This is such an important training-thank you for sharing it. That "dead microchip trail" is exactly where so many reunions fall apart, even when a pet is chipped.
I'd love to offer a complementary perspective through something I've been building called The Reunite Tonight Project. Our focus is on the front end of this issue-making sure fewer chips ever go "dead" in the first place, and that more pets are reunited quickly, especially after hours.
We do that by:
• Providing microchip education courses (with vouchers for free microchips through partner clinics)
• Installing 24/7 public microchip scanning stations so found pets can be identified and returned home immediately-even when shelters or vets are closed
The idea is to bridge the gap between "found" and "home," while also reducing intake strain on shelters and giving community members the tools to help in real time.
I'd love to connect and learn from this training as well-because ultimately, this is all part of the same mission: getting more pets back where they belong, faster.
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Megan Baker
Director
The Reunite Tonight Project
VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-26-2026 07:28 AM
From: Stacy LeBaron
Subject: Scholarship Opportunity: Do you think it is possible to find an owner of a cat if the microchip doesn't result in up to date information?
On May 13 at 2pm Eastern Time Community Cats Central and Corinne Bourgoin from the Massachusetts Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals(MSPCA) is going to show us how to best the dead microchip trail and find connections to the owners of cats that are brought in as strays. The MSPCA has a 35% return to home rate for cats brought in as strays. In this statistic they don't include kittens 6 month or less as they most likely don't have a dedicated owner if found outside. But even if you included kittens- their return to home rate for cats would be 12-15%. Which is still pretty significant.
Thanks to Maddie there is a scholarship available for this training and I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity and join us on May 13th. She is the expert at making connections with that microchip... Please apply today.
https://communitycatscentral.com/scholarships/
#CommunityCatManagement
#CommunityPartnerships*
#Conferences,WorkshopsandWebcasts
#ReturntoHome(LostPetReunification)
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Stacy LeBaron
Head Cat
The Community Cats Podcast
Warren VT
978-239-2090
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