During the microchipping process, a 14-gauge needle injects a 125 kHz, rice-sized chip between the shoulder blades where animals tend to have looser skin, said Krystle-Lynn Ragan, a veterinary technician at the Austin shelter. With the chip’s small size, veterinarians can inject it in any animal more than one pound.

All pet owners must activate the chip by registering with the appropriate 24-hour recovery center. If an owner loses a pet, a shelter or veterinarian scans the chip, which receives a radio signal and sends the identification number to the scanner’s viewing window, according to the Microchip ID system Web site.

The Town Lake center has included a free microchip with any adoption since 2000, Ragan said. For owners with non-chipped animals, the procedure only costs $15 at the center. At a local veterinarian’s office, chips cost between $30 and $70.

Veterinarian technicians at the animal center have no time to waste, putting more than 30 microchips in animals each day. Before chipping, the center waits 72 hours for an owner to reclaim their pet, said Brad Gooding, another veterinarian technician at the center. A committee decides — based on temperament and marketability — whether the non-claimed animal can be put up for adoption, given to rescue or, as a last resort, put to sleep.

“The chip is making it to where people cannot just drop off their dog anywhere,” Gooding said.