PetTech Startup Check The Chip™ Envisions the Best Pet Microchip Solution

Using the kiosk may be the first time pet owners can interact with their pet's chip. Now, we can significantly help more lost pets home to their families.

SAN CARLOS, CA, UNITED STATES, August 9, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- For decades, despite microchip technology being almost flawless in its operation, the pet microchip system is severely broken because it is confusing to the most important audience - pet owners themselves. Pet owners assume that once their pet is microchipped, if lost, will return home to them. However, it’s estimated that 58% (some 30 million+ today) of microchipped pets in the United States have incorrectly or entirely unregistered microchips with no owner information registered into a database. Meaning, the tech works perfectly but only if the pet is registered accurately.

This confusion among pet owners is the problem being solved by Check the Chip, Inc., a PetTech startup with the first-ever pet microchip scanning kiosk in pet stores and are on a mission to fix the pet microchip problem by educate pet owners and communities about the steps necessary to return lost pets home safely.

“The solution to helping lost pets is access to microchip technology for pet owners and the public. Microchip technology was obvious for those who had scanners like veterinarians and shelter workers and could actually make best use of the system,” says Olivia White, CEO/founder of Check the Chip. “It’s no wonder pet owners are confused since they’ve never interacted with their pet’s amazing microchip. It’s a perfect technology but you need all three critical pieces to make the system work: (1) The pet's chip (2) A Universal RFID scanner and (3) An integrated database where pets can be registered. All three are required for it to make sense to pet owners. Let’s put the technology out for people to try it themselves. That’s why we place them into pet stores with easy access for all pet owners and the public to make sure pets are safe and send them home, if lost.”

In hindsight, providing access to microchip technology in a simple to use, self-service kiosk placed into pet stores was the obvious solution to a decades long problem facing the pet microchip industry. Check the Chip had been observing the evolution of the pet microchip system for well over a decade and it became clear that an increasing number of pets would enter shelters and may never leave because of pet owner and public confusion in the system. To complicate matters, there are more than 40 separate microchip databases used in the U.S. making up a highly fractured, confusing system for all.

AWARENESS OF THE MICROCHIP PROBLEM WITHIN THE INDUSTRY:
The problem of microchipped pets which are not registered is well known to industry insiders. For example, there has been a national Check the Chip Day targeted to pet owners but if scanners and registration services are not easily accessible, how could pet owners act? The microchip’s technology is flawless but pet owners were left in the dark. Clearly, pet owners should be the most informed participants in the process. These have been unethical practices by the industry who have known that the majority of microchipped pets could face problems being reunited with their owners. The kiosk represents a significant change which was required to bring the tech to it's fullest potential.

“Safety shouldn't be confusing and we’re here to bring clarity. We love our pets but didn't have access to the technology we need to keep them safe,” says Olivia White, CEO/founder of Check the Chip. “Until now, it has been a confusing system and quite frankly just wrong to give pet owners a false sense of security. It’s not just about pet safety, but also about consumer rights and ethical business practices too. The lost pet problem is massive and heartbreaking. We can solve this critical disconnect for all. Finally!”

Let’s take “Sally” for instance, who knew her dog, “Zoomie”, had a microchip. But that’s about all she knew. When she entered Zoomie’s microchip number into the national registry lookup, she discovered that it did not appear in any of the 40+ registries. How could this be? Yet, the microchip company had her name in their system, but she was not connected to Zoomie’s microchip number yet because of some action required to make that happen -- a process she didn’t even know about.

With a Check the Chip kiosk nearby, there are three simple steps every owner of a microchipped pet needs to take to ensure that their furry family member makes it home to them:

1. Bring their pet to the kiosk to test that the microchip works (this is free and takes seconds).
2. Confirm that your pet is actually registered into a database. If in doubt, register your pet at the kiosk.
3. Once registered, a pet owner can test the chip at any kiosk and see, right on the screen, a photo of their pet to ensure the microchip works and is registered correctly.

“With an estimated 190 million US households to own a pet by the end of 2024 and knowing most will have microchips, the magnitude of this problem cannot be ignored. Let’s fix this and build the system out the right way - with pet owners and communities in the know,” concluded White.

About Check the Chip
Check the Chip™ delivers the best microchip kiosk technology that empowers pet owners and communities to keep pets safe and to send lost pets back home easier and quicker than ever before. The self-service kiosks have three services available: Free Microchip Check, Register the Chip and Found a Lost Pet? The passionate team of experts at Check the Chip love technology and love pets and believe in delivering the best technology to make the world safer for pets and to ensure they make it back home, where they belong. For more information on Check the Chip™ or kiosk locations, visit www.checkthechip.com.

Stacey Doss, APR
SDDPR
+1 949-285-2362
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Our Dream is to Bring Microchip Technology to Everyone