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San Antonio residents who find a lost dog or cat will soon have a new way to help reunite the animal with its owner.
The city’s Animal Care Services and San Antonio Fire Department are launching a network of pet microchip scanning stations at 11 fire stations and the Animal Care Services main campus. The scanners will be free to use and available around the clock, seven days a week.
The stations are being rolled out over the next week.
Pet microchips are small identification devices implanted beneath an animal’s skin. When scanned, they provide a unique identification number that can be used to access a registry containing the owner’s contact information.
Jon Gary, director of Animal Care Services, said the scanners will help residents return found pets home more quickly while reducing unnecessary shelter intake.
“The great thing about these scanning stations is they're 24 hours a day,” Gary said. “So, if it's outside of our normal operating hours, they can actually come to one of these fire department scanning stations, scan it, and get that animal back to the owner sooner.”
Lisa Norwood with Animal Care Services said residents can use a smartphone to follow up when a microchip is detected.
“If they do determine, 'oh look, it does have a microchip,' they can utilize their smartphone, scan the QR code, and it will be able to contact the microchip registry for that specific microchip,” Norwood said.
Deputy Fire Chief Brian O’Neill said fire stations are familiar locations where residents often seek help with non-emergency issues, including stray animals.
“Each station kind of acts as the community center,” O’Neill said. “That's where they're strategically put, and we understand that in different communities, most people realize where the fire station's at and often come to us for help for things that aren't emergency based, including lost animals, stray animals they picked up.”
The city says the scanning stations are intended to help residents who have safely contained a found pet. Each location has its own scanner and English and Spanish instructions explaining how to use the equipment and what to do if a microchip is detected.
The stations are not animal intake or surrender locations. Residents should never leave animals unattended at a scanning site or on fire station property. Injured, aggressive or otherwise unsafe animals should be reported to 311 for assistance.
Where to find the scanners
The 12 participating locations include 11 fire stations and the Animal Care Services campus (three additional fire stations will be added to the list):
- District 1: Fire Station 19, 2307 Vance Jackson
- District 2: Fire Station 18, 1410 S. W.W. White Rd
- District 3: Fire Station 22, 3203 S. Presa
- District 4: Fire Station 36, 5826 Ray Ellison Blvd
- District 5: Fire Station 16, 2110 Nogalitos St
- Districts 5, 6 and 7: Fire Station 26, 4140 Culebra Rd
- District 6: Fire Station 44, 1351 Horal Dr
- District 7: Fire Station 27, 1538 Hillcrest
- District 8: Fire Station 32, 4839 Charles Katz Dr - Coming soon
- District 9: Fire Station 46, 1165 Evans Rd - Coming soon
- District 10: Fire Station 39, 10750 Nacogdoches Rd - Coming soon
- Animal Care Services: 4710 State Highway 151
Residents can find a map of scanning locations and additional guidance for helping a found pet.
Under San Antonio city ordinance, pet guardians are required to microchip their companion animals and keep registration information current.
