Save This Life pet microchips closes down

For many, protecting your pet is as important as keeping your kids safe. Now, a micro-chipping company has suddenly closed its doors, leaving pet owners with questions.

WINK News Reporter Paul Dolan visited a Southwest Florida vet’s office to determine if your pet’s chip may be impacted and what steps you need to take next.

Dr. Sharon Powell discussed the importance of microchips and how their tracking can help owners find lost pets.

“That unique number can say the pet’s name, who it belongs to, and how to contact the owner,” Powell said.

At Edison Parks Animal Hospital down Johnson Street, Powell works hard with her furry assistant, Pongo.

Powell told WINK News that the pet microchipping company had saved Pongo’s life.

“Without any notice, it is no longer providing microchip registries,” Powell said. “We can’t even contact SaveThisLife to find out who implanted that lot of microchips, and then we can do some backtracking on it to find the owner. That can’t even be done.”

Powell was left with useless microchips to save his life, and many of her clients had questions. She’s urging all pet owners who used Save This Life to find a different registry.

Dog owner Curtis Johnson knows the importance of microchipping his pets. All three of his dogs have chips.

“You pay to have them chipped for that particular reason, to find them, in case they get lost, and if they can’t read it, then it does no good to get a microchip,” Johnson said.

The microchip from Save This Life will keep the unique ID number for your animal, but if your contact information is gone, it doesn’t help.

“They retain the number, retains the microchip, but the pet owner has to contact a new registry and get the contact information transferred over,” Powell said.

That’s why Powell says to find a new registry to have your contact information. That way, you can be reunited when someone finds your lost pet.

Powell said pet owners sometimes have to pay a $30 fee to put their microchip on a new registry.

While some people use air tags on their pets, dogs have been known to chew on them sometimes, which could damage the tracking function.