Petlog FAQs
What is a pet microchip?
What is the procedure for microchipping my
pet?
Why is microchipping important?
Where can I learn how to microchip pets?
Where can I get my pet microchipped?
How does the Lost and Found Pet service
work?
How does Petlog Premium help me?
Which pet microchips are part of the Lost and Found
Pet service?
Why does my microchip barcode have an expiry
date?
How do I change details on my pet's
microchip?
Why is there a fee to amend my details?
Your website asks for a Petlog ID number.
What is this number?
What information should I put on my pet's
tag?
Why does my mobile number show with a 44 instead
of a 0 at the beginning?
A microchip is a small capsule that is around the size of a
grain of rice. It carries a unique identification number and is
made of inert material so it won't be rejected by your pet's body.
It has no power source and has a special cap to prevent movement
once it has been professionally implanted.
Pet microchips contain no internal power source so will last for
an extremely long time. They are designed so that they do not act
until acted upon and they are inert so they won't be rejected by a
pet's body.
Most pet microchips comprise three basic elements: A silicon
chip (integrated circuit); a coil inductor, or a core of ferrite
wrapped in copper wire; and a capacitor. The silicon chip contains
the pet identification number, plus electronic circuits to relay
that information to the scanner. The inductor acts as a radio
antenna, ready to receive electrical power from the scanner. The
capacitor and inductor act as a tuner, forming an LC circuit. The
scanner presents an inductive field that excites the coil and
charges the capacitor, which in turn energizes and powers the IC.
The IC then transmits the data via the coil to the scanner.
These components are encased in a special bio-compatible glass
made from soda lime, or a strong bio-polymer material, and
hermetically sealed to prevent any moisture or fluid entering the
unit.
The implantation is a quick and painless procedure that should
hurt no more than a vaccination. In the case of dogs and cats this
would be done just behind their shoulder blades by a qualified
implanter using a special pre-packed sterile needle. Your vet or
local animal welfare centre will also be able to advise you where
to have more exotic pets and fish or horses microchipped, as this a
specialist procedure.
After that, there's nothing else to do - your details along with
those of your pet will be registered with Petlog's Lost and Found
Pet Service automatically by your implanter. If your pet goes
missing, most vets, animal charities and local authorities have
microchip readers, so when someone hands your pet in, they can read
the chip's 15 digit code and contact the Lost & Found Pet
Service.
The importance of encouraging and promoting responsible pet
ownership through pet microchipping as the preferred method of
permanent pet identification has been recognised by all animal
concerned organisations. Pet microchipping ensures we can reunite
pets with their owners as quickly as possible.
There are numerous organisations that hold pet microchipping
courses. These are usually half day courses and once you have
completed this you will be supplied with a Petlog PIN. You can then
purchase pet microchips directly from a manufacturer and register
them with the Petlog Lost and Found Pet service. We would advise
that you search online for pet microchipping courses in your area.
Once you have completed the course you will be able to microchip
dogs, cats and small furries. Other animals may need a professional
veterinarian. See the bottom of the page to see a list of manufacturers that are part of the
Petlog Lost and Found Pet Service and may provide courses for
you.
You can get your pet microchipped by welfare centres, animal
wardens, vets, even pet stores or independant implanters. There is
no set price for the pet microchipping. Each implanter will charge
however much they wish so if you think it's too expensive, look
elsewhere.
After your pet is microchipped, the details will be registered
with a Lost and Found Pet Service. If the worst happens and your
pet goes missing, it is very likely that they will be picked up by
the Animal Warden service, or by one of the Rescue organisations.
These agencies are equipped with a special scanner which can read
the lost pet's unique microchip number and this will enable them to
find your details through the Petlog Lost & Found Pet
Service which is open and accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days of
the year. You will then be contacted directly so they can reunite
you with your missing pet. If a stray pet is found out of office
hours, it is likely that a local authority will pick it up and hold
it overnight. Animal Wardens will have access to the Petlog
database and will search for the microchipped pet's details so that
they can return your stray pet to you as soon as possible. For
these reasons it is very important to keep your details up to date
on the microchip database. If they are not accurate it can result
in extra fees from a kennels, a longer period of distress for both
you and your pet or at worst your pet being re-homed.
This service provides the best opportunity to get your pet
reunited with you as soon as possible. Petlog Premium provides:
- Free amendments for your pet - also available online(excludes
Change of Ownership)
- Lost Pet Alert sent to Vets, Welfares and animal wardens
- Temporary Address details can be added
- Second Carer details in case we can't contact you
directly.
- Collar tags
This is all for a one-off fee of £10 per pet (for the lifetime
of the pet whilst in your ownership). If you are on Petlog Premium
contact Petlog as soon as your pet strays so we can send out the
alert for you and make sure that all your details are correct.
The Petlog database holds the information for the majority of UK
suppliers. The following suppliers are covered by Petlog:
Follow the links to go to their websites. Petlog is not
responsible for any information held on the manufacturers'
websites.
The 'expiry' date on a microchips barcode sticker is purely
there for the implanters information. They simply have to ensure
that they have implanted the microchip before that date. It does
not mean that you will need to have your pet microchipped again, or
have to pay an extra fee after that date.
The microchip itself is designed to last for longer than the
lifetime of your pet.
Firstly, create an online account. Then you can link your pets
microchips to your account and amend the details from your
personalised page. If you need to change over the ownership of a
pet, you will need to send in the paperwork to show you are the new
owner. You will need a Petlog confirmation letter, or a re-homing
form to get this changed. If you have neither of these please
contact Petlog on 0844 463 3999, quoting the microchip number.
You will need the microchip number and Petlog ID to link a pet
to your account. IF you do not have these, or are having problems
with the website, please contact Petlog on 0844 4633 999.
The address to send the change of ownership request is:
Petlog
4a Alton House
Gatehouse Way
Aylesbury
Bucks HP19 8XU
The initial fee, charged by the implanter is a transaction
purely between themselves and the pet owner. The implanter
completes the registration form and forwards this to Petlog. All
the information is entered onto the database within 5 working days
of receipt. Petlog does not charge for this initial registration
and we provide the pet owner with a confirmation of registration
and a lost/found service open 24/7 all year round, with experienced
staff on hand to provide support, assistance and guidance to pet
owners and authorised agents.
If you never make any amendments to your record for the rest of
your pets life, then you will never incur any charges. To ensure
the continuation of our operation and services especially the 24/7
opening hours, we must charge a fee for certain changesso we can
maintain and improve our service for you. Currently we are doing
this at a special price of £10 - this then covers your pet for the
rest of it's life.
Your Petlog ID number can be located on your Petlog
confirmation letter, or Petlog Premium certificate. This should be
on the top right of the front page if you have a recent document.
For older documents it may be located close to the microchip
number, or possibly at the bottom of the letter. This number is
generated when your pet is registered with the Petlog database and
as such this number cannot be located on the Petlog Basic
Registration certificate.
The Control of Dogs Order 1992 mandates that any dog in a public
place must wear a collar with the name and address of the owner
engraved or written on it, or engraved on a tag. Your telephone
number is optional (but advisable). For more information on collar
tags or to order a brass tag with details engraved, please go to
the Pet
Identification (Collar Tags) page. We strongly recommend that
you do not put your microchip number or Petlog ID number onto
any tags. If you wanted to put a reference to the microchip it
might be worth putting your postcode, the pets name and our
telephone number. From this information we would be able to advise
the finder on the best course of action to get your pet safely
home.
The '44' at the beginning of a number denotes the International
Dialling Code for the United Kingdom, putting this at the beginning
of a UK mobile number is for SMS purposes. This is mainly for
marking your pet as missing or found via SMS when you are on the
Petlog Premium service. If we use this number to contact you we
will know to replace the '44' with a '0'.
If you have any questions that are not answered above, please
contact us directly on 0844 4633 999, or by email.