This unique form of identification is an easy, yet permanent way to bring your pet home quickly should he or she get lost. The microchip is a tiny electronic device, about the size and shape of a grain of rice. It is implanted beneath your pet’s skin between the shoulder blades, and stays there for his or her entire life. This procedure is as easy and as painless as a vaccination. Each microchip has a unique number. This number, along with information about the owner and pet, is a part of a national pet registry. Most veterinary hospitals and animal shelters have electronic scanners for detecting and reading these implanted microchips. If someone finds a lost pet and a microchip is scanned the owner is contacted quickly and easily.