A chip with out-of-date contact details cannot bring a pet home. A five-minute check before any trip, and before any boarding stay, is worth doing.
How to check a microchip in four steps
Follow this order:
- Find the chip number from your vet records or ask any vet to scan your pet.
- Use the AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup (PetMicrochipLookup.org). It shows which registry holds the chip, not your details.
- Contact that registry and confirm your name, phone, email and address. Add a second contact who is not traveling with you.
- Check again each year. The AVMA and AAHA mark August 15 as Check the Chip Day.
A chip is not a collar
A microchip is a permanent backup, but nobody can read it without a scanner. A tag gives instant contact. Put your cell number on the tag, and consider adding the destination or a second number if you are traveling. Replace worn tags, because letters rub off. For a pet that slips a collar, the chip still works.
The AVMA microchipping page explains what a chip is, how it is implanted and why registration matters as much as the implant.
What the kennel asks for
The Happy Paws boarding agreement asks for your contact details and for an emergency contact who is not traveling with you and who may decide and pick up on your behalf. Keep these current. If you change your number or email, update the agreement and the online account, and update the microchip registry as well so that every record agrees.
Travel-day extras
Take a recent photo of each pet, keep your vaccine records on your phone and put the kennel's number, 707-678-6600, in your contacts. Read the pet evacuation plan for what to pack in a grab bag. If you travel often, a fresh photo every few months helps when a coat changes with the season, and a short written description of markings, weight and color is useful if a pet is ever reported missing. Keep the chip number somewhere you can find it in seconds, such as a note on your phone titled with your pet's name.