WESTLOCK – To address the growing stray animal issue in the region, Westlock County should consider a free microchip program for county residents, said Arlene Holt, Vice President of the Barrhead Animal Rescue Society (BARS) in her presentation to council in November.
BARS helped approximately 150 canines from Westlock County in the last two and a half years, she said.
“It’s been a strain. I’m not going to lie. We still have some of those dogs in our care. I can tell you right now, our intakes are closed. We are not in a position to help right now as we were previously. It has been overwhelming for us.”
Having microchips put into a canine is an affordable and effective way to identify pets, get them back to their owners faster and avoid the pound system, she said.
Westlock County Chief Administrative Officer Tony Kulbisky said a microchip program would help reduce the time the county spends trying to find owners of lost pets.
“Responding to a lost canine in the county is quite the time allocation to find the right owner,” he said. “Sometimes we are successful sometimes we are not.”
A microchip program will make it easier for the county to determine if the pet is owned by county residents or are drop offs from outside of the county, said Kulbisky.
"If anything it will distinguish which ones are county owned and which ones are drop offs. We are just trying to expedite the process of canines being reacquainted with their actual owners.”
Several council members expressed their support for a microchip program.
Reeve Christine Wiese asked if bylaw officers could access microchip scanners. Holt said that scanners are affordable, with some costing under $100, and could be made available for use by county bylaw officers.
Wiese also asked what information would be shown on the microchip scanner.
Holt said it would reveal the owner’s name, address and phone number. In addition, if the owner was unreachable due to moving or changing their phone number, BARS's phone number is also added.
Coun. Sherri Provencal supported the idea.
"If microchipping is that inexpensive, it’s a great idea for anyone who wants to microchip their animals.”
Deputy Reeve Ray Maquette said having county canines microchipped doesn’t address the issue of people from outside the county abandoning their pets in the area.
“They are coming in from other counties and cities and they are being dropped off. I don’t know how a microchip will help us find a place for the dogs.”
Holt said she appreciates that Westlock County is really struggling and wanting a facility but added that Barrhead Animal Rescue is a non-facility rescue that is 100 per cent volunteer driven and is only foster home based.
“We are absolutely not capable of becoming a pound keeper,” she said.
“That’s what we need and that’s what we are looking for,” said Marquette.
Westlock County should also consider a low cost/no cost spay and neuter service in partnership with a Westlock veterinarian, said Holt.
She said she is not suggesting that the county tell residents to have their pets spayed and neutered but added that the county could implement the same type of program as Edmonton.
“Do something similar to Edmonton. They have a licensing fee for a fixed animal and a fee for an unfixed animal. It’s cheaper if they are fixed but everyone gets a chip no matter what. If they are picked up they avoid going through the pound system all together.”
