Oklahoma City Fire is starting a new initiative to help reunite lost pets with their owners. Two metro fire stations now have microchip scanners that can help find an owner.
โPets do get loose, you know, for whatever reason, they run off a leash or escape a fence,โ said Scott Douglas, with the Oklahoma City Fire Department. โItโs just something that happens. So Iโm really just hoping to get the pets back to their owners a lot faster.โ
News 4 wanted to know what it would be like if someone were to stop by with an animal that was chipped, so we stopped by.
โIf you find a lost pet in the area and youโre wondering where the owner is, you can grab that pet and bring it by a fire station. If the pet is chipped, we can scan it,โ said Douglas.
If the pet has a microchip, itโll provide the chipโs number. The firefighter will then enter the number on a website that identifies the owners of the furry friend.
โItโs just, honestly, itโs just neighbors looking out for neighbors,โ said Douglas. The microchip scanning has already proven to be successful.
โFire Station 30 had a person who found a dog in the neighborhood,โ said Douglas. They came by, brought the pet, it was Sue Magoo, the dog. Firefighters scanned the chip and relocated the pet, with the owner just within a matter of minutes.โ
Beyond the reunification process, Oklahoma City Fire says they are working to help out the city as a whole. โThe initiative behind this is to not overcrowd the welfare of the animal welfare, you know, alleviating some of the pressure off of our animal welfare system,โ said Douglas.
Only Fire Stations 30 (4343 S. Lake Hefner Dr) and 25 (2701 SW 59th St.) have microchip scanners. The fire station does not take the pet if the owner cannot be found.
