Washoe County Regional Animal Services will offer free microchip services out of their Mobile Command Center in different neighborhoods throughout Washoe County as part of their year-long campaign to provide free micochips to all Washoe County pet owners.
Microchips will be offered at the following locations in the coming weeks. Pet owners are asked to bring their dogs properly leashed and their cats in appropriate cat carriers:
Tuesday, February 19, 12 noon to 4:00 p.m.
Dickey’s Bar-B-Que, 290 Lemmon Dr., Lemmon Valley
Tuesday, March 5, 12 noon to 4:00 p.m.
Cold Springs Park, 3555 White Lake Parkway, Cold Springs
Tuesday, March 19, 12 noon to 4:00 p.m.
Scolari’s, 5430 Sun Valley Blvd., Sun Valley
Regional Animal Services plans to host mobile microchip clinics on a regular basis throughout the next year. Locations and dates for future mobile clinics will be announced at WashoeAnimals.com as information becomes available. Microchips for the mobile clinics were provided by Maddie’s Fund®.
Free microchipping is also be available from the Regional Animal Services Facility on Longley Lane between the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) through the end of January 2014.
Regional Animal Services Director Barry Brode said the goal is to microchip at least 5,000 pets during the year-long campaign. The campaign is now it it’s third week and Brode said that over 825 animals have received free microchips so far.
“We want to do everything we can to help reunite lost pets with their owners as efficiently and effectively as possible,” Brode said. “From what we’ve seen, the microchip is one of the best ways to make that happen.”
A microchip is a small, electronic chip enclosed in a glass cylinder about the size of a grain of rice. The microchip is activated by a scanner which receives information about the pet’s owners and home from the chip.
In most cases, microchipped pets can be scanned in the field and returned to their homes without ever having to be brought to the shelter, reducing stress for the pet, the pet owner and the cost of operating Animal Services.
Once a pet is microchipped, Animal Services encourages the owner to register their microchip online at homeagain.com to ensure proper identification if the pet should ever become lost outside of Washoe County.
For more information about this special microchipping campaign, visit WashoeAnimals.com.
The photos below are from Regional Animal Services’ first mobile free microchipping clinic which was held on February 5 at the Scolari’s in Sun Valley. Nearly 150 pets received free microchips during the four-hour clinic. The first photo shows Animal Control Officer Jesse Horton preparing a young puppy for its microchip.
