Microchipping Price Breakdowns In and Around Lutherville-Timonium

Microchipping is a common practice offered by many veterinarians, shelters, kennels, breeders and rescue organizations. But it's scarily high-tech to some of us, who still think that using a pooper-scooper with a long handle is the height of pet-care technology.

But microchipping is fast, painless, and can easily help recover a lost pet.

What’s microchipping?

It’s the injection of a tiny implant, about the size of a grain of rice, under a pet's skin, usually around the back of its neck and between its shoulder blades. The microchip uses radio frequency to identify the animal’s information when swiped with a scanner, so a pet can be quickly returned to its owner.

Dogs and cats are the most common household pets to be microchipped, but pet birds, horses and even rabbits and ferrets can also be identified this way. If you’ve got a furry flight risk, it’s an inexpensive way to ensure that your beloved pet can be speedily returned to you.

Around Lutherville-Timonium, there are plenty of options for getting your pet microchipped. The prices vary, but we did the research for you.

We’ll start with the least expensive, and work our way up.

1. Baltimore County Animal Control — $20

The shelter provides microchip services for the general public every Thursday— just call on Monday to get the appointment. They can be reached at 410-887-5961. The $20 includes the injection as well as the registration fee with the microchip database company. Often that registration fee is separate, so paws-down, Animal Control is the cheapest microchipping service around.

2.  Timonium Animal Hospital — $27.50 on Half-Price Tuesdays

 Every Tuesday, the Timonium Animal Hospital offers its usual $55 microchipping fee for half price. That’s $27.50, and it even includes the registration fee with HomeAgain, their microchipping database company. The registration fee is also covered on the full-price days. According to HomeAgain’s customer service, the usual registration is $16.99, so you’re saving enough money for a new leash, or a fancy collar. Call ahead for a Tuesday appointment at 410-252-8820.

3. Hampden Pet Health — $30

This is the veterinary hospital linked to the Maryland SPCA. The fee covers the injection and a basic registration with their preferred microchipping database company. The shelter uses ResQ. You can opt for higher tiers of protection through ResQ if you care to pay more. Basically, the higher a tier of registration you opt for, the more ResQ will do to find your pet. Hampden Pet Health can be reached for an appointment at 410-400-9355.

4. PETCO’s Lutherville York Road location — $39

Once or twice a month, PETCO hosts a mobile vaccination clinic, called LuvMyPet, that also offers microchipping. And they’re fast. This month’s next clinic is only available from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on April 24. You don’t need an appointment, but come 10 or 15 minutes beforehand, because often there is a line. The microchipping database they use is HomeAgain, and the $39 covers both the microchipping fee as well as a lifetime registration with HomeAgain.

5. Padonia Veterinary Hospital — $54

Dr. Robert Shortall offers microchipping in his Cockeysville office for $37, and you need to pay your own fee for the registration for the database (he also uses HomeAgain). The grand total there is $54. Call him at 410-666-7878, even if he’s a little pricier than some of the previous options. According to his reviews on insiderpages.com, he’s one of the best vets around.

6. Animal Medical Clinic of Dulaney Valley — $63

Their microchipping fee is $45, and the registration fee with AVID is $18. That’s $63, but probably worth it if you already take your pet there. Having technicians who know you and know your pet is already worth its weight in gold. Call them at 410-252-6910.

7. Lutherville Animal Hospital — $69

The vets at Lutherville Animal Hospital charge $52 to inject the microchip, plus the registration fee with HomeAgain, which brings us to a grand total of $69. Again, it’s getting pricey, but if these are the vets you’ve already been trusting your pets’ lives with for years, then it’s still worth the peace of mind. Get an appointment at 410-296-7387.

8. Towson Veterinary Hospital — $79

$60 is their microchipping fee, plus HomeAgain’s registration fee, which brings us to $79. Did you know that Towson Veterinary Hospital boards and cares for the homeless dogs who are being saved by Lab Rescue? If that makes their higher fees a little easier to swallow, give them a call at 410-825-8880.

9. PetSMART’s Towson Putty Hill location — $80.95

But they take walk-ins! Does that make the price go down easier? From 9 a.m. to noon, and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily, you can simply decide that it’s time to get Rover microchipped, and hop in the car and do it—no appointment necessary. The microchipping fee is $35, and they charge an additional $45.95 for the office visit. Call them at 410-828-5338 if you have questions.

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to accurately reflect the price of microchipping at the Timonium Animal Hospital. Patch regrets the error.