Chipping Helps Identify Pets
By AMANDA KIMBLE
TheFlashToday.com
ERATH COUNTY (February 21, 2016) – Brittney Culhane, 18, has been surrounded by animals her entire life. Dogs, cats, horses… As strong as the fond memories of those four-legged family members are the memories of the heartache felt when one of them went missing.
“Growing up, you could only hope someone would return them,” Brittney said. “There wasn’t really a way to find them. You just hoped someone would see your lost dog and say, ‘I remember seeing that girl with that dog’ and return it.”
The days of nothing but hope are gone. Brittney said in the current technological age, losing a pet shouldn’t be a concern.
“When I rescued my current dog, an Australian Sheppard named Trigger, someone at the Erath County Humane Society suggested microchipping,” Brittney recalled. “At that time, not many people knew about the service and a lot of people still don’t. Tags can fall off or be removed, but the microchip stays with your pet forever. It’s always traceable and identifiable.”
So, the Stephenville High School Senior and Girl Scout has made a mission of educating pet owners across the county about the service by dispelling myths and providing facts on microchipping. She has also organized a team of professionals who will provide low-cost implant service during a one-day event on Saturday, Feb. 27.
While Brittney’s community service project was inspired by her love of animals and past experiences, her work on the project has landed her in an elite circle of Girl Scout Gold Award winners. The award is Girls Scout’s highest achievement, which challenges members to make a positive change in their communities.
Through a seven-step project, gold-aspiring scouts identify an issue within their community, investigate it thoroughly, form a team, create a plan, present the plan to the Girl Scout council for approval, take action and educate and inspire, according to girlscouts.org .
“By the time you put the final touches on your seven-step project, you’ll have solved a community problem—not only in the short term, but for years into the future—and you’ll be eligible for college scholarships,” the website states.
For Brittney, the investigation process included surveying pet owners.
“Of all the pet owners I spoke with, about 60 percent didn’t have their pets microchipped,” she said.
Brittney found that most pet owners were concerned about the potential of losing their animals, but hadn’t considered microchipping due to the belief that the process would be painful for the animals or too costly.
“Neither is true,” she said. “The implant is very small and no more painful than a routine vaccination, and there are many great veterinarians across the county who offer the service at a reasonable price.”
Meanwhile, Brittney didn’t have to look far to see the local area – like the entire nation – has an issue with lost pets.
“I could see a definite need in Erath County,” Brittney said. “I spent a day in December, around New Year’s Eve, checking the Erath County Breaking News and a local lost pet Facebook page and counted 38 lost dogs that one day.”
On the nationwide scale, about 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters each year, with less than 700,000 being returned to their owners, according to aspca.org.
Locally, the Erath County Humane Society adopts out 30-50 animals each month at their monthly adoption fair, according to Brittney, who said families travel an average of 20-30 miles to find a new pet at one of the fairs.
“There’s a chance one of those animals was someone else’s lost pet,” she said.
Seeing the need for education and action, Brittney started building a team, which includes herself, Troop Leaders Kelly Sult and Gayle Land and fellow members of Troop 4136. But Brittney’s team building hit an unexpected wall.
“I was starting to get a little discouraged,” she said. “I was making calls to local vets and clinics, but nobody was calling me back.”
Still, Brittney remained persistent. She called on a local animal rescue group, determined to generate interest.
“I called Lori Lesley with P.A.W.S (Pets Are Worth Saving, pawsofstephenville.org),” she said. “They were having a Valentine Fundraiser and let me come in and speak during the event.”
It was then, on February 9 at the N at Hardaway Ranch, the project finally came together.
Joe Cannon, DVM, has extended his services to local animal rescue groups through his practice at Green’s Creek Veterinary Clinic, greenscreekvet.com, for almost four years and was among the guests at the fundraising event for the area’s newest rescue group.
After hearing Brittney’s presentation, Cannon told her he planned to have Green’s Creek staff on site at the upcoming grand opening celebration in Stephenville, where they would provide information and services to local pet owners.
“I told Brittney I would also be happy to support her project and provide microchipping services at the lowest cost possible,” Cannon said. “She is a very nice, mature young women and really involved trying to make a difference in the community.”
For just $25 pet owners will be able to have their cat or dog microchipped between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27 at Pet Supplies Plus, petsuppliesplus.com, at 106 Christy Plaza in Stephenville.
Cannon said the fee is “just over cost,” but the clinic won’t take home monetary profits from the event.
“Brittney and I have agreed to donate $15 from every (microchipping) to Erath County Human Society,” he said.
While Cannon says the $10 his office collects on each implant won’t cover the cost of the device or service, it’s still a win-win for everyone involved.
“I see this as a great opportunity for the community, Brittney and the Erath County Humane Society,” he said.
Green’s Creek staffers have a lot of practice in the simple procedure, which includes injecting a microchip, about the size of a grain of rice between the shoulders of a dog or using a hypodermic needle. The microchip can be detected by scanners typically kept at animal shelters and veterinary clinics, and its unique code may be entered into online database with information for locating the pet’s owner. Cannon said corresponding records will also be kept by the pet owner and at his office.
A microchipped pet also typically wears a collar with a tag that informs anyone who may find it that the animal has an identifying implant, leading that person to call a specific phone number or visit a website.
Thanks to technology and community support, the months-long project has a simple conclusion.
“Chipping helps identify pets,” she said, adding for anyone who’s not convinced she will provide information and statistics at the February 27 event.
As for recognition for efforts, Brittney said the real reward will come when intake numbers at shelters and with rescue groups decrease, but she’s also excited about the gold. She will receive the honor at the 100th anniversary celebration of the Girl Scout Gold Award, which will be held in June in Austin.
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