Recently a friend of mine passed away. He had adopted a kitten from me a couple of years ago. I was very conscientious in making sure the kitten was microchipped and that I was listed as the secondary contact in case anything ever happened that my friend could no longer keep or care for the cat. I found out that my friend's family surrendered his 3 cats to the local animal shelter. The cats were terrified, deemed unadoptable, and euthanized. I was never contacted about the cats, and this absolutely should never have happened.

I have worked in veterinary clinics, spay/neuter, and TNR clinics for over 30 years. I cannot begin to convey how often animals are NOT scanned for microchips, or if they are, and it says the chip was not ever registered that very few people ever take the time to investigate and try to track down owners. In most cases, it can be done, but most people simply do not go above and beyond to do so. This is not okay.

Every single new animal that is brought in to any and every facility should ALWAYS be scanned for a microchip, EVERY time, whether the animal is living or deceased -- EVERY time, NO EXCEPTIONS. We as animal welfare professionals are far too often very seriously "dropping the ball" on this, and it is shameful. There are literally thousands of animals across the globe who could have been reunited with owners or could have had a tragic event like euthanasia prevented. It's not okay.

Scanning every single animal who comes in, whether living or deceased, needs to be standard protocol everywhere. If there is more than one contact listed, and the primary contact is not available, then every single other contact on the list needs to be exhausted before giving up and moving on. There are often very valid, legitimate reasons why family/next of kin or spouses/partners or housemates/roommates, etc. may not be on the microchip contacts list. The microchip contact list needs to be fully utilized as it was meant to be. We are failing animals. We are failing the people who love these animals. There is a reason people purchase microchips and list other contacts in case they cannot personally be reached. What is the point, though, if the people neglecting to scan the animal or failing to work through the list of additional contacts does not do their part? This is simply not acceptable, and it needs to change immediately. It needs to be mandatory. Anything less is not acceptable. The love of an animal and steps carefully taken to ensure the care and welfare of that animal should not be taken lightly and treated as some insignificant solely personal desire. It would be helpful if the AVMA and AAHA and other major organizations addressed this. Scan every single new animal, whether living or dead, every time and make the concerted effort to get in touch with the primary contact, and every other contact listed until you reach someone who truly has the best interest of these precious animals at heart. Anything less is just not okay.

In loving memory of Chloe (Brandy Bean), Oreo, and Izzy