WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Wichita City Council approved new regulations for pet owners this week. One major change is an amendment to pet microchipping.
It costs about $20, and your pet doesn’t need to be put under. It’s injected like a vaccine. The city council is also looking into grants to help pay for some of the costs. The goal: lowering euthanasia rates in overpopulated shelters.
“A microchip would be able to tell me exactly who this is, and I can actually look it up,” Jordan Bani-Younes, director of communications and marketing at Kansas Humane Society, said while scanning the chip in a small kitten.
It took less than ten seconds, and that can make a world of difference.
“It’s a small, little, tiny piece of technology. It’s meant to last about 25 years, and again, dogs are 2.5 times more likely to go home, cats are 20 times more likely,” Bani-Younes said.
The Kansas Humane Society says that one in three pets will be lost in their lifetime. Microchips drastically increase the likelihood of finding a pet. Wichita District 3 City Councilman Mike Hoheisel says that it’s one of the best options for combatting pet overpopulation.