Dozens of dogs and cats microchipped at Barkfest in North Bay

A long line of cars wrapped around the Humane Society's parking lot in North Bay Saturday morning as dozens of cats and dogs got microchipped. (Jaime McKee/CTV News)

A long line of cars wrapped around the Humane Society's parking lot in North Bay Saturday morning as dozens of cats and dogs got microchipped.

It's part of the shelter's annual Barkfest event where pets can get microchipped for a lower cost than usual.

"It's a great form of identification because it's permanent and not going anywhere," said Jessica Kokol, an administrator at the Humane Society.

"Microchipping is a little bit smaller than a grain of rice and it gets inserted into the back of the neck and … it's there forever. So any animal agency or veterinarian would be able to scan an animal, then we get the contact information and get the pet reunited with the family."

Kokol told CTV News far fewer animals would be coming to the shelter if all pets were microchipped.

"I tell people all the time that if everybody microchipped their animals, we would have a lot less kennels in here for sure," she said.

"We get a lot of dogs all the time, some of them we know don't have homes. We get a lot of strays from the community, some have gotten out, jumped the fence, sometimes we are able to find the owners."

Dog that have the microchip, however, "we can get them back to their homes that afternoon," she added.