Last week someone said to me – “What good is a microchip database if it doesn’t have up to date details?”
This conversation came to be from this person saying microchip databases aren’t fit for purpose.
While I agree there are improvements that can be made such as I’ve added below databases help get hundreds of lost pets home every week.
- Legislation making duplicate registrations a thing of the past
- Better technology communication between databases.
- Improved governance to ensure that all databases meet the legal requirements such as an online search tool for Vets, police etc to get pet details.
Here are three stories about pets that have found their way home this week thanks to being microchipped and registered on the MyPet Microchip database.
P.S. Names have been changed to protect privacy.
To find out more about how vets and rescues can use microchip databases to find a pet’s owner check out THIS ARTICLE.
Milo the Cat
This case shows how even without an up to date registration a microchip can help get a lost pet home. It also shows the importance of ensuring your details are up to date and lastly, why cat microchipped legislation is amazing!
Milo is an indoor cat, he decided last Saturday night to go for a walk on his own. He ended up around 5 mile away and was luckily handed into a local Animal Rescue.
This local charity searched the microchip on a Defra-compliant microchip database chip checker. (I’ve added a link to ours at the bottom). They saw that the microchip was registered with us.
They didn’t have an account with us so they called our 24/7 lost pet phone line. (0800 368 4150).
We still had the breeder’s details on our database, so we made contact with them. 30 minutes later they came back to us with the new owner’s mobile number. We made contact and the VERY relieved pet owners collected Milo about an hour later.
After everything was wrapped up we sent over the new owner details on how to move the microchip into their name and got the animal rescue set up with a MyPet Animal Rescue account allowing them to get details themselves in the future.
Tayto the Dog
Tayto the dog was a new rescue who had just moved into their new home. The rescue who had rehomed Tayto are very competent and ensured the microchip was registered to the new keeper on the day they moved to their new house.
On the same day, Tayto slipped the lead in the garden and over the fence and off he went.
The new owner instantly went onto MyPet and marked Tayto as missing, following up with a phone call. Our team give some advice on other things to do such as social media posts calling local rescues and Veterinary clinics and said we’d be in touch as soon as Tayto was home.
2 days later the new owner got an email from us to let them know Tayto’s microchip has been searched and they got in touch. We let them know That they get an email like that anytime Tayto’s microchip is searched.
About 20 minutes later another call came in from a vet clinic. Tayto was with them, a bit tired but well. He went to his new home again that night.
Jupes the Cat
Jupes case is easily one of the most frustrating of the week.
Jupes was a cat that had been reported as missing a few weeks prior.
Someone put in a transfer request for Jupes which triggers an email to the person stored on our database. The transfer was rejected and a support ticket opened.
Our team touched in with Jupes owner to hear the situation. Jupes had been reported lost on our platform 3 weeks ago and they have been looking for her since.
We contacted the requestor and Jupes had been re-homed by a local rescue.
This rescue had not checked Jupes microchip at all and had advised the person who adopted Jupes to check the chip online and register it.
This is an extremely poor process the rescue carried out. They completed no due diligence on a cat handed into them and re-homed the cat after a single social media post. No microchip database check at all.
For the adopter of Jupes it was hard on them as Jupes went home to where she belonged. In the long run though it’s good news. It leaves a space in the adopter’s home for another cat, who needs a new home.
Search your pet's microchip below to find out which database they are registered on!
Enter your microchip number
You can see a full list of Defra-compliant microchip databases HERE.
