I found a pet. How to check for a microchip.

Last updated: August 28, 2026

If you have found a stray dog or cat, the fastest way to find their owner is to get them scanned for a microchip, and the scan is always free.

Veterinarians, animal shelters and animal control officers can all scan a pet in under a minute. You do not need an appointment and you should not be charged.

Get the pet scanned

  1. Take the pet to any veterinary practice, animal shelter or animal control office. Phone ahead if you can, but most will scan a found animal without an appointment.

  2. They will pass a handheld scanner over the pet's shoulders. If there is a microchip, the scanner shows a number.

  3. Ask them to look the number up. Most vets and shelters do this as a matter of course.

If the first scan finds nothing, ask for a full-body scan. Chips can move over time, and some scanners miss chips from certain manufacturers.

What the microchip number is, and is not

A microchip is an ID chip, not a tracker. It holds one number and nothing else. There is no name, no address and no phone number stored on the chip itself, and it has no GPS, so it cannot tell anyone where the pet has been.

The number only helps once it is looked up in a registry, which is where the owner's contact details are held. That also means the number is not a phone number and cannot be called.

If you want to understand how this works in more detail, see Understanding How Microchips Work.

Looking the number up yourself

If you have the number and want to check it yourself, use the AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup (opens in a new tab). It does not give you the owner's details, but it tells you which registry holds the chip, and that registry can then contact the owner on your behalf.

If the lookup shows the chip is registered with Adopterluv, we will contact the owner for you. We send a series of automated calls, texts, and emails to the registered owner over four days using the details in their account.

If the pet has no microchip, or the details are out of date

Not every pet is chipped, and a chip is only as good as the contact details attached to it. If the trail goes cold, these usually work:

  • Post in local lost pet groups on Facebook, and on neighborhood apps like Nextdoor. Include where and when you found them.

  • Phone nearby shelters, vets and animal control. Many keep a found-pet list that is not online.

  • Check for a collar tag, a rabies tag or a license tag. A rabies tag number can be traced through the issuing vet.

  • Take clear photos, including any distinctive markings.

Please do not assume a pet outdoors is abandoned. Many found pets live nearby and are simply lost.

Keeping the pet safe in the meantime

Keep the pet separate from your own animals until a vet has seen them, offer water rather than food if you are unsure when they last ate, and contact your local shelter or animal control if you cannot keep them. Shelters are where owners look first.