A pet microchip pet implant is an identifier placed under the skin of a dog, cat, horse, parrot or other animal (pet). The device is about the size of a large grain of rice and it uses radio frequency identification technology.

Microchips can be implanted by a veterinarian or at a shelter. After checking that the animal does not already have a chip, the vet or technician injects the chip with a syringe and records the chip's unique ID. No anesthetic is required.

The implanted chip contains the owner's contact information, pet name and description, and or veterinarian contact information, and an alternate emergency contact. After implantation, your pet is entered into a registry, the certificate serves as proof of ownership and is transferred with the animal when it is sold or traded; an animal without a certificate could be stolen.

Authorities, shelters and animal hospitals examine strays for chips, providing the recovery service with the ID number, description and location so they may notify the owner or contact. An owner can also report a missing pet to the recovery service. Vets always look for microchips in new animals and cross-check with the recovery service to see if it has been reported lost or stolen.

Many veterinarians scan an animal's chip on every visit to verify identity and to confirm proper chip function. Some use the chip ID as their database index and print it on receipts, test results, vaccinatios and other records.