Microchipping: What It Does and Doesn't Do

A microchip is a rice-grain-sized transponder implanted under the skin between the shoulder blades. Scanned, it returns a unique number. That number means nothing at all unless it is registered to you and your details are current — and this is exactly where most of the system fails.

What it is not

It is not a GPS tracker. It cannot be located, it has no battery, and it will not tell you where your dog is. It only works when someone finds your animal and has it scanned.

The registration problem

Every year South African vets and shelters scan lost animals, find a chip, and reach a disconnected number or an address from three houses ago. The chip did its job; the database did not.

• Confirm which registry your chip is on. Ask your vet — several databases operate in South Africa.
• Log in and check your details right now if it has been more than a year.
• Update after every move and every number change.
• Add a second contact — a family member on a different number.
• When you adopt or buy a chipped animal, transfer the registration into your name. This is not automatic and is very commonly missed.

Cost and process

Implantation usually costs somewhere in the region of a few hundred rand and takes seconds — a slightly large needle, no anaesthetic needed, often done at sterilisation or a vaccination visit. Many SPCA and welfare clinics do it far cheaper, and adopted animals usually arrive already chipped.

Still put a tag on the collar

A collar tag with your cellphone number is faster than a chip, because a neighbour can phone you from the pavement without a scanner. Most dogs that are recovered quickly are recovered this way. A chip is the backup for when the collar comes off.

Engrave the number, not the dog's name. A stranger who can call your dog by name has an easier time walking off with it.

Cats too

Cats are less often chipped and more often lost. Use a safety-release collar so it breaks away if snagged, and chip them as well.

Travel

International pet movement generally requires an ISO-standard microchip, implanted before the rabies vaccination that supports the export documentation. If travel is even a possibility, mention it when the chip goes in.