Santa Barbara County supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a program designed to help reunite lost pets with their owners by placing microchip scanners at five Santa Maria fire stations.
Funded by the Santa Barbara County Animal Care Foundation, the scanners will be installed and maintained through a partnership between Animal Services and the Santa Maria Fire Department.
Supervisor Steve Lavagnino called it an innovative and low-cost way to make people’s lives better and thanked the Santa Maria Fire Department for its “forward thinking” in launching the project.
“If you find a lost dog, instead of having to go somewhere else or try and figure out where the pound is, all you have to do is go to a trusted fire station,” Lavagnino said.
County Animal Services Director Sarah Aguilar was joined by her team during the meeting, including an adorable white Chihuahua named Ari. “This is Ari, Ari is available for adoption… he’s terrified of the world,” Aguilar said, as the small dog remained glued to her like a shy toddler.
Aguilar explained the working model of the microchip readers, which include instructions in both English and Spanish, as well as a 24-hour phone number for assistance in finding owners of lost pets.
While she continued to provide paw rubs of comfort to Ari, Aguilar praised the “amazing collaboration” between the Santa Barbara Foundation, SBC Animal Care Foundation and the Santa Maria Fire Department that brought the project to fruition.
“We are very excited to get this tool into the hands of the community,” she said.
Linda Greco of the Animal Care Foundation said 20 scanners were donated in total, with the first five going to Santa Maria. She expressed pride in the community receiving these tools and looked forward to supporting the placement of more scanners across the county.
Lavagnino also invited all veterans to the 13th annual Stand Down event on Oct. 25 at the Santa Maria Fairpark, where their pets can receive free microchipping, leashes, baths and other services.
Learn more about Ari and other adoptable pets at the Animal Services website.