Working to Help Reunite More Lost Pets in NC

Raleigh, NC – The American Kennel Club (AKC) and its affiliate, AKC Reunite, understand that even the most loved pets can get lost. This is why our organizations have worked with North Carolina Senators to improve NC Senate Bill 626 for the sake of all NC pets and their owners. The Bill requires shelters with microchip scanners to scan a pet for a microchip and utilize that information to reunite the pet with its owner.

In reviewing SB 626, a bill sponsored by North Carolina State Senators Floyd B. McKissick, Jr., Brent Jackson, Wesley Meredith and Mike Woodard, AKC Government Relations noticed that current North Carolina shelter law only states that shelters that have access to microchip scanners “may” use them in order to help locate owners of dogs taken into custody.

The “universal” microchip scanners now available allow for a single scanner to recognize nearly all microchips currently on the market in the United States. For this reason, AKC urged the sponsors to make a simple, one-word amendment to SB 626:

“If the Animal Control Officer has access at no cost or at a reasonable cost to a microchip scanning device, the Animal Control Officer may shall scan the animal and utilize any information that may be available through a microchip to locate the owner of the animal, if possible.”

Upon detecting a microchip, AKC and AKC Reunite then encourage Animal Control Officers to check a pet’s microchip registration at the American Animal Hospital Association’s website www.petmicrochiplookup.org. This website is a free internet-based portal that enables veterinarians, humane organizations, pet owners or other persons to search various Pet Recovery Service registries and identify the registry a particular microchip is registered.

AKC Reunite has already donated more than 160 scanners to North Carolina shelters to help reunite lost dogs with their owners. In support of the amendment, AKC Reunite has pledged donations of up to 20 additional universal microchip scanners to North Carolina shelters. If you are a North Carolina animal services organization in need of a scanner donation, please complete and submit this application.