National microchip company 'Save this Life' goes dark, local animal hospitals and rescues respond

A national pet microchip company used by pet owners across the country shut down without warning, leaving thousands of pets’ microchip information inaccessible. 

Sudden Shutdown

The national pet microchip company, Save this Life, has gone completely dark, causing widespread confusion among pet owners and animal care providers. 

John Teegarden with Catoosa Small Animal Hospital says they've used the product for many years and microchipped most of their client's dogs with Save this Life. He says they've had a difficult time getting in contact with the company since its phones are down.

“We couldn't get a hold of the manufacturer, to understand, ‘Hey, is this just a glitch with the system?’” Teegarden said. 

Pets At Risk

Animals that have been microchipped through Save this Life are now at risk since the company is no longer providing services. 

Since the company went offline, accessing owner information or notifying families of found pets linked to Save This Life has become a lot harder.

News On 6 spoke with one company, Covetrus, which is a distributor of Save this Life microchips.

Covetrus said the company has stopped selling Save this Life microchips.

Thousands of owners are finding that their pets’ microchip data is no longer available on the site, so if they were to get loose, there's no way of finding their way back home.  

An Advised Solution

Teegarden has been advising pet owners to re-register their pets’ microchip with a different online registry, and that the chip is still functional and doesn’t need to be re-implanted.

He encourages people to be proactive about it though, to not risk the chance of their pets getting loose and never returned.

There are some websites that are free and some that require a fee. Here are some to choose from to re-register your pet's microchip:

Free Pet Microchip Registry

PetLink™ Pet Microchips for Dogs, Cats, & Pets

3 Million Pets Reunited | HomeAgain Pet Recovery | HomeAgain Pet Recovery

Lost Pet Recovery Service | Pet Microchips | AKC Reunite