image description — Berkshire Humane Society's shelter manager Cheryl Truskowski shows how she checks for a microchip on a pet; inset, the size of the chip.

Shutdown of Pet Microchip Company Could Affect Lost Pets

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:30PM / Sunday, February 23, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Texas-based microchip company, Save This Life, has recently shut down without any notice to its users or a reason why.

The American Animal Hospital Association recently notified customers that they have taken Save This Life off its Microchip Registry Lookup, a tool to search what company a pet's microchip is linked to, after many attempts to contact and find out what was going on at the company.

Staff at Berkshire Humane Society told us how much this could impact people if their pet gets out and is not registered.

"If it's Save This Life, then if your dog or cat gets lost, there's no way of reaching you so you have to register with a different company," said shelter manager Cheryl Truskowski.

According to AAHA, if your pet's microchip starts with 991 or 900164 you may need to register your pet again. If you are unsure where your pet's microchip is registered, Berkshire Humane Society says you can come by and have it checked.

"If they don't know if they have a microchip that's based to [Save This Life], I'd be more than happy to scan their dog or cat and give them the number and I can look it up for them and find out where it's registered to," she said.

Truskowski said some pet owners don't realize their pets are not properly registered.

"The drawbacks of microchips -- their great, I love them, they work -- but when they are not registered to the owner it's extremely frustrating because now I have a dead end," she said. "That's the drawbacks of the microchips people don't update their registration or they don't register it in the first place."

It's important for you to always check to make sure your pet's microchip is up to date on contact information to reunite you with your pet if they go missing.

BuddyID is offering a free registration until Feb. 28 if your pets were affected by this shut down.

If you find that your pet's microchip needs to be changed make sure you reach out to a company to get it changed as soon as you can.

Tags: microchips, pets,

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ServiceNet Hopes to Open Pittsfield Warming Center in Nov.

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:48AM / Thursday, October 15, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— A warming center is again planned in the First United Methodist Church for the cold months.

During last week's Homelessness Advisory Committee meeting, Erin Forbush, director of shelter and housing at ServiceNet, reported that they hope to begin operating the nighttime center in mid-November.

It would operate from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. in the church, which abuts The Pearl shelter. Forbush said the warming center would be the same program as in the past.

"Again it's a warming center, so there's no cots or beds, but it is certainly a place to come in, and we'll have a hot coffee or cocoa ready for folks," she explained.

"It will be a place to be inside and warm."

This year, ServiceNet hopes to secure full funding from the state so the warming center can open on Sundays at 5 p.m. In years past, they found that Sunday is the most challenging day for unhoused individuals because many community spaces aren't open.

The First Housing Resource Center, managed by Hearthway, opened earlier this year as a low-barrier option for people to rest and access amenities. It is open seven days a week, and Forbush said if people could come to the warming center on Sundays at 5, there would be a fuller day of coverage.

"It does still leave a little gap for Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, as spaces like the library close at five, but we know that Sundays were something that people were looking for," she said.

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