PFAFFTOWN, N.C. — A black lab mix named Kurmy is finally back home with his family three years after he jumped the fence and ran away from his house in King. Donielle Griffith says they got the call saying Kurmy had been found in Pfafftown last week.

“We were like, ‘Are you sure? Are you sure?’ And they were like, ‘Yeah, it’s the microchip,’” said Griffith.

The Griffiths picked their dog up at the Pfafftown Animal Hospital, where vets had tracked the Griffiths down using Kurmy’s microchip. Microchips are implants placed under a pet’s skin, which will provide ID and contact information for the microchip company when scanned. The microchip company keeps track of the pet owner’s contact information.

Similar reunions happen at animal shelters across the Piedmont Triad, thanks to microchips.

“We used to have a redemption rate of 1 percent. That meant 1 percent of the animals that came into the shelter found their owners. Now we’re up to about 98 percent,” said Guilford County Shelter executive director Marsha Williams.

However, Williams says microchips aren’t GPS and they’re only as good as the information owners provide. Williams encourages all pet owners to update their microchips every time they move by contacting the microchip company and the shelter where they adopted their pet.

The Griffiths have a similar message for pet owners.

“If they love their pets enough, they would want to go and get a microchip, because it’s the only way to guarantee that they will be home with you until they’re ready to go,” said Donielle Griffith.

The Guilford County Animal Shelter is holding a microchip clinic Saturday, Aug. 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Microchips will cost $15.

The Pfafftown Animal Hospital is also currently offering a 50 percent discount on microchips.