A new microchip scanning station at the Kent County Animal Shelter is helping reunite pets with their owners.
CEDAR SPRINGS, MI — A first-of-its-kind microchip station is helping reunite lost furry friends with their owners.
“And what we're seeing is more and more animals coming into shelters as strays and unidentified animals. And we're seeing fewer and fewer of those animals being reunited with their families. Kent County Animal Shelter Director Angela Hollinshead said.
The Kent County Animal Shelter now has a 24-hour microchip scanner to help pet owners locate their animals. It is housed in a secure, weatherproof case on the Kent County North Campus in Cedar Springs. With the new scanner, owners can check the scanner at any time to find a lost pet or check the animal's chip number.
“Anyone who owns a pet, could you please install a substation that people who find lost pets can use to reunite them with their owners? If your computer has a microchip but you don't know the microchip number, or if you need the chip number to make phone calls or update your personal information (which we recommend you do regularly), you can You can scan your pet's number. Take your pet and ask for their microchip number as well,” Hollinshead said.
To use this microchip scanning station, pet owners must microchip their pets, and the shelter said all pet owners must be microchipped.
“So a microchip is a great piece of technology and it's completely painless for the animal and it's just a little injectable device. And it stays with your pet for the rest of their life. And at any vet's office, you know, it's just a small injectable device. , even in animal shelters, our 24-hour station can now read these vessels and that provides very quick reunification,'' Hollinshead said.
The scanner instructions are written on the wall in English and Spanish, making it easy for all pet owners. The shelter says that when someone “finds” an animal and uses the scanner, the owner will be contacted by a microchip company.
“When the scanner gives Finder a number, Finder can call the company and it will know the company’s number. The company will then contact the owner registered on that chip and someone will We're going to let people know that we found a pet,'' Hollinshead said.
The shelter says pets can be microchipped at local veterinary clinics.
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