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Department of Health and Human Services > Bureau
of Animal Regulation and Care > Why should you microchip
your pets?
Why
should you microchip your pets?
Why Should You Microchip Your Pets?
Many family pets end up
in animal shelters. Shelters
do their best to locate owners, but often cannot find the owner
because the pet has no form of identification. Microchipping
is a technology that is virtually painless for your pet and
creates a permanent method of identification. A tiny
computer microchip is embedded under the animal’s skin,
usually between the animal’s shoulder blades. The
chip contains a unique identification number that distinguishes
your pet and permanently identifies your pet. We recommend
microchipping for all dogs and cats. Having a microchip
does not mean your pet shouldn’t also wear an ID tag;
lost pets that have both an ID tag and a microchip have the
greatest likelihood of being returned to their owner.
How is the Microchip Inserted?
The chip is very tiny, about the size of a grain of rice. It
fits into a hypodermic needle and is injected, just like
a vaccination, under the skin of your pet, where it remains
for life.
How Does The Microchip Work?
A special scanner reads the microchip number, which is then
called in to a data bank that has your contact information.
What Types Of Pets Can Be Chipped?
The microchip is safe for all types of pets including dogs,
cats, horses, birds, reptiles and exotics.
Where can I get my pet chipped and how much does it
cost?
Microchips are inserted by most veterinarians and a number
of animal facilities. You will pay anywhere from $25 on up,
depending on the location. In general, facilities that
do large numbers of animals may be able to offer the service
at lower cost. There is a fee for having the chip registered
with the appropriate data bank. Sometimes this is included
in the insertion fee; always ask.
BARC scans all animals received and microchips all
animals it offers for adoption but does
not offer the service to the general public. Listed below
are several facilities that do. Please call for more
specific information.
Return to BARC home page
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