New Program Helps Harford County Animal Control Reunite Pets With Families Faster

BEL AIR, Md. (WJZ) -- Harford County is making it easier to reunite with lost pets.

Their new pet tracking program relies on owners to microchip their cat or dog, helping Animal Control to find their owners if they ever get loose.

Tracy Leong explains.

Micro-chipped animals will be immediately returned to their owners, avoiding a trip to the shelter and reducing stress not only for the pets, but their families as well.

Speeding up the process of reuniting lost pets with their owners.

"We scan the dog, and it comes up with a microchip number," said Animal Control Officer Smith.

Harford County Animal Control officers now have an extra tool helping them to track down a lost pet's family -- the animal's owner's address and phone number are both linked to the microchip.

"We can reunite them with the owner immediately and save the animal and the owner a lot of stress at the same time," Smith said.

The free service also saves an officer time because they can skip a trip to the shelter and go directly to the family.

"That's a good idea," said dog owner Gordon James. "I like it; I like it a lot."

James has lived in Harford County for 20 years. He hopes to never lose his six-year-old dog, Tashi, which is why James micro-chipped him early on and fully supports this new program.

"I feel like my dog would be safe," James said. "He's like a son, he's like a child to me."

Since launching this program one week ago, they've already reunited four pets with their families.

Harford County Animal Control currently has seven scanners.