Purchased this to test a stay cat for a chip. I tried it out on my own cats and it easily picked up their tags from a distance of about 8 inches, so doesn't freak the cats out. It works on chips used in the USA and the UK. Very happy with it, and it avoided an unnecessary car trip to the vet for the little stray (who has now adopted my mother!). Great little device,Chip reader is very small and compact. Scanned quickly. I tested it with 3 different kinds of chips. It unfortunately doesn't show temp with home again chips but for the price I really wasn't expecting it to work as well as it does. Very impressed.Easy to use click and get close to your pet and will display the ID number. Plug in to the computer, press the button, and the last 10 IDs will show up in your computer application, such as Notepad. Saw reviews that said it only works with certain IDs, I didn't find this to be true. Worked with different ones for me.We got this product because we thought it would read any chip. We often find lost dogs in our neighborhood and were looking for a chip reader to hopefully reunite them with their owners. Apparently it is for the specific chip by this maker. This reader does seem to be made well. It powers on perfectly with a bright read out and comes with a very nice velvet pouch and USB charger.I have a dog with a microchip. I checked the microchip manufacturer website and confirmed it does have a 15-digit ID and is ISO11784 compliant. It does not read with this reader. I also tested with the neighbors dogs (with unknown brand chips in them) and could not get a read on this reader. I'm not sure if I got a defective unit or if the reader does not operate as written.I intend to continue testing as time (and other pets) allow but at this point, this device does not operate as claimed for non-Venrea chips that must be common in the US.I thought this could be handy when on trips because on the last trip we found a lost dog & it turned out he had a chip which did help reunite him & his owner.This scanner didn't pick up our dog's chip no matter how many times I tried. I can't say it works or doesn't for certain but I'm rating it based on my usage not on possibility.This is my second attempt at a scanner but it seems to be the exact same scanner under a different name.