Pima Animal Care Center (PACC) is stepping up to help pet owners in Pima County by launching a series of free microchipping clinics. Starting May 29 and running on Wednesdays through July 3, these clinics will offer vital identification tools to ensure the community's furry friends can always find their way back home.
Between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., at their shelter located at 4000 N. Silverbell Road, PACC will be running a drive-thru service for all Pima County residents. This is where they can obtain not for just microchips, but also free customized ID tags. For those in need of one, collars will be sold at a minimal cost of $3 through Friends of PACC. In an unfortunate twist, serving as a poignant reminder of the issue at hand, approximately 65% of the dogs received by PACC are stray without any form of identification.
The initiative stemmed from an alarming statistic shared by Monica Dangler, PACC's Director of Animal Services. She remarked, "We see pets come into PACC every day that are clearly loved and well-cared for," in a statement obtained by PACC's press release. Dangler also noted the hopeful impact of the clinics: "By hosting these clinics, we're hoping to help pet owners get the tools they need to make sure that their pets can make it home if they're lost."
With the approach of the Fourth of July, and the expected spike in lost pets due to firework-induced fright, PACC's proactive efforts could not be timelier. Hoping, the leadership staff at PACC waits that by increasing the number of microchipped and tagged dogs, they're ensuring that pets will remain with or be quickly reunited with their families after the celebrations. Marking the calendar for the pet owners, PACC has provided their schedule online which shows they are open from noon to 7 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and operates at different hours on Wednesdays and the weekend.
For additional information on the pet services offered by the PACC, or to have a sneak peek at the pets waiting for a home, the public is invited to browse through their services at pima.gov/animalcare.
