P.A.W.S. Animal Shelter Microchip Clinic a Success, 12 year old Micah Connor raises $250+

 

July 29, 2020

Despite all the craziness that has gripped the community, the state and the country as we all try to navigate this global pandemic COVID-19, the P.A.W.S. Animal Shelter in Chinook has had a fantastic 2020.

Alissa Hewitt, manager at the shelter, has been busy taking advantage of the down time during the shutdown. First, the shelter went through a remodel after the last dog was adopted in the spring.

New paint, concrete in the outside kennels and a number of other improvements were made. June saw the shelter reopen and began accepting new dogs. P.A.W.S. volunteers took in six dogs in all, almost immediately.

Last week the first adoption took place since the reopening, "We've been full and overfull since we reopened, we have one being cared for at the vet and five in the shelter for the most part. We have had one adoption from a gentleman in Billings, so we are down to four at the shelter and one at the vet," stated Hewitt.

The Billings adoption turned out well for all involved, "The adoption worked out really well. We had a volunteer, Anjanett Hawk, who had an appointment in Billings, so she loaded Wiley up in her car and delivered him in person," added Hewitt.

After taking care of their first adoption, P.A.W.S. turned their attention to a Microchip Clinic they had been planning since the reopening.

20 slots were available for the clinic and all fees and paperwork were completed in advance of the clinic. The event went off without a hitch this past Saturday at the shelter location on the Blaine County Fairgrounds in Chinook.

"We were set up to handle 20 dogs, of which all were registered prior to Saturday. We had four no shows and chipped 16 dogs in 36 minutes," commented Hewitt.

This was the first microchip clinic the shelter had hosted, so there were plenty of unknowns heading in. To help cover the bases and handle the unexpected, plenty of volunteers were on hand to help out.

These volunteers and animal lovers included: Kailey Kleinjan, Martha Dickenson, Emily Hannum, Kylie Verploegan, Amy Connor, Micah Connor, Beth Munari, Tristan Gauer, as well as Alissa, her husband Edwin and their kids.

The clinic could not have been as successful as it was without these wonderful volunteers, "It's really important to have them there. This was our first ever clinic and we didn't know what to expect. It was great to have so many willing people there willing to help with anything and handle the unexpected when it came up," said Hewitt.

The process of chipping the dogs is actual a pretty simple and fluid. "It's a pretty quick process. The microchip is inserted between the shoulder blades by a syringe preloaded with a chip in it. The microchip is encased in very small package tinier than a grain of rice. The chip is preloaded with a coded number. P.A.W.S. volunteers then scan the area to make sure the chip is working," said Hewitt.

From that point on the owners are in charge, "The owner of the dog then takes the chip information and registers the dog with it however they see fit. There are several free sites they can go to or they can do it through the organization that we work with for a small fee. The shelter will provide them with all the links and information for that site. After we provide them with this information, they leave, and it is out of our hands and now the responsibility of the owner."

In addition to all the good being done with the microchip clinic, 12 year old Micah Connor was on sight doing his part to raise money for P.A.W.S. Hewitt loves his commitment to the shelter, "We love having Micah around, he is the longest tenured volunteer at the shelter at just 12 years of age. He does so much and we all like to see his efforts rewarded!"

Micah baked Cake Pops, chocolate cookies and made fresh lemonade to be sold at the shelter at the microchip clinic. "He put so much effort into making those cake pops and everything and when we were done pretty quick, we wanted him to have the opportunity to sell them all," added Hewitt.

The solution, pack everything up and head uptown, "We decided to bring two shelter dogs, Shadow and Jane up to main street to help him set up his stand and bring attention to his booth," said Hewitt. "Micah's plan was to stay until 4 p.m. at which point he had already raised more than $250 but he decided he wasn't done yet, so he stayed longer and made a bit more money on top of that."

Micah himself has always wanted to do his part, "Originally at age eight I wanted to volunteer, but I wasn't old enough. So, I did a lemonade stand to help out." Micah added, "I wanted to do the lemonade stand so I could donate money to P.A.W.S. I love all animals, but cats are my favorite."

Nice job Micah!!

 
 

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