a microchip didnt help my pure bred mini bully when he escaped 2 years ago, he was missing for 3months , i never gave up hope and had notices everywhere finally one day i get a text from a guy at 6am on a sunday to tell me they were sure they had my dog, two hours later he was at my door, my dog had apparently been living with him for 6 weeks or more and he had taken him to a vet but the chip didnt scan which i dont believe , at any rate i got him back and two days later i got him desexed. My bully had a lot of scars and looked very thin and and had a few rough patches on him so he certainly had a rough time whilst he was gone.I am always finding stray dogs wandering around my area and when there has been no collar i have called my council to pick them up.