Finding lost pets often depends on luck, caring owners, and even helpful strangers. But Good Samaritans need help when they find a stray to reunited them with family. There are 60 million microchipped pets (find out all about microchips here). But not enough scanners easily available to read the info vital for getting pets home. Enter microchip scanners kiosks placed in pet product stores. This week I received the following press release. As it coincides with the August 15 CHECK THE CHIP DAY, I wanted to share this with you.

And, I hope your pet never gets lost and needs the service. But just in case…

Lost Pet Challenges

SAN CARLOS, CA (August 9, 2024) — The explosive evolution of pet ownership and care is hard to ignore. Both pet owners and non-pet owners alike know that pets are family and a lost pet is cause for action to anyone who comes across one. Millions of pets are lost every year and in more and more circumstances, regular community members who find a lost pet will jump into action to help it back home. Yet, the pet industry is slow to evolve to meet the needs of the 60 million microchipped pets in the U.S., the pet owners and Good Samaritans who navigate the complicated process of pet reunification. The future of pet stores can play an important role in keeping families together if a pet is ever lost.

Check the Chip’s first microchip scanning kiosk, placed in retail pet stores, helps both pet owners and Good Samaritans bring lost pets home. Previously, Good Samaritans attempted to help lost pets by navigating a cumbersome process: first by finding access to a microchip scanner, then searching for the right pet chip database (there are 40+ databases in the U.S.) then attempting to find the owner’s contact information which are all currently done manually in the hopes of helping the some 50% of microchipped pets home again if lost. Check the Chip’s new microchip scanning kiosk is a game changer by automating all actions instantly and within seconds, notifies a pet owner if their lost pet is found and scanned at a kiosk. The pet store now plays a central role in the happy reunion, much to the gratitude of pet owners, who can rely on their local pet store to host these kiosks for free, simple and easy access to microchip technology.

Will Scanner Availability Help?

Surprisingly, options to help lost pets have not evolved much past animal shelters, lost pet flyers and posts on community based websites and applications hoping to send a lost pet home. Check the Chip believes the future is one that includes all pet stores who can play an important and critical role in helping local lost pets home. Check the Chip’s pet microchip scanning kiosks offer the opportunity to change the relationship pet stores have with communities and lost pets by opening their doors to this important pet community population.

Good for Pets, Good for Business

Studies indicate a new generational shift in bricks and mortar pet store behavior: unlike Millennials, Gen Z’s visits to pet stores have surged (PetFoodIndustry.com, April 2024). The opportunity to evolve the supply-only relationship that pet owners and communities have with their local pet store is clear and obvious and is something online pet supply retailers cannot compete with. For lost pets making their way back home, this is especially important to grateful pet owners who can take advantage of the high-value customer experiences available in pet stores due to their pet store staff who, by nature, care deeply about pets.

“Check the Chip’s pet microchip scanning kiosks increase foot traffic into pet stores, but also convey that the pet store cares about the community’s relationship with their pets,” said Olivia White, founder and CEO of Check the Chip, Inc. “Pet stores can evolve from only selling products and simple services and becoming a physical hub for pet owners and Good Samaritans who need a new partner in the community for pet safety, health and happiness – and they can buy some toys and treats too, of course.”

The Case for In Person Pet Poduct Outlets

According to the pet industry trade magazine Pet Age in 2022, the number of independent, single location pet stores made up about 48% of all pet stores in the U.S. (some 4,839 stores) versus chain pet stores (of 25 locations or more) which made up 42% of all U.S. pet stores (some 4,287 locations in total). Online pet supply retailers like Chewy and Amazon cannot offer what a local pet store can, which is the support pet owners and Good Samaritans need to help a lost pet find its way home again. A simple scan for a microchip can take only seconds and the pet owner will be notified of their pet’s location and the contact information of the Good Samaritan for pets who are registered into Check the Chip’s pet owner microchip database. What a lost pet needs is a safe and supportive, local, friendly environment to provide important access to microchip technology and a few helpful people to support a lost pet. 

Since placing their first Check the Chip microchip scanning kiosk into an independent location in Los Altos, California, Check the Chip has been approached by both independent and large retail chain pet stores looking to enhance their relationships with the communities they serve. The goal is to have a microchip kiosk in every pet store in the U.S. and make sure lost pets never end up in crowded shelters.

NOTE FROM AMY: Currently, only one location in California has the kiosk option. The website, below, offers a link for readers to request their physical pet products stores ask for the service. What do YOU think?

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.

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Stay up to date with the latest book giveaways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE!  Amy Shojai, CABC is a certified cat & dog behavior consultant, a consultant to the pet industry, and the award-winning author of 35+ pet-centric books and Thrillers with Bite! Oh, and she loves bling!