Lauren Anders Brown is offering owners a way to reunite with their pets faster should they go missing. It is a microchip register she has created through PadsPass, her tech start-up. Membership is free.

Veterinarians presented with a found pet can easily search her database of the island’s microchipped dogs and cats instead of having to call around, hoping the lost animal’s information is registered with a vet, the dog warden or the SPCA.

On Thursday, dog owners are invited to bring their leashed pet to The Botanist in the Botanical Gardens, where Ms Brown will scan microchips and add them to her list.

Cat owners, or anyone unable to attend, can make an appointment with her via padspass.com.

“Last year I conducted user research interviewing people from different user groups for PadsPass. One pain point that came up was the lack of easy access to microchip numbers on island by vets, as they only have access to their own patients,” she said.

“It was clear there was a desire to help reunite pet parents and their pets faster than calling around to all the other vets – and the dog warden if it's a dog.

“If it is a cat, that's even harder to reunite at times without a centralised accessible database. I saw this as an immediate need I could fulfil with the prototype platform I was building for PadsPass.

“It's a public service. The time spent separated from a missing pet is stressful for both the pet and the pet parent and if it were me, I’d want everyone helping me be reunited as soon as possible. It’s not something I could ever put a price on.”

Microchips are essential for any dog that enters Bermuda from another country and are legally required for dogs that reside here. The electronic devices are about the size and shape of a grain of rice and are placed between the animal’s shoulder blades using a needle.

The microchips carry a unique number that is linked to an animal’s identity and can be used to check that their vaccinations are up to date.

In highlighting their importance, Ms Brown gave as an example a social-media post about a cat taken to Ettrick Animal Hospital after it was struck by a car and left on the roadside.

“You scan the chip, you get a number. That's all you get,” explained Andrew Madeiros, a veterinary surgeon and the owner of the Warwick practice. “It doesn't tell you who the owner is or who the animal is.

“You have to then put that number in to your database and then pull up whatever registration information that's been provided by the owner.”

If the animal happens to be an Ettrick patient, it is an easy fix to contact the owner and discuss medical care options.

If not, the calls begin — to other practices, to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and to the government wardens. While veterinarians will not leave an injured animal to suffer, the ideal path is to deliver treatment with owner consent.

“We have to be careful how much we do when we have no history on an animal that comes in with no owner. Generally we’ll start with basic treatment while we’re trying to track down an owner,” Dr Madeiros said.

“It would be nice if there was a single database. If [the animal is] in the system somewhere, generally we can find it.

“The problem is at night, after hours. You have to wait till somebody is available to answer the phone, to take that number and look it up.

“So, for instance, dog wardens – if we find a dog after hours, they have somebody on call.

“We can page them and say we have got a dog in with a chip number and they can access the database, but with cats, if it’s a Saturday or Sunday or public holiday, the practices are all closed. It’s going to be difficult to get a chip number.”

Cats are presented more often than dogs. Worst-case is when the animal has not been registered.

“That animal, somebody failed. Somebody didn’t chip them or perhaps they moved or the number was typed in wrong,” Dr Madeiros said. “That’s not that common, but it does happen. And all of those things slow us down in terms of making decisions with treatment.”

Veterinarians, the SPCA, dog wardens and posts on social media are all helpful in reuniting pets with their owners, Ms Brown said.

“They all have slightly different ways of handling missing pets that are found. One thing I can say, though, is that they could all benefit from knowing there’s this information asset of a microchip database.

“One day, it would be great to read in social media that an animal was found and scanned and a search in the database identified them and returned them to the pet parent in only a few stressful moments compared to some of the lengths of time experienced currently.”

The registry is a small part of a bigger business plan for Ms Brown. She started PadsPass as a way of making it easier for pets to travel with their humans.

It’s an effort in honour of Paddington, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel she brought with her when she moved to Bermuda as a digital nomad four years ago.

Ms Brown visited 75 flights to nine countries with Paddington, who died in March 2023 at the age of 12.

It is only when Peru, another Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, came into her life that she realised just how complicated travel could be — a story she will likely share on Thursday at the microchip register’s launch.

“Having your dog or cat’s medical information in a secure and shareable app means you can easily prove to any dog walker, groomer or doggy daycare that your pet is in good health,” Ms Brown said.

“This will eventually be included in the free version of the app. It’s free now and always will be because we could never put a price on reunification of a pet and its human.

“Permission to access the database will be granted only to known entities who request it, including but not limited to licensed veterinarians and animal charities such as the SPCA.

“Access will have a review process before being granted, can be revoked at any time, and will be able to view only the animal's information. The e-mails will be visible only to PadsPass and not shared with any third party.”

It is a game-changer, also, for people visiting the island with pets, the entrepreneur added.

“The current way isn’t failing pets and their pet parents at all, but I see a way it can be improved and harnessed.

“They can register in the database that they're visiting and PadsPass will be their point of contact if their pet is found, as we will be the only ones who have access to the e-mails for all the pets registered,” she said. ​

• Dog owners are invited to join Lauren Anders Brown at The Botanist on Thursday from 4pm until 8pm and have their pet’s microchip scanned and added to PadsPass’s free database. For more information, visit @padspass on Facebook, @digitalpetpassport on Instagram and padspass.com