MOUNT VERNON — Knox County’s Animal Control officers will soon have mobile access to dog tag and microchip information, as well as the history of dogs they have dealt with before, once the office obtains two new smartphones.
Dog Warden Jim St. Clair told the county commissioners Thursday that upgrading the two cell phones issued to Animal Control officers will allow them to access that information while they are on calls. It will be especially useful in calls after normal office hours.
St. Clair also said every dog that leaves the shelter is now microchipped. The officers have scanners that can read the chips, but the smartphones will allow them to access the records without having to return to the shelter. That could also be done with laptop computers, but the phone option will be cheaper.
The upgrade will cost $116 per year for each phone, plus the cost of the phones. A Droid of the type used by another county will cost about $125 each, he said.
St. Clair will not get one of the phones as he will simply continue to use his personal phone. Calls to his county-issued phone are automatically forwarded to it.
Commissioners Allen Stockberger and Teresa Bemiller both said they had no objections to the purchase as the money is available in the Animal Shelter’s budget.
