YOU’RE WATCHING WLKY NEWS. IN SOUTHERN INDIANA, A SIMPLE NEIGHBORHOOD IDEA IS TURNING INTO A GROWING MOVEMENT, HELPING LOST PETS GET HOME FASTER. IN THIS PROJECT COMMUNITY REPORT, WE SHOW YOU HOW NEIGHBORS ARE INSTALLING LOW COST MICROCHIP SCANNING STATIONS RIGHT IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES. SO IF YOU WALK UP, IT’S KIND OF LOW. I DID THAT ON PURPOSE TO KIND OF MAKE DOG HEIGHT THAT YOU’LL JUST OPEN THE DOOR. INSIDE IS THE SCANNER A QUICK SCAN, AND IN SECONDS, A LOST PET COULD BE ON ITS WAY HOME ACROSS SOUTHERN INDIANA. CITIZEN BUILT MICROCHIP SCANNING STATIONS LIKE THIS ONE BUILT BY JENNIFER LOGSDON IN CLARKSVILLE’S PARKWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD, ARE MAKING THAT POSSIBLE. YOU JUST PRESS THE BLUE BUTTON AND THEN YOU WILL SCAN THE DOG. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, IT ALREADY PICKED HER CHIP UP THAT QUICK, LAWSON SAYS THE STATIONS ARE USER FRIENDLY, AND ANYONE WHO FINDS A LOST ANIMAL CAN STOP BY, SCAN FOR A CHIP AND BEGIN THE PROCESS OF TRACKING DOWN THE OWNER. I FOUND IN ONE MONTH 19 STRAY DOGS IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE IN OLD CLARKSVILLE, AND IT MOBILIZED ME TO WANT TO DO SOMETHING TO HELP. JEN BUG, WHO STARTED THE MOVEMENT IN SOUTHERN INDIANA, SAYS IT’S ABOUT CITIZENS WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP FIX A GROWING PROBLEM. UNFORTUNATELY, LOST ANIMALS ARE EVERYWHERE, AND I FOUND A LOT OF DOGS WERE MICROCHIPPED. AND THEN I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD MAKE A LOT OF SENSE IF I WEREN’T THE ONLY PERSON IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD ABLE TO SCAN A DOG AND SKETCHED UP A LITTLE SCANNING STATION WITH A WEATHERPROOF BOX, A TETHER SO PEOPLE COULDN’T ACCIDENTALLY WALK OFF WITH THE SCANNER AND SOME INFORMATION ABOUT HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO NEXT. JEN SAYS THESE STATIONS ARE AFFORDABLE AND EASY TO BUILD, MAKING IT THE PERFECT NEIGHBORHOOD DIY PROJECT. I WANT TO SAY IT COSTS ME PROBABLY ABOUT $6,570 TOTAL. THE BOX WAS THE MOST EXPENSIVE PART, SO YOU CAN DEFINITELY. THERE’S DEFINITELY WAYS TO CHEAP THAT DOWN IF YOU’RE ON A BUDGET. MAY 1ST MARKED ONE YEAR SINCE JEN INSTALLED HER SCANNING STATION AND SHE SAYS THE EFFORT IS REALLY GAINING MOMENTUM. WITH MULTIPLE STATIONS ALREADY INSTALLED ACROSS SOUTHERN INDIANA AND MORE ON THE WAY. THERE ARE EIGHT UP NOW IN SOUTHERN INDIANA AND THERE’S ONE IN LOUISVILLE, SO THAT’S NINE. AND I’M HOPING LOUISVILLE, WHO HAS A MICROCHIP ORDINANCE NOW LMAS YOU KNOW, IF THEY GET A STRAY DOG, THAT DOG DOESN’T LEAVE WITHOUT A MICROCHIP NOW. SO I’M HOPING LOUISVILLE COMES ON BOARD WITH THIS. AND ORGANIZERS SAY THEY ARE TRACKING SCANNING STATIONS ONLINE SO THAT YOU CAN FIND A LOCATION NEAR YOU AND RESOURCES ON HOW TO BUILD ONE OF THESE YOURSELF. JUST GO TO WLKY.CO