VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Free microchip scanning stations are now available at two Hampton Roads animal shelters, giving residents a faster way to reunite lost pets with their owners.
The orange stations, created by the nonprofit Reunite Tonight, are set up at the Virginia Beach SPCA and the Chesapeake Humane Society. The stations allow anyone who finds a lost pet to scan the animal's microchip and search a registry directly from their phone.
Jenn Fly, director of shelter operations at the Virginia Beach SPCA, said reuniting animals with their owners is the organization's top priority.
"Reuniting animals with their owners is our number one goal," Fly said.
Reunite Tonight founder Megan Baker brought the idea to Hampton Roads after seeing similar stations working in North Carolina.
"You can use the QR code to go to search the registry, you put input the number within that page and it will populate which registry that chip is registered through," Baker said.
Once a chip number is entered, the registry contacts the owner while keeping personal information private.
"They will contact the owners and you can't give permission to release your information, but the owner's information is protected for privacy reason," Baker said.
Fly said the stations can help keep pets out of shelters and reduce stress on the animals.
"You could come to one of these scanners, find out who they belong to and get them home a lot faster, less stress on the animal — they don't have to go into a shelter where they're exposed to disease or illness," Fly said.
Baker said she hopes to expand the program across the region. She spoke at Hampton City Council Wednesday night to pitch bringing a scanner to that city and across the entire 757 area.
"Our main goal is to have at least one in every city," Baker said.
The stations can also be used to check whether a microchip inside a pet is functioning properly.
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