PSA: Free Registration for Your Pet's Microchip

Last year, I told you about great deals for registering your pet's microchip that ranged around $20. This past week, I learned of a new registry that is even cheaper. Found Animals offers free registration for all pets.

If you have a pet, you know that microchips are a popular way to protect your dog (or cat) if he goes missing. Microchips are not a GPS system and will not give you the exact location of your missing pet, but they are extremely handy in reuniting a lost pet with its family.

Almost all shelters and vets have a scanner so when an animal is brought in, the first thing they do is scan for a chip. The scanner will display a unique code which can then be entered in a microchip database to retrieve the owner's information. That's a problem though because statistics show that not every owner has submitted or updated their information in the databases. 

When you first have your pet microchipped at either the vet or a clinic, they should give you paperwork on how to register and update the data associated with the chip. Check the paperwork and if you're unsure about the procedure, call the 800-number associated with the company. Some chips come with no registration information, some come with a free year of registration, and others include lifetime registration. It depends on the brand, package, and other factors. If your pet's chip does not include lifetime registration look for registry, such as Found Animals, to make sure if your pet gets lost they can find the owner's information.