful

Dogs can escape yards, slip out of collars, or become separated from their families while traveling. Identification tags are still important, but they can become lost or damaged.

A registered microchip provides another form of identification that can help identify a lost pet when the pet is found and scanned by a veterinary hospital, animal shelter, or other facility with a compatible microchip scanner.

Keep Your Contact Information Current

A microchip is only useful if the information associated with it is kept up to date.

If you move, change your phone number, or otherwise change your contact information, update your pet’s microchip registration as soon as possible.

It is also a good idea to verify your contact information periodically.

Microchips Do Not Replace Identification Tags

Microchipping should be considered an additional form of identification rather than a replacement for a collar and identification tags.

Your dog should still wear a properly fitted collar with current identification information whenever appropriate.

Does AZ Vet Direct Offer Microchipping?

AZ Vet Direct is a surgery-focused veterinary clinic. We do not currently offer pet microchipping services or routine wellness appointments.

If you are looking for microchipping, routine wellness care, parasite prevention, or other general veterinary services, you will need to contact a full-service veterinary hospital that provides those services.

Choosing a Veterinary Provider

When looking for a veterinary provider for microchipping or routine preventive care, ask about the type of microchip used, registration procedures, and what steps you will need to take to keep your contact information current.

For surgical needs, AZ Vet Direct provides affordable veterinary surgical services at our Mesa clinic.