Veterinarians are encouraging pet owners to check their animal's microchips after one company abruptly shut down, leaving thousands of animals unregistered.
Save This Life, a pet microchipping company based in Texas, has stopped operations. According to several reports, the business is permanently closed.
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Pet owners with Save This Life microchips are now left to figure out what to do.
“Everybody who has one of those chips needs to re-register it with a different company. So there is a home again out there, there’s a couple of other ones out there. AKC, you can register with,” said Dr. Page Wages, a veterinarian in the Triangle.
The chips are still active, but if it is scanned, the owner's contact information will not show up, making it an issue for any dogs or cats with the microchip implanted.
Wages told WRAL it’s important for pet owners who used Save This Life microchips should get their pet's microchips registered with a different company because you never know what can happen to your animal.
“Yesterday we had a dog that was hit by a car, it was picked up by a good Samaritan. It was a puppy and they brought it here. It had two microchips in it and neither of them was registered," Wages said. "It took us a while, but we were able to find the owner thank goodness. They had not registered the chip, It would’ve been a lot faster if they had.”
While one dog was able to find its owner, some animals are not as lucky.
"Usually, they end up in the rescue or the shelters, which is frustrating," Wages said.
According to Wages, there are several companies you can use to re-register your pet's microchip. Free Pet Chip Registry will allow pet owners to reregister their pets for free online.
WRAL called Save This Life’s business number, but that number has seemingly been disconnected. We also reached out via email and are waiting for a response.