INDIANAPOLIS (WISH)- On Jan. 1, 2025, pet owners in Marion County were greeted with two new ordinances.

One is the requirement that all dogs and cats over the age of three months have a microchip implanted. The second requires that the owner of any intact dog over six months of age register their pet with the Marion County Unaltered Pet Registry. 

To learn more about how these new ordinances affect pet owners, “Life.Style.Live!” Host Cody Adams spoke with Director of Communications at Noah’s Animal Hospitals, Tom Dock.

Microchips are tiny identification devices that are activated by a specific radio frequency and provide a unique identification number that can help get pets back to their owners.

Statistics for dogs show that only 22% dogs without a microchip make it back home, but having a microchip increases those odds to over 52%.

Dock says regardless of where you get the microchip, it is vital that you register that chip number with your name, current address and phone number.

Almost 50% of pet owners fail to register and this leads to delays in getting the pet back home.

It could even mean that pet never gets to see it’s family again. 

These ordinances are not designed to be punitive, but to help better understand the steps needed to reduce the burden on the animal shelter and local animal rescue groups.