New scanner station in Horry County aims to help reunite lost pets with owners

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – Some new technology is looking to help reunite lost pets with their owners in Horry County.

The Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach installed a new “Lost Pet Scanner Station” this week. The station is located at the Murray Law Group in Little River.

The station simply scans microchips found inside lost pets and makes it easier for those who found those animals to bring them back to their owners.

Those with the Humane Society said they’re hoping this can streamline the process of identifying pets that have microchips.

“We get calls, pretty much almost every week, with people saying, ‘Hey, I just found this dog,’ or ‘I just found this cat, can we come in and get it scanned for a microchip?’ So in addition to the animals we’re intaking, we also have some good Samaritans that are bringing animals to use to be scanned,” said Meaghan Pitman, Marketing Manager for the Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach.

For animals that don’t have a chip, the station still offers guidance for next steps and contact information for animal control agencies.

The overall goal for the stations is to provide faster accommodation or even reunions for lost pets.

“We’ve all been in that situation where we see a pet that might be in need,” said Katherine Keaton, President of the Board of Directors with the Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach. “But we’ve got an appointment to run or work to be at…so it can make it really difficult to do if things like this aren’t convenient.”

The Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach is also looking for more businesses to host scanner stations. Anyone interested can contact the organization at 843-249-4948.

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