Update your new best friend's microchip.
In a 2009 study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 73 percent of stray microchipped pets arriving at 54 selected shelters had a locatable owner. The owners of the remaining pets with microchips were unreachable because of disconnected phone numbers, lack of response to certified notices or registration to the wrong party. Ensure a happy reunion with a lost pet; update the microchip registration information of a newly adopted dog, cat or large bird. If the pet is microchipped for the first time, register the chip immediately. Otherwise, the microchip registry directs a good Samaritan to the veterinary clinic that injected the chip, which may or may not have your current phone number.
Instructions
1. Write down the microchip ID number. No two pets share the same microchip number, even by accident. Look for the chip number on paperwork given by the previous owner, rescue or shelter. Alternatively, scan the pet's microchip at your local veterinary clinic.
2. Call AVID's PETtrac database toll free at 800-336-2843. Give the microchip number to the customer service representative, along with your mailing address.
3. Re-register the pet. The registry sends you paperwork in the mail. Fill out a new registration form, even if the pet was registered to a prior owner. In the future, when your phone number or address should change, the customer service representative may make minor changes over the phone.
4. Send the form back to AVID. As of 2010, AVID's PETrac database assesses a $19.95 fee per registered pet, with a cap of $50 for every three pets. Make the check and envelope out to AVID ID Systems Inc.
AVID ID Systems Inc.
3185 Hamner Avenue
Norco, CA 92860-1983
Tags: microchip number, AVID Systems, customer service, customer service representative, phone number