The Friends of Gilmer Animal Shelter, known as FOGAS, is pioneering two new programs that are helping pet owners locate their animals and also endeavoring to keep the local dog and cat population in check.
“Pet scanners” are a device that helps pet owners find their lost animal. The cat or dog has a tiny microchip emplanted under its skin that can be scanned, while the “Snippet Bus” offers mobile spay and neutering services.
Sylvia Harris, president of FOGAS, revealed that she was “browsing websites about pets and new initiatives for pet owners” when she found the pet scanners.
“In a number of cities, about two years ago, they had started putting out pet microchip scanners,” she said. “I thought that having them available to people was a good idea, so I thought about putting them at the fire stations because somebody is there 24/7. But I didn’t want to create a problem for them, so I asked the fire departments.”
The scanner is a wand with a round oval at the top, and each scanner reads the ‘AKC (American Kennel Club) Reunite’ registration link that is emplaced under a pet’s skin, Harris explained. The microchip is a small device the size of a grain of rice that is inserted into the animal, generally between the shoulder blades.
Harris said although the chip can move around after insertion and all of the pet needs to be scanned, if the microchip is in the pet the registration number will come up. For security reasons, it does not give the owner’s address but directs the pet finder to a program that will alert the owner if the pet is registered with AKC Reunite or Home Again.
A pet scanner is now available at Gilmer County Fire Station No. 1 on Howard Simmons Road, as well as the headquarters building of Coosawattee River Resort on 634 Beaver Lake Drive, inside the gated complex.
“The hope is that these scanners will assist in reuniting Gilmer County lost pets with their respective owners and reduce the number of animals taken into the Gilmer County Animal Shelter,” said FOGAS volunteer Ernie Taylor.
Snippet Bus
The Snippet Bus concept began in California, but because of stringent regulations on vehicle emissions, the actual bus had to leave the state. Veterinarian Dr. Laura Boggs purchased the bus, and it is now headquartered at Tri-State Spay/Neuter and Veterinary Clinic in Murphy, N.C. It has been making regular stops in Ellijay since August.
The low-cost spay/neuter surgeries have to be scheduled by going to the website at fogasnow.com/snippetbus. Harris was asked how FOGAS gets the word out about the bus schedule.
“We advertise on our Facebook page with a flyer, and we share it not just on our page but on all the community pages for Ellijay or Gilmer County,” she said. “Then sometimes it’s word of mouth. When we have a date from Snippet, we fill up that slot. I believe the total number of surgeries we can do is 30, because there’s time allotments for each animal, male and female. It takes different amounts of time to do those surgeries.”
Snippet Bus personnel also offer low-cost testing, vaccinations and medications for animals that they spayed or neutered in the past — and the Snippet Bus offers $5 microchips for use with pet scanners for all Gilmer County animals at the time they are spayed or neutered.
Harris supplied the following numbers for the bus’s effectiveness thus far in total spays and neuters in Gilmer County:
﹣ August 18
﹣ September 29
﹣ October 28
﹣ November 28
﹣ Total 103
Two more local Snippet Bus stops are scheduled before the end of the year: Nov. 25 with 21 sign-up spots already taken, and Dec. 9 with 24 scheduled.
“Hopefully, this will reduce the amount of animals that end up at the Gilmer County Animal Shelter, because they can find a home for them before the shelter has to get involved,” said Harris. “This has actually been the best situation we’ve had.”
Snippet Bus sign-ups
Registration to spay or neuter a dog or cat at the mobile Snippet Bus is required.
To sign up, go to fogasnow.com/snippetbus.