SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Under the City of Corpus Christi's new ordinance, all pets must be registered with the city and microchipped.
The change is one of several ways Corpus Christi Animal Care Services aims to increase the Live Release Rate - which is the rate at which animals leave the shelter alive through adoption, return to owner, or rescue.
The same ordinance is already in place in San Antonio, Texas where a microchip led to a reunion that would make anyone shed tears of joy.
According to a Facebook post on the San Antonio Animal Care Services page, Samson went missing ten years ago, leaving his family heartbroken. The family did everything they could to find him but never did.
Last month, Samson was brought into the San Antonio Animal Care facility along with six other abandoned dogs he had been with.
San Antonio ACS said Samson was in pretty rough shape, dirty, and covered in fleas. Before he was treated, he was scanned for a microchip.
It turns out Samson had one. San Antonio ACS was able to contact Samson's owner Mr. Cardenas, who they said was shocked to hear that Samson had been found.
After ten years of not seeing each other, Mr. Cardenas was reunited with Samson.
"They took the better years from us," said Mr. Cardenas as Samson walked up to him and sniffed his hand.
No one knows what happened to Samson all those years, but the San Antonio Animal Care Services said the power of microchips holds true.
Lisa Norwood, the public information officer for the San Antonio Animal Care Services said Samson is doing well and just getting reacquainted with his family.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, a study of more than 7,700 stray animals at animal shelters showed that dogs without microchips were returned to their owners 21.9% of the time, whereas microchipped dogs were returned to their owners 52.2% of the time.
Corpus Christi residents who need to get their dog or cat microchipped could do it for free at the Corpus Christi Animal Care Services, located at 2626 Holly Road on Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 4:40 p.m.
