BUDA, Texas -- Having a pet run away from home is a scary thought, but more and more cities are offering microchips to ensure the pet has a higher chance of being returned safely. The City of Buda is making it easier for residents to have peace of mind when it comes to their pets’ whereabouts.
- City of Buda approves lifetime pet registration
- Microchipping free for a limited time
- Steps will improve chances of being reunited with lost pets
Instead of requiring a yearly pet registration, Buda City Council has approved lifetime pet registration, and up until September 30, it's free to get your pets up to code. Residents within Buda city limits will no longer have to pay $10 a year to renew their pets' registrations.
"We were having a small turnout with our yearly registration. So, the lifetime registration is a lot easier because all you have to do now to keep your registration current is resubmit proof of rabies vaccination after your rabies certificate expires. One step, and done after you register," animal control officer Jonathon Coco said.
Coco said many people don't realize Buda has a requirement that animals in the home (over 4 months) must have a license and registration, and a microchip. Residents can make an appointment to get their pets microchipped by scheduling an appointment with animal control.
"The majority of the animals that got registered were because I made contact with them out in the field, and I advised the owner ‘Hey, we have a registration program, we need to get these animals registered,’ and then they would come to the city hall and do it," Coco said. "Citations can be issued if an animal is not registered. So the way we generally work that is we issue a citation to the animal owner. If they show up and register their pet on or before their appearance date on the citation, we’ll actually revoke that citation. And they won’t have to pay those fees associated with it, as long as they register the animal."
Buda resident Toni Hernandez has taken the first step in ensuring her dog Mini is registered, bringing her into Buda Police Department headquarters to get her microchipped. Along with being registered with the city, Buda requires each pet be microchipped.
"Because if she gets lost, I want her to be returned to our family. She's like another one of my children. I think it's important to microchip them," Hernandez said. "I’d be really sad if she ran away, and I would be looking for her everywhere."
Microchipping takes a few seconds, and doesn't hurt the animal. It's a small device, the size of a grain of rice, that's implanted under the animal's skin. It's not a GPS, but a lost pet can be scanned by a shelter, vet or animal control officer and the animal's owner's information will be brought up. That quick scan is all it takes to bring up an address, phone number, and email to give a pet the best chance to be reunited with its owner.
A Buda, Texas, microchip package appears in this image from January 2020. (Stacy Rickard/Spectrum News)
"With every pet, you generally feel a lot safer if it has a microchip in it. I know for my dog, he’s implanted with the microchip. I keep my information current, if I move the address gets changed," Coco said. "I feel like if I didn't have a microchip in my pet that, you know, once he's gone, he’s gone. There’d be a very slim chance anybody would know he's mine. If I posted flyers everywhere, who’s to say anybody is going to look at it. If I post it online, not everybody uses social media. So there's still a slim chance that the animal would actually be returned."
While it’s a statewide rule to have an annual rabies vaccine, most cities have different requirements when it comes to licensing and registration. In lieu of a formal license, some cities, such as San Antonio, just require microchips as the primary way to identify a pet’s owner. The City of San Antonio used to require pet owners prove yearly rabies vaccine, and their pets would need to be licensed and wear a metal collar tag shaped like Texas. A microchip won't fall off like a collar or a tag, making it a safer option many Texas cities are choosing. Microchips help prevent unnecessary overcrowding at county shelters by reuniting owners with their pets before they're taken in.
Toni Hernandez and Mini appear in this image from January 2020. (Stacy Rickard/Spectrum News)
"We noticed a lot of animals that had our registration weren't wearing a physical tag. That either gets lost or, you know, the collar gets taken off when they have to take a bath. So once they get out, they don't have any way to return them back home," Coco said. "So once you get a microchip implanted through us, we’ll give you a secondary form with your animal application, you'll fill out all your information on there. And at that point, we'll take it back and enter all that information into the microchip company's database. That way it'll be active. That way, if your pet gets out tomorrow, somebody will be able to call you."
Cities within the same county can have different animal ordinances. If you're unsure if your city requires your pets be registered, licensed, and/or microchipped, contact your local animal control office.