Pet adoption is nothing new to employees of the Walker County Animal Shelter. But a new computer-based system to manage pet adoption information is.

The new system, PetPoint Animal Management System, is expected to be up and online in the next few weeks, shelter director Allison Smith said.

“I don’t believe I’ve been this excited since the shelter opened,” Smith said. “This program and what we will be able to offer this community through it gets me excited and a bit overwhelmed.”

County Coordinator David Ashburn described the system as a “computerized system that offers a high-tech means for animal identification.”

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COST TO ADOPT

Now

* Dogs are $25, plus a $7 fee for shots, totaling $32

* Cats are $8, plus a $7 fee for shots, totaling $15

With the microchip implant

* Dogs will total $40 (this includes the $7 fee for shots)

* Cats will total $20 (this includes the $7 fee for shots)

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PetPoint Animal Management System uses microchips to record information about a pet, including owner identification and important medical information, that is placed into an online database.

“When you bring an animal in to me, I’ll ask your name and address and everything about that animal you can possibly give me, like its medical history,” Smith said. “I’ll post all that information into the animal’s file.”

The information collected by Smith will be placed onto a tiny microchip that will be implanted under the animal’s skin on its back.

“The microchip is about the size of a grain of rice,” Smith said. “It will be inserted in the back at the shoulder where it is nice and meaty.”

Implantation of the microchip is safe for both dogs and cats.

While the program will initially begin with animals adopted from the shelter, Smith said she plans to offer the microchip implantation to the public.

“We hope to offer a chip clinic where the people in the community can come in and get their animals micro-chipped,” Smith said. “This will help us and the owner. If an animal is ever picked up, it can be returned to the owner.”

The cost of the chip clinic is still to be determined, but Smith said she believes that it will cost pet owners approximately $25 to $40.

Commissioner Bebe Heiskell talked about the cost of the system to the county at a recent commissioner’s meeting. She said the county must put down a $1,200 deposit to join the program. That money is refunded after a year, she said.

Meanwhile, the county must pay $200 each month to maintain the online database, Smith said.

“Initially, it will be somewhat expensive but I think it will be well worth it,” Smith said. “The information that we will collect from animals coming to the shelter to be adopted will be immediately upgraded through the program to online pet-finder sites to greater increase their chances of being adopted.”

Ashburn said the program will aide animal control officers with enforcement across the county.

“When we pick up animals, or animals that are lost, it will tell us who they belong to,” Ashburn said. “It will be an improvement because sometimes collars or tags get lost. From the enforcement standpoint, you can scan the animal and it documents the animal.”

Smith she had considered several different shelter management programs before deciding on the PetPoint system.

“There are literally hundreds and hundreds of these programs,” Smith said. “Some don’t give you enough or are not very user-friendly. Others are just too expensive. What sold me was the total package of this system.”

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For more information about the microchip implantation program, call the Walker County animal shelter at (706) 375-2100.

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Smith referred to additional benefits that the system offers to individuals who adopt pets from the center.

“Spending 22 years working for a vet and healing animals and then coming to this place and seeing all the unwanted and uncared for animals has been absolutely devastating for me,” Smith said. “But to send an animal out of here for me is what my job is all about. This program gives me a 30-day gift that I can give to anybody that chooses to adopt.”

Smith explained the gift as insurance that almost guarantees the health of the adopted pet.

“A lot of times that animals that come in here appear to be healthy, but we are not vets. We can’t diagnose,” Smith said. “Animals come in here with no shots or maybe they haven’t been wormed. Most viruses won’t manifest signs for seven to 21 days. There are times when an animal is adopted and it dies. I feel responsible because I have given somebody hope through this pet and then it dies. However, through this program the owner will have a 30-day reimbursement coverage plan. If the pet has an accident or gets sick in that first 30 days and you take your pet to the vet, when you pay the vet bill and mail it to the company they will pay up to $500 of the vet bill. There is a $50 deductible. But this is more of an incentive not to be afraid to adopt a pet from us.”

Smith further said that the policy also covers pets from accidents like the ingestion of foreign bodies, motor vehicle accidents, bone fractures, and defined poison ingestion.

“I can’t wait to get it started,” Smith said. “I am really excited and hopeful about what this program will mean for the shelter.”

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DID YOU KNOW?

* 8-10 million lost, abandoned and homeless pets enter animal shelters each year in North America.

* Approximately 2 million pets that are reported missing each year may be victims of theft.

* Only 14% of dogs and 4% of cats who end up in animal shelters go home. Without proper identification it is difficult to reunite pets with their owners.

* Micro-chipping offers to best method of recovering a lost pet.



THE SHELTERCARE 30-DAY GIFT COVERAGE

Illness coverage

* Upper respiratory tract infection

* Kennel cough/infectious tracheobronchitis (lower respiratory tract infection)

* Intestinal parasites

* Urinary tract infection (including FLUTD)

* Ear infections

* Mange/mite infections (skin/ears)

* Canine parvovirus/feline panleukopenia infection (feline distemper)

Accident coverage

* Foreign body ingestion removal

* Motor vehicle accident

* Bone fractures

* Poison ingestion (defined)

*Needs are covered up to $500 with a $50 deductible

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