PET FINDER

For the past 20+ years, Encino Park has had a central point of contact to call if you have lost your pet 

or if you have found an animal in the subdivision.  A resident, Cindy Haines, has listed her telephone 

number 210-497-3049 and email hainesrjca@att.net as a point of contact for this purpose. You 

may also text her at 210-573-1085.

 If you lose a pet, call, and give a detailed description of the 

animal, along with information as to where the animal was lost, how long it has been missing, and 

how to contact the owner.  Texting a picture is also very helpful.   Likewise, if you find an animal, call 

and provide a description of the animal and where it was found, and your contact information.  The 

goal of this service is to match the lost or found animal to its owner.  This simple system has worked 

beautifully over the years, and has resulted in many lost and found matches and relief to many frantic pet owners.

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An FYI on Microchips:

 

On June 30, 2015, the city of San Antonio approved an ordinance requiring registered microchips to be implanted in all cats, dogs and ferrets living within the city limits.  This requirement replaces the prior dog licensing and dog tag requirement from the city.  During the first transition year, unexpired city licenses will still be considered valid until their  expiration date.  The following are highlights of the new ordinance: 

 

http://www.sanantonio.gov/AnimalCare/WhatWeDoServices/LowCostServices/Microchipping.aspx

 

 

•  All dogs, cats, ferrets residing in San Antonio city limits must have a registered microchip.

• Registered microchip must show current ownership information including: Owner name, address,           phone number and the description of the pet

•  Microchips do not need to be registered with the City or ACS; microchips only need to be registered   with microchip manufacturer

•  A current city license (the metal Texas-shaped tag) shall continue to be valid until its expiration

• The owner of the pet is responsible for ensuring that the microchip is registered with current information 

• If there is a change in pet ownership, the previous and the current owner are both responsible for ensuring  the microchip is updated with new owner's information.

• Dogs MUST wear a tag with the registered microchip number at all times while outdoors. 

 

 

Microchips can be implanted by Animal Care Services (ACS), shelters, microchip clinics, and private veterinarians.

 

Animal Care Services, located at 4710 State Highway 151, offers microchipping anytime during regular business hours – 

weekdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and weekends from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (no appointment needed & includes free lifetime registration.

 

Please Know:  microchipping is a TWO STEP process. (1) Have chip implanted by a qualified person (the chip has only a series of numbers/letters). (2)  Owner must register their contact information with the microchip company-this associates YOUR INFORMATION with the microchip number. Be sure to keep this information up to date in their database if you move or change phone numbers. 

 

Without this second step-the microchip is useless to get the pet back to its owner. Check when you have the chip implanted-sometimes the cost of the registration is included in the cost of the microchip, and sometimes you must pay separately when you register it—depending on the manufacturer.

 

Microchips are a GREAT way to identify your pet if it is ever lost or stolen.

 

Please Also Know: In order to “read” the numbers on a microchip, the animal must be “scanned” with a 

microchip scanning device or “scanner”. The EP Pet Finder personally owns a microchip scanner, but offers 

to scan any animals found in Encino Park to look for the presence of an implanted microchip.  This should help in the situations where it is difficult to transport a “found” animal to a local vet clinic for scanning.  

 

Please feel free to call if you need this service.