From Heartbreak to Launching a Pet Microchipping Initiative

If these days you’re one click away from “find my device,” imagine having the same chance at “find my furbaby.” After the heartbreaking loss of her “furbaby,” Ranger, June Erickson is on a mission to make sure no one else has to go through the same pain. When her service dog, Ranger, went missing the night of August 25, June was devastated to realise how difficult it was to reunite lost pets with their owners.

“In my despair, I decided that I wasn’t going to let this happen to anyone else. So I started a lost and found page. It’s called Lost and Found Animals of San Pedro,” said June. She added that since the launch of the Facebook page, it has gained over 600 members and has already helped reunite nearly two dozen pets with their owners.

June said that while many people saw Ranger running around, no one took action to bring him to safety. “All Ranger needed was one kind soul to bring him to SAGA or San Pedro Animal Hospital, and they would have found he was chipped and had a family who loved him,” she said.

Eventually, after days of not finding Ranger, June and her husband, Curtiss Erickson, believe that Ranger passed away due to heat exhaustion, starvation, and thirst.

The loss of her furbaby led to a bigger movement known as the Ranger Warriors Foundation, a nonprofit organisation with a bold goal: to microchip every dog and cat on the island. With the launch of this microchipping program, June is working to set up scanning stations across the island. Currently there are three scanners on the island, including one at Saga Humane Society.

She explained that this will make it easier for pets to be found. June says the system works by scanning the “rice-sized chip” and the owner getting instantly notified through a free registry. However, June emphasised that the chip must already be registered, because “a chip is nothing if you don’t register it.”

With 16 additional scanners on the way, June said, “I want this to be a community-wide effort where people can easily find a scanner, no matter where they are.”

To date, 29 pets have already been microchipped, and she says she has about 80 more microchips left to use. But she says this is only the beginning, as the bigger vision is to expand the program nationwide. “The goal is to chip every dog and cat, even strays, so that no animal goes ignored again,” she said, “and if someone abandons a pet, we’ll know because they’ll be chipped.”

Tomorrow, June is partnering with the San Pedro Animal Hospital to microchip more pets. Anyone interested can set their appointment ahead of time to ensure a smooth process.

A GoFundMe account has been set up for anyone who would like to contribute towards the microchipping initiative. Click here to donate.

Donations can also be made to Belize Bank account number 195866010140000, under the name June Young-Figueroa.

June Erickson can be contacted at Rangerwarriorsbz@gmail.com.