New Illinois Law Requires Shelters to Scan For Microchips on Found Pets Twice

Last week, Gizmo, a Shih Tzu in Ohio, caused quite a stir when a shelter adopted him out a lot earlier than it was supposed to, not giving his devastated owner enough time to locate his missing pooch. (read how Gizmo's adoption caused grief)

The chances of this happening in Illinois (starting on January 1, 2012) are a lot less likely. Today, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a law that requires shelters to scan a found animal for a microchip twice - the first time within 24 hours of the animal's arrival at the shelter and the second before adoption, transfer or euthanasia. The shelters are also required to contact the person registered for the microchip by phone or email. Currently, they are only required to send a letter.

This law is great news! This process will force shelters to try harder to reunite lost pets with their owners and avoid wrongful adoptions (like Gizmos) and unnecessary euthanasia of pets. We can only hope more state follow in Illinois footsteps soon.

A microchip is a small chip, about the size of a grain of rice that is inserted under a pet's skin with a hypodermic needle. It's an easy procedure that can be performed by your vet during a regular check up. Already microchips are making a big impact on reuniting pets with their owners. With laws like these becoming more widespread, we can only expect that those statistics will improve. 

Read the full story on chicagotribune.com