KENTWOOD, Mich. — It's estimated that one in three pets will go missing in their lifetime, according to the Animal Humane Society.
However, a study done by the American Veterinary Medical Association has shown that pets who are microchipped are far more likely to be reunited with their owners.
In West Michigan, the Kentwood Police Department has a device to help make sure you are reunited with your furry friend a lot faster.
One night, a few weeks ago, 16-year-old poodle mix Becky wandered away from her Kentwood home.
“I'm not going to wake up my neighbors screaming her name. So, I was like, well, I'm going to check my cameras. Make sure you know if she comes up motion sensor will turn on. She never came up,” Kristy Guevara, Becky’s owner, said.
Luckily, Becky’s owner didn’t have to wait long.
After only an hour the dog was back thanks to the Kentwood Police Department.
“There was a call of a loose dog, a concerned citizen got a hold of the dog had it safe, but we went out there with our microchip scanner, our officers did an excellent job remembering that it was new, new future that we could use, they use that tool,” said Capt. Tim Wierenga, with the Kentwood Police Department.
In January, the Kent County Animal Shelter donated three microchip readers to the police department.
“We don't have to contact the shelter, we can just kind of deal with it the way we are. So right now, we've got microchip scanners in our supervisory vehicles. So, there's always one on the road that can be brought over to a location if it's needed,” Wierenga said.
A microchip is only slightly bigger than a grain of rice, but it could mean the difference between reunification and your pet ending up at the animal shelter.
“It helps because instead of waiting a whole week and seeing if she was at a dog pound, and having an old dog who is very separation anxiety-driven, it just it made it so much faster. The fact that I got her back that same night, so awesome,” Guevara said.
The smile on Guevara’s face says it all she’s happy to have Becky in her arms again.
You can get your pet microchipped at the vet.
Many local animal shelters also provide microchipping services.
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