We at Planet Eugene recently discovered our dog's implanted Micro-Chip was never registered by those we trusted to do so. Fortunately, our curious and energetic little dog was never lost during the five years we have had her. But, our false peace of mind hinged on a Micro-chip that was actually worthless.

It was when we recently contacted the Micro-chip company's registration service to update our address that we discovered they had no information regarding our dog. They could only verify that the Micro-chip dog-tag number on our pet's collar had been issued to the West Eugene adoption agency.

We found our original adoption papers that listed we'd paid for registration, although the adoption agency had typed the wrong ID on those records. And, when we contacted the agency to ask if they handled registrations, the woman we talked to said only that they had no records available of our dog's adoption. The adoption agency's policy at that time was to give the Micro-Chip to the new parents with the understanding that it would be implanted when the pet was spayed or neutered by a veterinarian.

Because we hold onto (perhaps too much) paperwork, we even had the five year old records from our (former) East University area veterinary hospital that listed they had implanted a chip in our dog during spaying. With the help of our new vet's scanner, we confirmed that there is a chip implanted in our dog and the number matches the dog-tag number on her collar.

It still is not clear to us why our dog was never registered. We do not recall whether the adoption agency or the vet was to handle the paperwork. Perhaps the information was "lost in the mail". We're glad it was a simple record update that alerted us to the oversight. We now have paid a new registration fee (double the original) to the Micro-Chip company with the hope that we'll never need to seek their help in finding our dog.

We, indeed, feel responsible for the registration oversight in that we never contacted the company that distributed the chip to ascertain that our dog was registered with them. It only takes a 1-800 phone call, a website visit, or quick written note to the Micro-Chip issuing company to double-check that your dog is properly registered. We urge you to check on your dog's Micro-Chip registration while your dog is lying beside you. Please don't wait, as we did, until you need to update your information, or worse, when your best friend is missing.

Lastly, if you have any concerns about the accuracy of your pet's Micro-Chip records, most veterinary offices have a scanner available to read the Micro-Chip. Some offices make the scanners available in their reception area so that you can scan your dog yourself.

Learn how pet microchips work.