HAS West Richland in Washington State (United States), the authorities recently set up a self-service terminal, including an identification chip reader, in front of the local police station (West Richland Police Department). The goal: to allow anyone who has discovered a dog or cat to check if it is chipped and to quickly obtain the owner's contact details.
The system has barely been put in place when it has already provided proof of its usefulness. Less than 24 hours before its installation, this station, in fact, allowed a lost dog to return safely to his family who was looking for him everywhere, reported Apple Valley News Now.
The canine in question responds to the name of Shabu. Its owner Charles Green was in the middle of a golf game when his wife sent him a message to tell him that he had just vanished.
Dan Hanson / Apple Valley News Now
The family of Shabu crisscrossed the entire neighborhood, cycled through the streets, shouted his name and multiplied calls for witnesses on social networks, but the quadruped remained nowhere to be found.
His humans' anguish ended when they were notified by email that he had just been located and brought to safety. The message was sent to them by the company that manages the identification chip of Shabu.
“We were so thrilled and excited that he was found.”
The little dog was found by passers-by who had the good idea to use the terminal to identify him.
“ We were so delighted and excited that he was found and able to contact us “, declared Charles Green.
The said station is designed to withstand bad weather and available 24 hours a day. When a chip is detected, the person can use a QR code or consult the website indicated on site to obtain the contact details of the holder.
While facilitating reunions, this system helps to relieve overcrowding in saturated shelters.
Woopets info: why does this chip reading terminal help shelters?
As explained above, this self-service terminal installed at West Richland allows any individual who has found a dog or cat to read its electronic chip and quickly access its owner's contact details via a QR code or a dedicated interface. This type of device concretely changes the daily life of animal shelters and services. Here's how:
- It avoids the systematic arrival of simply lost animals, which can be returned directly to their families.
- It reduces the saturation of reception structures, which are often overwhelmed by caring for temporarily lost animals.
- It speeds up the reunion, sometimes in just a few hours, without going to the box or administrative procedures.
- It limits the stress of animals, who remain in a familiar environment instead of being transported and placed in a shelter.
- It allows shelters to focus on the most complex cases (unidentified animals, abandonments, medical emergencies, etc.).