A: Microchips are glass-coated electronic devices, each about the size of a grain of rice, that can be implanted under the skin of a dog or cat. A single chip is injected through a syringe into the skin between the shoulder blades, the procedure taking just a few seconds. The chips are designed to last for the lifetime of the pet, and contain no battery. When a pet is found, a scanning device is waved over the area where a chip might be expected to be found. If a chip is present, the scanner shows the nine-digit number that corresponds to that pet. If the number has been registered into the national database, a single phone call retrieves the animal’s information, including home address and phone number. If the chip has NOT been entered into the database, the caller will be referred to the veterinarian who is on record as the buyer of the chip, and the veterinarian’s own database will supply the information. Is the implantation painless? Not really, but the brevity of the procedure makes it tolerable for the pet and the implanter.