Austin Animal Center (AAC), in partnership with Councilmember Pio Renteria, is hosting a free drive-thru microchip and rabies vaccination clinic this Saturday for all City of Austin and Travis County residents.
“Microchips are essential to getting pets reunited with their families,” says Mark Sloat, Field Services Manager for AAC. “We have thousands of dogs getting picked up and brought to the shelter by community members, and the majority aren’t finding their way back home. We know from our Animal Protection Officers’ work that most pets are picked up really close to home, so in addition to educating the community we’re really pushing microchipping.”
Microchips are small electronic chips about the size of a grain of rice that are inserted under the skin on dogs and cats. They serve as a permanent form of identification and places like animal shelters, veterinary clinics, and pet stores have scanners that read the unique number which can then be used to search microchip registries for owner information.
AAC outreach staff are working with members of City Council to host microchip clinics in each of their districts to increase reclaim rates. A representative from Councilmember Renteria’s office said, “Thanks to microchipping, District 3 has one of the highest lost pet return rates in the whole city. A big part of getting to that place was due to the efforts of the folks at the Austin Animal Center. By getting out in the community to educate folks, and especially through free microchipping clinics like the one this weekend, we were able to keep our pets safe and happy.”
The drive-thru event will be held at Austin Animal Center (7201 Levander Loop) from 9 am to 12 pm on Saturday, March 5. Dogs must be on leashes and cats must be in carriers.
