If you brought your pet from the states or any other country, it will have been chipped and registered with your pet database at home, or if you bought a pet here it may have been chipped by the seller/breeder.

Either way having your pet chipped is a good thing, because when it gets lost or runs away, the owner can be tracked down via the information saved on the chip! You may have already registered your pet with a “return home” company in the states, but….

What happens if your pet is registered in Iowa, since that was your last place of residence? But you did register Fido on base at the American vet…

…So it’s all taken care of, right?

Sadly no, because the American and German registration are completely separate, so if Fido runs away on that beautiful hike in the Bavarian mountains, he is not likely to return to your post in Wiesbaden.

This is where TASSO comes in.

Tasso is a central registration hub for all pets in Germany and they also communicate with neighboring countries.

Tasso is completely free, even just for registering your pet. The Tasso foundation is run of donations, so they will send out donation letters once a year, but it is up to you if you want to donate.

What does Tasso do?

All you have to do is fill out the form here https://www.tasso.net/Tierregister/Tier-registrieren and Tasso will register your pet and tracking number. Most of the German readers are able to read the American tracking numbers. Then Tasso will send you a letter with a little pet ID card and a little collar tag. You don't have to use the tag, but it’s nice to have especially for dogs that wear a collar anyway.

So what happens if my pet runs off?

Tasso has a 24 hour hotline you can call if you have a pet on the run, or if you find one 06190-937300

Tasso will notify volunteers in the area where your dog was lost, like Dog rescues, vets, etc.

You can put an ad for free on Tasso's Website for your missing pet. Tasso offers free flyers you can hang out; all they need is a picture and your info, and they will not add your personal address or phone number. Instead they use the Tasso hotline, so you don't get strange calls. Again it’s all free!

If you have any concerns, please feel free to email them, but so far I have had all my pets registered there and have never had any problems. If you give your pet away, move or your phone number changes within Germany, there are forms to change your address https://www.tasso.net/Tierregister/Daten-aendern

When your pet passes away, you can just send them a quick email with the name and number and they will take you out. Just remember if a German local finds your pet and takes it to a shelter, rescue or vet they will see your chip but will not be able to link it to you because you are not registered in Germany! It will take them a lot longer to find you.

We found a doggie three days ago, and we could have had the owner located within one hour of finding the poor guy, if he was chipped and registered….sadly he was neither and is now waiting at the doggie rescue for his family.