Save This Life was a microchip company that supplied microchips and registrations of animals to thousands of shelters, rescues, veterinarians and animal care facilities nation-wide. On Feb. 2, 2025 they stopped operations, according to documents on file in Texas. The website, although still online, is no longer functional with regards to providing information or searching for microchip records. Even more concerning is that they have disconnected their database from the national registry project, which ultimately links all databases from companies providing chip information. Because of the removal of their database from this pool, animals that were registered through Save This Life are no longer able to be tracked. This means that if your dog or cat goes missing with a Save This Life chip, there is a good chance that they are not going to be able to be found using that tracking method. Dogs and cats who were registered through Save This Life need to re-register the chip number through a different company in order to be found in the nation-wide database. The chips still work, they just need to be registered again.
Here is how you can make sure your dog or cat is safe.
- Check the chip. If you have access to the chip number in your records and the number starts with a 991 or a 900146 number, there is a good chance it is a Save This Life chip. Even if it does not start with those numbers, it is a good idea to check the registration status to make sure everything is up to date. If you do not have access to the number, go to your veterinarian and have the chip scanned.
- Google the number with the word “microchip” following it. This should bring up a list of companies the chip is registered with. Check those listings to make sure everything is up to date.
- Check the number using this website: AAHA Universal Microchip Lookup Tool This will give you access to the nation-wide database of pets. This is a single database of all animal microchips that are registered. This is where the information may no longer be present if the chip was registered through Save This Life.
- Update all information and re-register with a different company like AKCreunite.
Our personal recommendation for chip tracking is a company called Free Pet Chip Registry who can be found at https://www.freepetchipregistry.com/ . This company does not charge a fee to register your pet’s chips with information like owner name, phone number and basic information about the dog or cat. If your animal is lost and then found by a person or veterinarian who scans the chip, that person can go into Free Pet Chip Registry and put the number in as a found pet. This will automatically notify the owner through texts and emails, as well as an automated phone call. The system will provide the phone number and contact information of the person who found your pet.
Take this opportunity to check your pet’s microchip and make sure all the information is up to date. People’s phone numbers and addresses change all the time, and the database does not automatically update when this happens. Additionally, many chips that were implanted at rescues and shelters are no longer registered since Save This Life ceased operations. Your pet’s microchip is not a GPS tracker, and relies on being registered to provide contact information. Take this opportunity to make sure they are protected.
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