Advisory board votes unanimously to recommend a dog-and-cat microchipping ordinance
The board's June 25, 2025 agenda listed "Consideration of a Micro-chipping Ordinance." NewsChannel 10 reported the board voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council consider an ordinance requiring all dogs and cats in Amarillo to be microchipped; without a medical exemption, failure to comply would be a Class C misdemeanor, which could include a fine. The board recommended that, if approved, it not take effect until January 2026.[1][2]
On June 25, 2025 the advisory board voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council consider an ordinance requiring the microchipping of all dogs and cats in Amarillo. The vote count by name was not reported, and minutes for the meeting were not posted as of retrieval.
[2][1]
✓ Verified
As reported, under the recommended ordinance failure to comply, absent a medical exemption, would be a Class C misdemeanor that could include a fine. No fine amount was reported.
[2]
✓ Verified
The board recommended that, if approved, the requirement not take effect until January 2026, to give residents a grace period. At the October 13, 2026 council discussion staff instead described a six-month grace period after adoption; no effective date had been set.
[2][3]
✓ Verified
Victoria Medley, Director of Animal Management and Welfare; the advisory board chair: Director Victoria Medley said the City had held free microchip clinics over the prior three years and that its data showed microchipping kept animals out of the shelter and returned them to owners, describing the goal as addressing shelter overcrowding. The board chair said microchipping costs much less than impounding an animal and described the measure as preventative, saying officers would not stop animals to scan them.
[2]
