Chip lookup
Check a microchip against the lost-and-found network, and tell a family you may have found their pet.
Chip lookup checks a microchip number against the connected lost-and-found network. If an owner has reported that chip as a lost pet, you can tell them it has turned up. If nobody has, you can post the pet as found so the family has a way to reach you. It lives in the clinic workspace only, and anyone signed in to a clinic can run a lookup.
On this page
Opening Chip lookup
Chip lookup is not a permanent sidebar link. Press Cmd/Ctrl-K and search for Chip lookup. When you type a microchip on the New patient form and it matches an open lost-pet report, the form shows a Possible lost-pet match notice with an Open Chip Lookup link, so you do not have to go looking for it.
Checking a chip
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Enter the chip number
Type the number into the Microchip field, or click Scan to read a barcode with your device camera. A chip number needs at least 6 characters before the check button turns on.
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Click Check registry
Chartling searches the connected network. The lookup is anonymous to other organizations, and only redacted information comes back. You will not see a reporter's phone number or email.
Reading the result
| Result | What it means | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Open lost-pet report | The chip matches a lost-pet report. You see the pet's name, breed, color, species, where it was last seen, and who reported it. | Click Notify reporter. Add a callback phone number first if you want one included. Chartling emails the reporter that your clinic scanned a matching chip. Rescanning the same chip from the same clinic does not send a second email. If the report has no email on file, the match is logged instead. |
| Known shelter animal | The chip belongs to an animal in a shelter or rescue's records. You see the animal's name, the organization, and its status. | This result is for information. The page offers no action on it. |
| Existing found-pet post | Someone already posted a pet with this chip as found. | Nothing more to publish. The page does not offer a second post. |
| No matches | Nothing in the network for that chip. | You can still publish a found post, described below. |
Publishing a found post
When there is no existing found-pet post for the chip, the page offers Publish found post. It opens a Confirm & publish window where you review everything before anything leaves your clinic:
- Species, breed, color and sex. These prefill from a lost-pet match when there is one.
- Found near: a place or intersection.
- Contact name (required), plus an optional phone and email. This is who a family will be pointed to, so use your front desk's details.
- Notes, prefilled with "Found during microchip scan".
- When there is a lost-pet match, a checkbox to also mark that report as reunited.
Click Confirm & publish to post. The post goes live on the public lost-and-found page right away and rescue admins on the network are notified. Check the details before you confirm.
A found post is visible on the public lost-and-found page, and the contact details you enter can be shown with it. Do not put a patient's or client's private details in the notes.
Found-pet drafts
The second tab, Found-pet drafts, lists found-pet drafts your clinic has waiting. Each shows the species, breed, color, chip, location and contact details, and when it was created. For each one:
- Push to network asks you to confirm, with a choice to also mark the linked lost-pet report as reunited, then publishes the draft.
- Dismiss removes the draft without publishing. Only the organization that created a draft can delete it.
When nothing is waiting, the tab reads All caught up.
Permissions
| Action | Permission key |
|---|---|
| Check a chip | No extra permission beyond being signed in to a clinic |
| Notify reporter, publish a found post, push or dismiss a draft | patient.write |
FAQ
No. Lookups are anonymous to other organizations. Only the reporter notice you send with Notify reporter tells anyone, and it names your clinic.
Yes. The lookup only searches the connected lost-and-found network. It does not search your own patient list. For your own records, use the patient search.
Notifying and publishing both need the patient.write permission. Ask an admin to move you to a pack that includes it. See Team & permissions.