Chicago area pet owners alarmed, confused by microchip company shutting down

CHICAGO (CBS) — Microchips are a safety net for people who worry about their pets running off and getting lost — but now, a microchip business shutdown has left dog owners in Chicago and beyond confused.

Many pet owners say they don't know who owns the microchip company for their four-legged friend. But after the microchip company SaveThisLife closed its doors, many pet owners say they're double checking where the chip was registered.

“It's something that I'll probably go home and check, and make sure she is still secured and tracked,” said dog owner Rachel Johnson.

Johnson wants to make sure her dog, Olivia, is properly registered.

“It's scary because you hope that you're doing the right thing for your dog, and that they're microchipped, and it's not something you should have to manage,” Johnson said, “that it's just sort of, you did it once and now they're safe.”

Johnson said other priorities well outrank microchips for most pet owners.

“There are so many other things that dogs need to be maintained — all of the vaccines and all the other anti-flea, anti-heartworm stuff — but microchip is not a thing that I consider in a routine for dog maintenance,” said Johnson.

Johnson and other dog owners had no clue Save This Life discontinued its services.

“Now that I'm aware of it, I'm probably going to go home and look at it and see if it's my company, or if it's some company that owns all the other companies,” said dog owner Stephane Degraff, “and if something happens to him, God forbid not, it's going to affect me trying to find ways. Of course that's concerning.”

It is also concerning for veterinarians, like those at Merrick Animal Hospital in Brookfield, who posted to the clinic's Facebook page that the company they trusted for 13 years unexpectedly shutdown.

The animal hospital said it also delinked all microchip registrations from the universal microchip lookup tool that all animal care professionals use to find a lost pet's information when they are scanned.

CBS News Chicago reached out to Save This Life to see what owners should do and where their dogs' data are, but no one returned CBS News Chicago's emails.

PAWS Chicago said anyone who is unsure if Save Thi sLife is their company should take their pet to a place where the chip can be scanned, like a police station or a veterinarian's office.

“The important thing to do is to get that number to have somebody scan it, and again, it's your vet, or it's a shelter that can do that scan for you if you don't already have the number,” said Susanna Wickham, chief executive officer of PAWS Chicago, “and then to log in and update the information.”

PAWS Chicago CEO, Susanna Wickham, says they microchipped 10 thousand dogs and cats last year, outside of their adoption program.

“There's a surprising number of pets we see that don't have a microchip, and people don't realize how, I think, common that is, and people don't really think about it until their pet is lost,” Wickham said.

PAWS Chicago said if a cat is not microchipped, there is no stray hold at all — meaning the organization would not be able to contact a cat owner, and the owner would not be able to find their pet easily.

If a dog is lost and microchipped, they will hold the dog for seven days. If the dog is not microchipped, it will be held for three days.

Meanwhile, experts stress the closure of Save This Life is a registry issue, not an issue with microchips themselves, so there is no danger to any pets as long as they are safely with their owners.

If your pet is chipped through Save This Life, you just need to make sure to re-register with another company.

According to the American Animal Hospital Association, there are more than 40 other microchipping and recovery services.