Tags and collars are good -they’re certainly better than no ID at all—but they aren’t 100% dependable. Tags can fade, rust or get scratched and be impossible to read. Collars can tear or slip off.

With microchipping, on the other hand, a veterinarian injects a tiny computer chip—about the size of a grain of rice—just under your pets skin, between the shoulder blades. Insertion is done with a needle, similar to a vaccination, and does not involve anesthesia or significant pain for your pet. Then the number on the computer chip is entered in a international database, like the Central Animal Registry or PETtrac. If your dog or cat is found, any animal hospital, shelter, or humane society can use a microchip reader to read the unique ID number contained on the chip.

The veterinarian or worker then calls the database, or accesses it on the computer, and enters the number given off by the microchip. The database matches the number to your name and phone number. The chip can’t be lost or damaged and it lasts for the pet’s lifetime. The microchip is convenient, safe, and reliable.