Texas-based pet microchip company shuts down

TYLER – Our news partners at KETK report that for years veterinarians, shelters and rescues have recommended pet owners to get their dogs and cats microchipped. There are dozens of companies that manufacture the microchips. In the past five years, Spence and White Veterinary Hospital in Tyler, has used Save This Life. However, in recent days, pet owners and veterinarians have noticed that the microchip company had gone dark. Save This Life has pulled their records from the national registry where owner information could be found if their pet was ever lost.

“This Save a Life bunch has just gone dark and everybody’s kind of panicking right now, we’re not really sure what’s going to happen,” Spence and White Veterinary Hospital owner Dr. Gary Spence said.

However Spence said pet owners should not panic and right now it is just a waiting game to find out what will happen all the data. He expects other businesses to take over.

“The number still comes up, and these companies, if they take the chip numbers over, they’ll have the registered number, we’ll get that to them,” Spence said.

For now, pet owners should check their animal’s microchip number. If it begins with 991 or 900-164, they may be from “Save This Life.”

People who think they may be affected, can look into re-registering the microchip with a different company. Those unsure what company manages their pet’s microchip, can visit the American Animal Hospital Association website and used their registry lookup tool.