From lost to found, thanks to a microchip
On a recent Thursday morning, I checked my social media feed one more time before heading out the door. Thanks to this questionable habit, I noticed a new post in a neighborhood group — someone was asking to borrow a pet microchip scanner.
Intrigued, I messaged the poster, a woman named Chantelle McKee, to find out more about the situation, and to offer my microchip scanner.
Working at Marin Humane, I know firsthand the magic of a microchip, and the many happy reunions we’re able to facilitate thanks to this dependable technology the size of a grain of rice. These days, a basic microchip scanner can be purchased online for around $25, and mine has proven useful several times already.
Indeed, a skinny, flea-bitten cat had been visiting McKee’s backyard for several days, eagerly gobbling up the food left by this kind-hearted woman. She was convinced this kitty must have a guardian; the cat was neutered, seemed friendly and not used to life outdoors. So she decided to find out if he was microchipped.
I messaged her that she could borrow my scanner but that I had to leave so I’d stash it by my gate. Less than a half an hour later, I got a text that the cat did indeed have a chip! That’s great news, of course, and the first step in hopefully locating a guardian. I walked McKee through the process of looking up the microchip number. One first needs to determine which pet registry the microchip is associated with; the AAHA’s lookup tool offers a user-friendly way to do so. Then, one should visit the specific registry directly and enter the number there.
Unfortunately, many a trail ends here, when new guardians neglect to register their pet’s microchip or forget to update it after a move. Thankfully, this cat’s microchip number resulted in a match — and a name! “Beans” was indeed registered, and our intrepid finder was able to mark him as “found” in the system.
“Now what?” A good question. McKee wanted to go the extra mile, so I recommended she call local shelters, which might have an adopter record for this cat’s microchip number. I was hesitant to get her hopes up. Even if the cat did have a guardian at some point, we couldn’t rule out that Beans hadn’t been abandoned.
It turned out that my fears were unfounded. The next time I checked my phone, I had the following message from McKee:
“I just spoke to the owner. This cat is from (location redacted) and he’s been missing for six weeks. Hooray!!!”
I’d gotten rather invested in the story myself, so this was a thrilling update! What great news that Beans made it back home without a stressful trip to a shelter.
If you find a lost pet in Marin, call Marin Humane at 415-883-4621. You can also help by doing the following:
• Use Facebook, Nextdoor and PawBoost to report that you found a pet.
• Get the animal scanned for a microchip, either at a nearby veterinary hospital or by bringing the animal to our shelter in Novato.
• If you can hold the animal overnight, many matches (especially dogs) can be made within 24 hours.
• If you can’t hold the pet, call us first and bring the animal to our shelter, or we may be able to pick the animal up from you.
• Post found animal posters in the area where the animal was found.
While not all lost pet stories end happily, let’s commit to being a helper, just like McKee, for our community’s lost pets.
Carina DeVera is the digital marketing manager for Marin Humane, which contributes Tails of Marin and welcomes animal-related questions and stories about the people and animals in our community. Go to marinhumane.org, find us on social media @marinhumane, or email lbloch@marinhumane.org.