| Blaine PD buys dog chip scanner to I.D. community canines |
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| Tuesday, 13 May 2008 | |
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by Tim Hennagir Life Editor Blaine Police Department community service officers (CSOs) now have a new tool to identify community canines – a recently purchased dog chip scanner. Aaron Herzog, support services coordinator, said the new $275 scanner will make animal control more effective and save city residents impound fees. “This solves a two-fold issue,” Herzog explained. “First of all, it can save the pet owner a $70 to $100 fee, and it prevents losing the CSO for an hour.” Impounded dogs are taken to Animal Control Services, Inc. (ACSI), a privately owned animal control facility that’s located in White Bear Lake, Herzog said. Prior to getting the chip scanner, Blaine CSOs had to transport the animal, get it scanned, secure it in a cage, fill out paperwork then drive back to Blaine. “We didn’t have the CSO available for the duties they normally perform,” Herzog said. “They weren’t available to assist officers, do general patrols and other duties.” Now, when a CSO impounds an animal, the dog is scanned for a chip, and if one is found, that information is noted on an impound sheet. In the short time that the city of Blaine has had its dog chip, canner, CSOs have found several chips and been able to contact pet owners, Herzog said. “All but one of the pet owners we contacted were able to get down here in a reasonable amount of time and were able to pick the animal up,” he added. According to Herzog, if a pet owner comes down in a reasonable amount of time, the city will hold the dog at the office and turn the dog over to the owner. “If the dog is a repeat offender, we need to decide how to handle the issue,” Herzog said. If the dog doesn’t have a Blaine license, a citation can be issued. If the dog is licensed, Herzog said the city tries “very hard” to deliver the dog to its owner when it’s picked up. “It’s much more effective that way,” he said. Herzog encouraged Blaine pet owners chip their dogs, as an added assurance measure, since license tags can come detached from the collar or get lost. “It was a budget issue to be able to purchase the scanner,” Herzog added. “We wanted to get it before the ground thawed and the digging dogs got out.” Tim Hennagir is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . |
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