If your pet has not yet been microchipped, you have until February 1st.

Beginning Wednesday, dog and cat owners in Houston will be required by law to have their pets microchipped. Around the same time last year, the Houston City Council approved a city ordinance regarding animal welfare, adding a mandatory microchip ordinance but with a grace period of a year.

Corey Stottlemyer, director of public relations for BARC, an animal shelter and adoption center in Houston, says there are several factors for adding microchips as a requirement, but the main one is that BARC is focused on providing resources to the public to save the home. their pets and microchip is the easiest way to reunite lost pets and their owners.

“The main thing we are focused on in this area is that pets stay at home and not in a shelter, which makes room for us. [BARC] to pick up strays and other animals that may have to be turned in. So ultimately, the main purpose of this is to leave pets with their owners.”

Microchipping is also one of the most reliable methods of identifying a lost pet. According to the American Kennel Club, one in three pets is lost at some point in their lives, so a pet microchip is the biggest benefit to making sure that if your pet gets lost, it will be returned home.

And for those who might be concerned that the process could harm their pet, Stottlemyer explains that the microchip, the size of a grain of rice, has a unique identification number linked to a database. When the microchip is scanned by a BARC shelter or a veterinarian, it transmits an identification number. When a pet is lost and scanned for a microchip, “we have a wand that goes where the pet chip would normally be inserted and tells us where it is registered and we can contact the company. Then we get the owners. information and get out of there.

But the pet must first be registered with the city of Houston, so microchipping is now part of the city’s three-step pet registration process. Under the City of Houston Municipal Code, anyone who owns, keeps, owns, or disposes of a dog or cat four months of age or older must register their pet, be vaccinated against rabies annually, and have a registered microchip. The American Kennel Club also reports, “Microchip pets are 20 times more likely to be reunited with their owners.”

As for enforcing the annual grace period, Stottlemyer says some people may have been confused or had questions about the initial changes, but Houston was receptive and there was already a decent amount of signups overall. Now he warned that “we [Houston] Compliance is less than 5%, but the company we work with says we are one of the highest cities they work with in terms of compliance. see.”

The biggest benefit of microchipping is that lost pets can avoid going to a shelter entirely if they are found.

“Ideally, if pets are microchipped and our law enforcement officers come into contact with animals in the field that are lost from home, they can scan the microchip in the field and find out where they live. They can bring them home without any problems.” I have to take them to a shelter.”

Pet owners can be fined between $100 and $500 if their pets are found without a microchip, but BARC says they understand pets are leaving and aren’t trying to punish.

“We understand that pets run away. We know when there are holidays, as recently, we had a New Year. Pets get scared and behave differently when they are under stressful circumstances. microchipped, it’s a great way to ensure your pet gets home.”

With the new requirement coming into effect this week, BARC will offer free microchips for pets owned by residents of the City of Houston. Free microchips will be available from 8 am to 10 am at 3300 Carr St., while supplies last, on the following days: Tuesday, January 31st, Monday, February 6th and Tuesday, February 7th.