After the heartbreaking loss of her service dog, Ranger, in August of this year, San Pedro resident June Erickson launched a campaign to microchip as many dogs and cats as possible on the island. The Ranger Warriors Foundation initiative has been offering free microchipping for pets in San Pedro. So far, a total of 89 pets have been registered and microchipped. Erickson has been organizing microchipping clinics, with the most recent one held on Wednesday, December 18th, at the San Pedro Veterinarian Hospital. During this event, 43 dogs and three cats entered the tracking system.
Erickson reported a positive response, with many pet owners visiting the clinic. She was devastated when her ‘furbaby’ went missing and wanted to prevent others from experiencing such a loss. To address this, she introduced a tracking system to make locating lost pets easier. “The system works by scanning the microchip, and the owner is notified instantly through a free registry,” she explained. Every microchipped pet was registered at the clinic on Wednesday at www.freepetchipregistry.com. Pet owners were provided a login and password to update their information as needed, including adding new pets.
The previous microchipping clinic was held at the Truck Stop north of San Pedro during a market day on November 23rd. A total of 29 animals were microchipped and registered. This microchipping campaign also includes scanning stations across the island. If a dog or cat wanders in a particular area, they can be taken to a scanning station to identify the owner and obtain their contact information.
Erickson is seeking local businesses to volunteer for this initiative. Participating establishments will be provided with a scanning device. Erickson emphasized that residents would have easy access to a scanner whenever needed by making this a community-wide effort. Anyone interested can reach out to her via the Facebook page https://shorturl.at/Es7E6.
Plans are underway for another microchip clinic next year, and updates will be shared on their Facebook page. This program is non-profit, and donations are appreciated. Anyone interested in donating can click the GoFundMe link below: https://gofund.me/0a16636d.
Organizers thank the San Pedro Veterinarian Hospital for hosting the Ranger Warriors Foundation. They also extend their gratitude to all the pet owners and volunteers who came to help register and microchip the cats and dogs.
