A pet microchip company suddenly closed. Here's how to make sure your pet's chip is active, up to date

Microchips can provide some comfort for pet owners in case their dogs or cats ever go missing.

Recent reports that a microchip company has likely shuttered without notice are a good reminder for pet owners to keep their pet’s chip updated.

“Microchips are incredibly important,” PAWS Chicago chief executive Susanna Wickham told the Sun-Times. “But if you don’t know where the number is, how to look it up, what to do to update it, then it won’t help you if you ever lose your pet.”

Microchips, about the size of a grain of rice, are radio frequency identification devices implanted in dogs and cats usually between their shoulder blades. Owners then register their personal information, like their phone number and home address, on to the chip using a registration database. The chips are only active when they’re scanned and aren’t powered by batteries.

The chips can be scanned and activated at any animal shelter, vet clinic or police station, Wickham said. Owners can figure out which registry tracks their pet’s microchip on the American Animal Health Association’s website.

Save This Life, a Texas-based microchip company, appears to have suddenly closed, according to news reports. It’s not clear why it shut down or how many of its microchips are implanted in household pets.

While Save This Life's website is still active, it's contact page delivers an error message and the phone number doesn't work. An emailed request for comment was not answered.

But pet owners should check if their pet’s microchip belonged to Save A Life, Wickham said. If it is, they can re-register the chip with another microchip registry, such as the Free Pet Chip Registry.

Regardless of who makes their pet’s chip, owners should make sure their contact information on the chip is up-to-date.

“If you move or change your number, it’s so important to keep your information updated on your pet’s microchip,” Wickham said.

If a lost pet is taken to Chicago Animal Care and Control, dogs and cats are held for seven days if they have a microchip, Wickham said.

But if a cat doesn’t have a chip, they’re immediately transferred to a shelter or put up for adoption. Dogs are held for three days if they don’t have a chip.

Last year, 11,154 stray cats and dogs were brought to the city pound, according to data from Chicago Animal Care and Control. Of those, only 1,152 pets were returned to their owners.

Some pet owners hesitate to microchip their animal because it involves implanting something with tracking abilities. But Wickham said it’s a safe and simple device that can only be activated once it’s been scanned.

Pet owners can get their animals microchipped at any vet office or animal shelter. PAWS Chicago can implant a microchip for $20.

“Microchips provide peace of mind,” Wickham said. “There’s nothing worse for a pet owner than to lose their pet.”