by Christian Shepherd on 2015-01-22

San Bernardino County Animal Shelters have received a donation of nearly $30,000 from Animal aRe First Fund (ARFF). The Animal Care and Control (ACC) Division will use the $27,062.50 donation to provide microchips to 5,000 animals adopted from ACC shelters at no cost to those who are adopting the pets. The microchips are embedded in the skin, usually in between the front shoulders, and provide a way for owners and shelters to track down their pets and return them to their homes. Although the tags are mostly used for dogs and cats, they can also be put into animal livestock and horses. According to Animal Control and Care Director Brian Cronin, the microchips can be utilized during times of disaster to properly identify multiple animals who may be similar in appearance. The San Bernardino County Animal Shelters received a total of 10,257 dogs and cats last year. Cronin hopes to use these microchips to see a larger portion of the animals returned home. “The cost of the microchip usually has to be passed onto those adopting,” Cronin said. “Now they don’t have to take on that extra charge.” The regular rate to have the microchip placed into a pet is $20. The ARFF also donate funds to help cover some of the costs for spay and neutering services to off-site adoption events at location like PetSmart. [END] ARFF was established in 2004 to provide support to the ACC Program. Funds raised by ARFF are used to support animals in County animal shelters. By providing microchips to pets adopted from County animal shelters in Devore and Big Bear Lake, the ACC Program will assist in reuniting lost pets, which may be impounded at animal shelters, with their owners. Microchips are implanted under the pet’s skin and cannot become lost or misplaced like other forms of identification. Each microchip has a unique identification number linked to a pet’s adoptive family. The microchip provider will refer inquiries regarding lost or found animals to the ACC Program for those microchips sold to ARFF and donated to the ACC Program. “We are extremely grateful for the support we have received from ARFF with this donation,” said ACC Division Chief Brian Cronin. “These microchips are valuable in reuniting pets with their owners.” how many pets will the donation cover? 5,000 are cats and dogs able to utilize? or only dogs? how popular are the tags? the majority of animals that leave the shelter are chipped, and most the people take advantage of the chips they offer. how much does an owner have to pay out of pocket to purchase the tag? the chip cost has to be passed on, now they dont have to. $20, how many pets do you recieve per year? and how many are returned? just include live dog and cat admissions, 10,257, alongside thousands of other species, some of which are chipped, live stock and horses can be chipped, during times of disaster we use the chips with the owner permission to identify the animal. ARFF provides additional funding to pay for spay and neuter fees for pets adopted at off site adoption events, almost every weekend. Will be at Petsmart in Fontana every saturday this month. calendar is on the website. www.sbcounty.gov/acc Brian Cronin, bcronin@dph.sbcounty.gov