Your dog has a microchip, but the registered phone number belongs to an old handset. The chip may still be readable while the route back to you has stopped working. A microchip check is therefore partly a record-keeping task.
Ordinary pet identification microchips are not live GPS trackers. Their usefulness depends on the chip being scanned and the associated identification record leading to current contact details.
Find the record before you need it urgently
The RSPCA’s microchipping guidance explains the identification process and the importance of keeping details current. Its legal information is specific to the relevant UK context; requirements and approved databases differ elsewhere.
Locate your dog’s chip number and the database or registration paperwork. Use the provider’s verified website or contact details to check what is recorded. If you cannot identify the database, ask your vet or appropriate local animal service how to proceed.
Do not assume updating your veterinary practice’s address record automatically updates the microchip database. Ask explicitly. A change of owner may also involve a separate process; follow the provider’s requirements rather than just handing over a number.
Make the update easy to repeat
- Check the main phone number and any permitted alternative contact.
- Confirm the address and the name attached to the registration.
- Keep the confirmation of an update with the dog’s other records.
- Add “microchip database” to your moving-house checklist.
At an appropriate veterinary visit, ask whether the chip can be scanned and its number checked against your record. A scanner reading and a database update answer different questions: one identifies the chip, while the other checks where the information leads.
Keep a current photograph and useful identifying details as well. If your dog goes missing, follow local reporting guidance promptly rather than waiting for the chip to do something automatically.
The small task today is to verify a working contact route. A reassuring memory that the dog was chipped years ago is less useful than a current record you have actually checked.