For pet owners, stress and heartbreak can be prevented with a little time and a small poke.

From 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Aug. 13, the Bryan Animal Center will be giving away free rabies vaccinations and microchips for pets at Sadie Thomas Memorial Park. Prior-registration is not required and both services will be provided in order of arrival. All animals brought must be in a crate or leashed in order to receive either service, according to the event website. The event is only for Bryan residents, who must bring proof of residency, which could include a Bryan Texas Utilities bill or a valid government ID. 

Bryan Animal Services supervisor Ashley Rodriguez said the center has been holding the event for two and a half years and is increasing the amount of vaccinations and microchips they give away.

“At the last event that we held at Edgewater Park, we were able to give out 99 microchips and 93 rabies vaccinations,” Rodriguez said. “[Now], we are hoping to max out at 150 of both items. We’ll have a little extra on hand if we need them, but that’s what we’re hoping to hit.”

Rodriguez said she hopes the event will strengthen the community and continue to grow in scale. 

“With us being a city department, we get funded through our citizens. We want to give back to them,” Rodriguez said. “We are very happy to be giving the services away and I’m hoping in the future, we’ll be able to add more vaccinations or more testing.”

Due to the summer heat, Rodriguez said Bryan Animal Services will provide accommodations to ensure the safety of both the attendees and their pets.

“We are trying to get through the lines as quickly as we can. Until then, we will be providing shade and some water for our furry friends and our customers,” Rodriguez said. “We really want people to be prepared for a line and heat.”

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, pets must be vaccinated against rabies either one or three years after the last dose, depending on local ordinances. Rodriguez said Bryan requires residents to vaccinate their pet yearly for rabies.
According to the CDC, pets can be infected with rabies when bitten by wild animals and can pass along the infection to people. Dogs also must have updated rabies vaccinations if they accompany owners traveling outside the U.S. 

Biomedical sciences senior Kaile Kepilino said her dog, Luna, is microchipped with up-to-date information to ensure her safety.
“[Luna] was a little bit of an escape artist when we first adopted her, and she did take off a few times,” Kepilino said. “If she did get out and her collar got off, I knew I needed to make sure people know who she belongs to.”

Around two semesters ago, Kepilino said she was on her way to class when a stray dog jumped into her car.

“I took [the stray dog] to the small animal hospital to scan for a microchip, and he did have one, but it was still registered to the Aggieland Humane Society,” Kepilino said. “I put out information on Facebook to see if anybody knew the dog but we had to take him to the shelter because we couldn’t hold another animal in our house.

Kepilino said she took the dog to the shelter, then a couple days later, received a message from the original owner. The dog’s microchip information wasn’t up to date, but Kepilino said if it was, she would have known how to locate its owner.

“It’s important to make sure everything’s up to date,” Kepilino said. “At least yearly, go in and make sure that all the information for the microchip is correct, like address and phone number.”