It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie or Big Brother, but it’s actually a good way to find your pets if they ever get lost.

Microchips are small scannable objects that are implanted under an animal’s skin. These chips store an identification number that can be traced back to the owner and how to contact him or her. The chip is about the size of a grain of rice, so it’s relatively unobtrusive to the animal.

At first, it seems like implanting anything in your pet could cause some damage, and it is possible. Although some people claim that it’s possible for tumors to form around the site of the implantation, other studies say this is extremely unlikely, and this might happen in one in a million cases.

Any pet can be microchipped, but that doesn’t mean every pet should be:

If microchipping isn’t for you, there other routes to take besides hoping a collar and tag will stay on. It’s possible to tattoo information on your pet that can be traced back to you. This procedure is a little controversial, but can be effective if you don’t want to inject anything in your animal.

A lot of pets that run away or get lost aren’t recovered. It’s a sad fact, but if you believe your pet is at a high risk of getting lost, the rewards of a microchip can outweigh the risk.