First, we need an American Standard
for manufacturers of chips sold in this country
requiring that all chips be readable by a universal scanner.
After the Katrina disaster a bill was signed requiring that all
state and local emergency
preparedness operational plans address the needs of individuals
with household pets
following a major disaster or emergency. This mandate and one
scanner that reads all
chips are wonderful steps in the right direction, but they still
don't provide the tools
necessary to accomplish the task of rescuing and reuniting pets
with their family.
I propose we need to amend the law requiring people to purchase
worthless dog
licenses and alternatively require that all companion animals be microchipped and
registered. I propose that microchips be sold as they are today;
from the
manufacturer/distributor to veterinarian clinics, shelters,
large breeders etc. I further
propose, that at the time of original chip insertion, it be the
present owner's
responsibility to register the animal and upon change of
ownership, to complete and
file the new ownership information with the registration
service. Much the same as we
do with DMV when we sell our automobiles.
TWO - One Registration service that includes requirement to
update
information.
The operative word here is “ONE”, which is also the reason it
most likely needs to be
a government operation similar to the Department of Motor
Vehicles or Social
Security. Today, we have so many corporate competitors
attempting to reunite animals
and their owners that we might as well have none. As more
competitors enter this
lucrative market, the situation will become even worse.
The government-operated Animal
Services/Control Dept. should service the
registration database and mail out renewal invoices at regular
intervals in order to
update the database information and purge obsolete data.
The cost of the original registrations and
renewals should be nominal and,
because of sheer numbers, the income should be a profit center
for the government.
The fees should easily generate the funds necessary to properly
service the system
as well as fund other community benefits currently derived from
the Animal Services
Department.
THREE - One Web Site to Track Lost or Stolen Animals
Again, the important word is “One”. Currently, depending upon
the search engine
used, a computer search for “Lost Pets” will give you anywhere
from 11,000 to
739,000 possible sites. Again, because there are so many, there
might as well be
none.
Owners of lost pets should be able to call
or email the Animal Services
Registration Department servicing their district and for a
nominal fee request that their
pet chip number and an “R” indicating a reward is being offered
to be immediately
posted on a National Lost Pet List. This need's to be the one
and only list that is well
known as the place to go look when an animal is lost or found.
Motivated by the possibility of finding a
listing of the chip number with an “R”,
every clerk in every grooming shop, every vet clinic, every pet
store and every shelter
would be anxious to scan all unknown animals and check the list
in hopes of earning a
reward in an amount that would remain unknown until it is
verified they have the
displaced pet. The financial incentive of this site alone would
encourage a legion of
people to make the effort to reunite animals with their owners.
For the nominal fees paid by pet owners,
they would receive assurance of
optimal chances to be reunited with their pet; not only after a
crisis, but also when a
pet simply becomes lost or stolen.
There are also many, many, other benefits from a program such as
this. To name a few
• Stealing of animals
would sharply decrease. Stolen pets are currently
sold to
research centers, shady breeders and shoddy retail outlets,
none of
which are anxious to purchase permanently marked animals.
• Animal control or
policemen that find pets that met their demise on our
streets and
roadways could scan the dead animal and notify the
owners
immediately. They could also return wandering pets without
going to the
trouble and expense of taking them to local shelters.
• When abused or
abandoned animals are found, irresponsible owners
could
be traced and held accountable.
Is this a perfect system? Maybe not, but it's good, really good.
Imagine, if you will,
that all the Katrina animals, or even most of them, had been microchipped and
properly registered prior to the hurricane. Had this been the
case, they could have
been rescued with the rest of their family, scanned on the spot,
the owner given a
claim check for his pets and all be taken to their respective
temporary shelters. After
the crisis, regardless of where each ended up, the national web
site could have been used to reunite them. |
