An employee of a pet hotel takes care of vacationing dogs in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. [Photo by Wang Jiankang/For China Daily]

Are you sometimes afraid your beloved pet dog will lose its way and become a stray?

With a new service for dog owners in Hangzhou, the hope is this will no longer be a concern.

According to the city's urban management bureau, a free service for canine chip implantation was launched in downtown Hangzhou on Thursday, Qianjiang Evening News reported.

The chip will act as an electronic ID for the dog, and link the dog and its owner so the animal's identity can easily be confirmed.

This service was launched for several reasons: Helping pet owners find lost or stolen dogs, avoiding ownership disputes, reducing the number of stray dogs and addressing the problem of dangerous dogs attacking humans.

Via questionnaires, visits, interviews and implant trials, the Hangzhou Municipal Urban Management Bureau solicited suggestions from citizens and dog owners before launching the free service.

The survey turned out good results. With a support rate of 80.4 percent, the public apparently thinks highly of the service.

Implanting chips for pet dogs is a common practice in developed European countries and the US, the cityscape center of the Bureau said.

Domestic cities such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Guangzhou have followed suit and promoted the service in recent years, with satisfying results.

Hangzhou's latest move is a good attempt to catch up with the trend.

In addition, Hangzhou residents can register their concerns on whether the chip is safe.

According to an official with the cityscape center, despite being as small as a grain of rice the battery-free, non-toxic chip can stay effective throughout a dog's lifespan.

Injected into the subcutaneous tissue on the back of the dog, the chip will not remove easily and has no side effects, the official said.

Pet owner information, including name and contact details, can only be accessed by authorized personnel using specific devices, therefore will not be easily disclosed. The chip doesn't have a location function and will not track the whereabouts of the owner.

The center also reminded dog owners sick dogs, small puppies and pregnant dogs should delay chip implantation out of safety concerns.