The microchipping of all owned cats and dogs is required by law by the City & County of Honolulu. A microchip is a nano-chip similar in size to a grain of rice that is injected under the skin using a syringe. A microchip is not a GPS tracker and will not show the location of your animal when they go missing, rather you must register your contact information to the microchip at the time of, or shortly after the procedure. If an animal is found and brought to a veterinary clinic or shelter, that animal can be scanned for a microchip. Scanning will show the microchip’s serial number that is unique for every animal (similar to a VIN number on a car). That unique number is searched and will pull up the owner’s contact information registered to it. We are then able to contact and inform the owner that their pet has been found and ensure that they are reunited. It is important that the microchip is registered with the microchip manufacturer or a free database like 24PetWatch.com so that the owner’s contact info is correct and on file. An unregistered microchip is just a serial number that doesn’t connect to any owner information, making it difficult, if not impossible, to reunite the owner with their pet. Information on the microchip manufacturer and how to register your information should be provided whenever an owner has their animal microchipped, either at the Hawaiian Humane or a private veterinary clinic. Lost animals that are microchipped have a better chance of being reunited with their owner, and microchipping is a simple yet effective way to safeguard your pet. The microchipping process only takes about 10 minutes plus the time it takes to finalize the paperwork.