Letter from Founders

My name is Jon Dyer. My brother-in-law, Courtney Cramer, DVM, and I are the Co-Founders of FreePetChipRegistry.com, the first truly free pet microchip registration site in the world. Most people aren't aware that in the United States, unlike many other countries, we do not have a central database for the registration of microchipped pets. Further, most people aren't aware that according to studies published in the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) over 40% of pets that are implanted with microchips cannot be found in a pet registry database anywhere. Studies strongly suggest that the high rate for return of microchipped dogs and cats to their owners support microchipping as a valuable permanent pet identification modality. However, numerous deep rooted issues related to pet registration greatly undermine the overall potential of microchipping; a major impediment being the fees required to maintain a registration.

The Story

Several years ago, I found a stray German Shepherd without a collar. I took him to a branch of the Los Angeles City Animal Shelter hoping that he may have had a microchip implanted. If he had a microchip certainly he would be easily reunited with his family. When the scanner beeped and the 15-digit ID popped up, I breathed a big sigh of relief and thanked the technician profusely. "Not so fast" the technician told me. "We are only getting started." I wasn't sure what she meant by that. The dog had been microchipped, just like all of my pets, and I thought that it's just a matter of checking a central database and then contacting the owner to come pick him up. Boy, was I wrong.

The helpful technician began calling, one by one, the various pet chip registries to determine if the lost German Shepherd was registered with their company. 10+ telephone calls and over 30 minutes later, the technician told me that although the lost dog had been microchipped, none of the major U.S. databases had current information on the dog. I asked her why couldn't she just go to a single database, input the ID number and directly pull up the pet owner's information? I thought surely that had to be the process, it's just common sense. She went on to explain that in the U.S. we have numerous, independently owned pet registries some of which don't particularly like to share their information, due to finanacial motivation.

I was stunned! If the lost dog had a microchip, how is it possible that we can't reunite it with its owner? Apparently, a lot of things could have gone wrong; many of which have to do with the payment of fees to maintain contact information in a registry.

Now What?

My wife and I and four sons are the proud owners of five cats, one dog, and a rabbit (all rescues). With a house full of animals already, a new German Shepherd was not in the cards for our family. Because the lost dog was in such good condition and so well behaved, the technician explained to me that either his owner would eventually come looking for him or he would be adopted as soon as he became available. None-the-less, I left my contact information with the technician with instructions to call me in the event that the lost German Sheppard wasn't rescued. We never received a phone call from the shelter and to this day assume that the German Shepherd is happy, healthy and safe with either his old or new family.

However, my conscience was still not clear. The more I thought about the lost German Shepherd's unnecessary experience, the more I was troubled. I wondered how often are lost, microchipped pets not reunited with their companions? Later, when my brother-in-law informed me that over 40% of companion animals that are microchipped cannot be found in any pet registry database, I realized that this is not a problem, it is a crisis! Something had to be done. That's when we decided to start FreePetChipRegistry.com. By making the first registry that is truly free and open to register any manufacturers ID, we could certainly curtail the crisis.

The Mission

At FreePetChipRegistry.com it is our mission to simplify the process of reuniting lost, microchipped pets with their owners by registering every micro-chipped companion animal into a FREE and OPEN database that is widely recognized and commonly used. It is our goal that 100% of microchipped pets are properly registered in a database. By enrolling your microchipped pet today in FreePetChipRegistry.com and spreading the word to every pet owner you know, you have taken a step toward solving the pet registry database crisis. Eventually, the rate of reuniting lost pets with their owners will be greatly increased.

And now you know why we started.

Our Vision

It is our vision, that in the long run, there should be only a SINGLE registry to check. We believe that in order for that to occur, the registry will have to be a completely FREE and OPEN system such as ours.

Register your pet at FreePetChipRegistry.com today and don't forget to tell your friends and relatives to do the same!