Council mulling microchipping

City Councilmember Cokie Booth is at least as well-known in Boulder City as a passionate supporter of animals as she is for being a small-town politician.

At her request, the council considered the idea of making it mandatory that pets in the city be microchipped by ordinance.

“One of the problems that our Animal Control has,” she explained, “is that every windy day that we have here there are a lot of animals at large. And some of them slip out of their collar and (Animal Control Supervisor) Ann (Inabnitt) and her group are working to try to find the owners of these pets. And one of the things that I think is really sad —it happened to someone I know —is that their dog got out and by the time they got home from work, Animal Control had closed. So they had to leave their dog in (the shelter) overnight. It was very stressful for them. And if you’ve got a chip in the dog then they can notify you immediately that your dog is at large and you can come pick it up. I’m sure there is a fine you have to pay. But I’m sure we would gladly pay that so our dogs are not incarcerated overnight.”

Booth noted that some other municipalities are now microchipping dogs when they are spayed or neutered, saying she would like to see Boulder City follow their lead and make microchipping mandatory. Microchipping is already mandatory in both the city of Las Vegas and in Henderson.

For those not familiar, microchips for animals are small electronic devices, a bit larger than a grain of rice, that are implanted under the skin, usually between the shoulder blades. Once implanted, the registration and contact information can be changed with a phone call or by visiting a website, but the chip itself will live longer than the animal. Info on the chip can be read with a hand-held universal reader. Animal Control Supervisor Ann Inabnitt said that most shelters and rescues have readers.

According to Inabnitt, even registration of animals in Boulder City is an issue.

“A year and a half ago when we got software and began tracking licenses and, based on the guess that Boulder City residents have about 6,000 animals, we only had 600 animals registered,” Inabnitt said. “That is just city licenses, no database for microchips. Today, we have more than 3,000 animals registered, and for about half of those, we have microchips on file. It’s made a big difference. Huge difference on how fast we can get them home.”

She also noted that the cost of a license, is very low —$4 per year per pet —and a lot less than the fine if one were to get a citation for an unlicensed animal. The fine is currently around $200. According to City Manager Taylour Tedder, the cost for microchipping runs between $47 and $145 in Boulder City and other facilities nearby in Henderson.

Inabnitt made a couple of suggestions. Noting that the shelter had recently gotten some large monetary donations, she said they would use those funds to sponsor microchipping for city residents. Conversely, if the animal is picked up by animal control and is not microchipped, she suggested making owners get that done within 10 days a condition on releasing the animal from the shelter.

Council discussion was limited as Mayor Joe Hardy was not in attendance and Councilmember Matt Fox left early to attend his son’s school concert.

Councilmember Steve Walton noted the potential for a public health issue based on the potential for rabies. According to state law, after a bite that breaks the skin, the animal has to be quarantined for 10 days to ensure they do not have rabies. This is true regardless of the animal’s vaccination status. Quarantine is the only option because actually testing for rabies can only be done on an animal that is already dead as the test involves removing and slicing into the brain. The Boulder City ordinance goes further and mandates quarantine for any break of the skin including a scratch.

However, while noting that his own animals are microchipped and that he thinks it’s a good idea, he said he did not support the idea of making it mandatory via statute.

Councilmember Sherri Jorgensen, serving as mayor pro tempore in Hardy’s absence, also noted hesitation to make the procedure mandatory saying that she was c0ncerned with imposing a cost on residents.

“Boulder City shelter has a situation which is kind of unique right now,” she said. “We’re not in trouble. We’re not completely full. The Animal Foundation is full. Henderson is full. Both of them are not taking any owner surrenders. If you live in the Animal Foundation’s’s jurisdiction, you have to wait until March 1 to surrender your animal. We think that’s why we are seeing so many dumped animals.”

Inabnitt said that proving ownership can be a big deal and that if the shelter takes in something like a poodle and puts it on social media, they will get five or more people all claiming the animal is theirs.

“Personally, I would love to microchip everything,” she said. “I would microchip you if I could. Because it is so effective. It provides us all of the information we need and it proves ownership.”

In the end, the council punted. Saying they felt that the two absent members needed to be able to weigh in on the idea, they directed council to bring the issue back up at a future council meeting.