A campaign is underway to microchip all dogs and cats, whether they are pets or strays, in San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye. The initiative, called Ranger Warriors, is organized in collaboration with the San Pedro Saga Humane Society and San Pedro Animal Hospital. This project aims to provide free microchipping for pets and to establish scanning stations across the island to scan the microchips of animals in their respective areas. Additionally, this initiative will help in locating missing pets in San Pedro.
To support this community project, a GoFundMe page has been created where donations can be made at https://shorturl.at/wnmRO. Contributions can also be sent to the local account at Belize Bank, account # 195866010140000, under the name of June Young-Figueroa. You can also find Ranger Warriors on Facebook at https://shorturl.at/SjYUv.
The idea for the project, Ranger Warriors, was inspired by Figueroa’s experience when her dog, Ranger, went missing. Although Ranger had a microchip, he was never found. Figueroa aims to ensure that what happened to Ranger doesn’t happen to another pet on the island. Their goal is to promote the use of microchips for every animal on the island. Each microchip will be registered on a server connected to various scanning stations, containing the owner’s complete information and the area where the animal lives.
The types of scanners they plan to acquire include a universal ISO scanner capable of reading microchips from around the world, typically priced at around $80 each. “We hope to equip the island with about a dozen of these scanners so that there are multiple locations to scan lost or found dogs or cats. The more scanners we have, the less distance people without transportation will need to travel,” explained Figueroa.
In addition, it is important that the microchips used are ISO compliant. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) regulates these microchips, which can be found at iso.org. A significant advantage of ISO compliance is that all chips operate at the same frequency, reducing the risk of using a scanner that cannot detect certain microchips. Each chip costs approximately $20. When this project begins, pet owners interested in having their animals microchipped will be asked to visit Saga’s facilities in San Pedro. The microchips are injected in a manner like a standard vaccination.
The program aims to gather substantial support from the community and friends beyond San Pedro to make a positive impact for all dog and cat lovers. The campaign has also launched two Facebook groups for lost and found animals, one for San Pedro and another for Caye Caulker: https://shorturl.at/S3aCA and https://shorturl.at/XH6Se. Figueroa mentioned that nearly two dozen animals have been located and successfully returned to their homes through these pages.
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