Microchips and ID Tags: The 10-Minute Job That Brings Lost Dogs Home

Gates get left open. Fireworks go off. Even careful owners lose a dog once. What happens next depends mostly on what you did beforehand.

1. Get the microchip

It is a rice-sized chip placed under the skin at a routine vet visit. In a study of more than 7,700 stray animals cited by the American Veterinary Medical Association, microchipped dogs were returned to their owners about 52 percent of the time, compared with about 22 percent for dogs without one.

2. Register it, and keep it current

A chip is only a number. The registry links it to you.

Do this: check your phone number and address today. Watch out for: moving or changing numbers and forgetting to update.

3. Keep a collar and tag on too

A tag gets your dog home from a neighbor's yard without a trip to a scanner.

Do this: your phone number, large and readable.

4. Keep a clear, recent photo

Full body, good light. You will need it for posters and posts.

5. If your dog goes missing

• Search the neighborhood right away and tell neighbors.

• Call local shelters, animal control and nearby vets.

• Report the dog lost to the microchip registry.

• Post in local lost-pet groups with the photo and where they were last seen.

Where to check all of this, free

• Your veterinarian, who can scan the chip and confirm it reads.

• The American Animal Hospital Association's microchip lookup tool at aaha.org.

This article is general information, not veterinary advice. Your veterinarian knows your dog best.