Your pet's identification system is very important.  If your canine companion goes on a great adventure without you, your dog's collar, tags and microchip are going to give him the best chance of finding his way home to you quickly.  Collars and tags are essential but they are not fail safe - they can break off, become damaged or over time, become unreadable. 

Technology has given us an alternative.  We can now equip our pets with a microchip for permanent identification. 

How does a microchip work?

About the size of a grain of rice, a microchip is implanted between a dog's shoulder blades under the skin.  The process is similar to getting a shot.  The microchip is a tiny computer chip which is housed in a special type of glass made to be compatible with living tissue. 

Once the chip is in place, it can be detected immediately with a handheld device.  The device scans the microchip and then displays a unique alphanumeric code.  Once the microchip is placed, the dog must be registered with the microchip company.  Each unique code is registered to a dog and because of this the dog can be traced back to the owner. 

How long does a microchip last?

Microchips are designed to last a lifetime.  They do not need to be replaced, although they can migrate from the insertion area.  For this reason, when a dog is scanned for a microchip, the dog's entire body is scanned. 

If my dog has a microchip, he is safe?

A microchip is just one tool in your pet's identification system.  He should also wear a collar and a tag and not be able to free roam.   Dogs are safest when you know where they are. 

The biggest barrier to chipped dogs not being returned to their owners is that the owners have not updated their contact information with the microchip company.  If you move or change your phone number remember to update that information with your dog's microchip company. 

It is also not a bad idea to have your dog's microchip read at his annual check up, just to be sure there are no issues with the chip. 

Prior to adoption, all hart rescue dogs are given a microchip.  We believe that this is a small investment in the safe future of each dog and a cornerstone to responsible pet ownership.