National Check The Chip Day is observed on 15 August each year in the United States. The day is promoted by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and HomeAgain, a leading lost pet recovery service, to remind pet owners of the importance of microchipping their animals and, crucially, of keeping their microchip registration details up to date. A microchip is only as effective as the information linked to it, and this day encourages owners to take a few minutes to verify that their contact details are current.

What is National Check The Chip Day?

National Check The Chip Day is an annual awareness observance focused on pet microchipping and the maintenance of microchip registries. A microchip is a tiny electronic device, roughly the size of a grain of rice, that is implanted beneath a pet’s skin, typically between the shoulder blades, by a veterinarian. Each microchip contains a unique identification number that can be scanned by a handheld reader. When the number is looked up in a microchip registry, it links to the owner’s contact information, enabling lost pets to be reunited with their families.

The day emphasises that having a pet microchipped is only the first step. The microchip itself contains no personal information; it is the registry that holds the owner’s details. If an owner moves house, changes their phone number, or updates their email address without updating the microchip registry, a found pet cannot be returned to them even if the chip is detected.

When is National Check The Chip Day?

National Check The Chip Day is held annually on 15 August. The day falls during the summer period in the United States, when pets are statistically more likely to go missing due to increased outdoor activity, open doors and windows, and events such as fireworks displays that can cause pets to flee in fear.

Why National Check The Chip Day Matters

Millions of pets go missing in the United States every year. The statistics on microchipping and reunification rates are compelling. Research has found that dogs with microchips are returned to their owners approximately 2.4 times more often than unidentified dogs, while cats with microchips are reunited with their owners an extraordinary 21.4 times more often than unidentified cats.

Despite these figures, many microchipped pets are still never returned to their owners, and the primary reason is outdated or missing registration information. A survey published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association found that more than a third of microchipped pets whose owners were not found had either no registration or incorrect contact details in the registry. National Check The Chip Day directly addresses this gap by encouraging all pet owners to take a few minutes to verify their details.

The day also raises awareness of microchipping among pet owners who may not yet have had their animals microchipped. While collars and ID tags are valuable, they can fall off or be removed. A microchip is a permanent form of identification that stays with the pet for life.

How to Get Involved

• Check your pet’s microchip registration: Visit your microchip registry’s website and confirm that your contact details, including your address and phone number, are current.
• Have your pet scanned: Ask your veterinarian to scan your pet’s microchip at the next annual check-up to confirm the chip is functioning and the number matches your registry records.
• Microchip an unregistered pet: If your pet does not yet have a microchip, book an appointment with your vet to have one implanted. The procedure is quick and no more uncomfortable than a routine vaccination.
• Spread the word: Share information about National Check The Chip Day with friends and family who have pets using the hashtag #CheckTheChipDay.
• Register with a universal database: Consider registering your pet’s microchip with a universal lookup service such as the AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup tool, which searches multiple registries simultaneously.

History of National Check The Chip Day

National Check The Chip Day was established by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and HomeAgain, a pet recovery network that operates one of the largest microchip registries in the United States. The day was created to address the widespread problem of microchipped pets failing to be reunited with their owners due to outdated or incomplete registry information.

Microchipping technology became commercially available for pets in the 1990s and quickly became the standard for permanent pet identification in the veterinary community. The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) introduced a global standard for microchip technology to ensure that chips implanted in different countries could be read by a common scanner, making cross-border reunification more feasible.

Today, the AVMA recommends microchipping for all owned pets, and many animal shelters microchip all animals before adoption. The promotion of National Check The Chip Day is part of a broader effort to close the gap between microchip implantation and effective registration, maximising the life-saving potential of the technology.

Noteworthy Facts

• A microchip implant for a pet typically costs between $25 and $75 at a veterinary clinic, and some animal shelters offer the procedure at a reduced cost or for free.
• The chip itself is passive, meaning it contains no battery and does not emit a signal until activated by a scanner.
• ISO Standard 11784/11785 governs the international frequency (134.2 kHz) used by most microchips globally, enabling scanners to read chips implanted in other countries.
• The AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup at lookup.aaha.org searches multiple US registries simultaneously, making it the recommended starting point for identifying a found pet.
• Some countries, including the United Kingdom, require microchipping for all dogs by law. In the UK, dogs must be microchipped and registered before they are eight weeks old.

Related Awareness Days

Pet owners may also be interested in National Make a Dog’s Day and National Pet Wellness Month for more ways to celebrate and protect their animals.

Hashtags

#CheckTheChipDay #NationalCheckTheChipDay #PetMicrochip #LostPet #PetSafety #MicrochipYourPet