Good grief, my dogs have been chipped with Home Again for years and I never knew this! Buried indeed...thanks so much for pointing it out, Cara! I also pay the yearly fee as a safeguard. That's been one of the legal contentions in the Piper case...that she was chipped but not "registered" with the company so it's not valid. For $17 a year, I'm not making that mistake.
Ordering those cards right now! THANK YOU!!
Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought the controversy over Piper not being registered was because her owner never got online and filled out the information/never sent in the paperwork. Because if you scan Missy's microchip, and look up her id, it brings up my information. And I don't pay the $17+ annual enrollment. When they scanned Piper's microchip, it only came up with the vet's information.
This is what the annual fee gives you-
24/7 on-call support with trained Lost Pet Specialists
A nationwide network of over 450,000 volunteer PetRescuers
A National Pet Recovery Database that assures their contact information remains current
(This is also included for life regardless if you do the annual fee)
Travel Assistance that covers the cost of flying a lost dog or cat home, up to $500, when found more than 500 miles away
24/7 Emergency Medical Hotline that provides access to a licensed ASPCA veterinarian when pets are sick or injured while traveling or when your clinic is closed
2 Free ID cards (this isn't advertised on their website!)
http://microchip.homeagain.com/pet-owner-services.html
Maybe it's worth it.. idk. I think I'm still mad at them because when they sent the email saying her enrollment was expiring, I was led to believe she wouldn't be listed in the database anymore.. I had to really dig to figure out that she would still be listed. $18 is what, one night out to dinner? I would give up one night out to dinner if it meant my dog got home to me faster.