Albany, NY – Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan) and State Senator Jim Tedisco (R,C,I,REF-Glenville) today announced that their bill, A.1839-B/S.4570-A, to help reunite people with their lost cat or dog heads to the Governor’s desk for signature.

“Anyone who has lost a pet will tell you how excruciating it can be, waiting days and sometimes weeks to be reunited with their four-legged companion animal,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal. “This bill will help spare people some anxiety by increasing the chances they will be reunited with their lost pet. I look forward to the Governor signing this bill into law.”

“Our companion animals are important parts of many of our families. That’s why it is so heart wrenching when a pet goes missing. This bill will help create standards for the use of microchip technology to reunite more lost pets with their families and ease over-crowding at our animal shelters and rescues and reduce some of the financial burden on those organizations. I will be working closely with Assemblymember Rosenthal to strongly advocate for the Governor to sign this bill into law so we can help more companion animals find their way home,” said Senator Jim Tedisco.

The bill, which will take effect 120 days after it is signed, will require shelters, rescues and any other organizations that take in lost, stray or abandoned animals to check every animal for a microchip or other identifying mark to make an attempt to notify the owner within 24 hours. The bill will also standardize microchip scanner and chip technology across the state.

Microchip technology is not new, but without a universal frequency, scanners cannot read all chip frequencies. Standardizing chip and scanner frequencies will reduce confusion at the shelter and ensure that all chipped animals are properly scanned. Along with standardization, requiring animals to be checked for microchips or other identifying marks within 24 hours will likely reduce the number of days that an animal is kept at a shelter and increase the likelihood that animals and their guardians are reunited.

This year, Asssemblymember Rosenthal and Senator Tedisco were co-sponsors of the annual NYS Animal Advocacy Day in Albany.

Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, who has two cats named Marlowe and Vita, has passed a law to protect animals each year she has been in office. She represents the 67th Assembly district, which includes the Upper West Side and parts of the Clinton/ Hell's Kitchen neighborhoods in Manhattan.