By Edmond Ortiz
This edition of News Briefs highlights how San Antonio fire stations and Boerne police can help to reunite lost pets and their owners, and how three cities plan to spend newly awarded federal funds to upgrade motorist safety and mobility at four railroad crossings.
Also, the city of San Antonio and local philanthropists are helping to keep open the financially challenged East Side Boys and Girls Club.
Fire stations to help keep lost pets safe
The city of San Antonio is installing pet microchip scanning stations outside 11 San Antonio fire stations and the San Antonio Animal Care Services main campus.
Separately, the city of Boerne has set up its first public microchip scanner in the Boerne Police Department parking lot at 124 Old San Antonio Road.
The idea is the same in both initiatives: to provide around-the-clock resources to reunite lost pets with their owners, according to San Antonio and Boerne officials.
Microchips are a small, permanent form of identification implanted beneath a dog or cat’s skin that are mandatory for pets living within the city limits.
When scanned, the chip provides a unique number connected to the city registry holding the pet owner’s contact information.
Anyone who finds a stray animal in San Antonio and wonders if it is a lost pet can take the dog or cat to the SAACS campus or nearest neighborhood fire station with a pet microchip scanner and use it for free in an effort to reunite the pet and its owner.
Outdoor 24/7 microchip scanning stations are available at the following San Antonio locations:
The 12 locations are:
- Council District 1: Fire Station 19, 2307 Vance Jackson Road
- Council District 2: Fire Station 18, 1410 S. W.W. White Road
- Council District 3: Fire Station 22, 1100 March Ave.
- Council District 4: Fire Station 36, 5826 Ray Ellison Blvd.
- Council District 5: Fire Station 16, 2110 Nogalitos St.
- Council Districts 5-7: Fire Station 26, 4140 Culebra Road
- Council District 6: Fire Station 44, 1351 Horal Drive
- Council District 7: Fire Station 27, 1538 Hillcrest Drive
- Council District 8: Fire Station 32 4839 Charles Katz Drive
- Council District 9: Fire Station 46, 1165 Evans Road
- Council District 10: Fire Station 39, 1-750 Nacogdoches Road
- Animal Care Services, 4710 Texas Hwy. 151
SAACS Director Jon Gary said in a press release that helping a lost pet return home is one of the best outcomes for the animal, the family and the entire community.
“These scanners give residents round-the-clock tools to help found pets get home quickly while also reducing unnecessary shelter intake,” Gary said in a statement. “We’re thrilled SAFD partnered with us to provide this resource in every city council district in San Antonio.”
San Antonio Fire Chief Valerie Frausto said the community will benefit from the new tool.
“San Antonio firefighters serve their community every day, and this partnership provides another practical resource for our residents,” Frausto said in a statement. “We are proud to work with Animal Care Services to make it easier for lost pets to get home to the people who love them.”
Boerne’s 24/7 pet microchip scanner is the product of a partnership between the city’s animal care services department and Girl Scout Troop 758. The partnership was performed as a tribute to Chico, a Boerne Police K-9 who died in the line of duty in 2025, and other police K-9s past and present.
Animal Care Services Supervisor Stefanie Fisher, in a press release, called the Boerne scanner another valuable tool for local residents and pet owners, even during times when the city’s animal shelter is closed.
“Someone may find a dog or cat after hours or at a time when they can’t immediately bring the animal to the shelter. Now they have a free resource available to scan for a microchip and take that first step toward finding the pet’s family,” Fisher said in a statement.
Emergency funds headed for East Side Boys and Girls Club
The Boys and Girls Club of San Antonio’s Eastside Clubhouse is receiving emergency city and private sector funding to stave off closure, which was slated to happen at the end of September.
Officials with BGCSA announced Sept. 14 that mounting financial challenges had prompted a decision to suspend programming at their East Side location at 3503 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, effective Sept. 30.
But District 2 City Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez worked with colleagues and city staff to secure $350,000 – half of the Eastside Clubhouse’s budget – in the city’s newly adopted Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
McKee-Rodriguez broke the news in a Sept. 17 video announcement. Approximately $125,000 will immediately be made available to help keep the East Side location open through December.
In order to secure the other $125,000, BGCSA officials must develop a plan for long-term sustainability of the East Side Boys and Girls Club location.
“My hope is that these six months of funding will sustain them while they get major donors, grants and rework their budget,” McKee-Rodriguez said. He added if the Boys and Girls Club cannot keep operating the Eastside Clubhouse into the foreseeable future, he would work with the city’s parks and recreation director and city manager to find a way to keep the East Side location open.
McKee-Rodriguez also urged BGCSA officials to spend the autumn engaging East Side residents, schools, houses of worship, businesses and other stakeholders about long-range visioning for the East Side Boys and Girls Club.
But on Sept. 22, BGCSA announced it had received donations from philanthropic individuals and organizations and businesses such as H-E-B, Harvey E. Najim, Valero Energy Corp., and the Malú and Carlos Alvarez Family in order to increase support for the Eastside Clubhouse and the Mays Clubhouse on the near-West Side. The latter club location also has been surrounded by financial difficulties, according to BGCSA officials.
Debbie Powell, CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of San Antonio, issued a statement, thanking local stakeholders for their recent show of support to help keep the Eastside Clubhouse open and stabilize programming at the Mays Clubhouse. She added that BGCSA will soon roll out what she called a Community Voice Council, involving East Side families, political and civic leaders, and local nonprofits, to reshape programming at the Eastside Clubhouse.
“We are committed to building Boys and Girls Clubs of San Antonio stronger and better, not just for today but for the next 87 years,” Powell said in her statement.
Cibolo, Schertz, San Antonio receive money to upgrade railroad crossings
The Federal Railroad Administration is providing the Texas Department of Transportation with $756 million to support 12 railroad grade separation projects statewide, including one in Schertz, one in Cibolo, and two in east San Antonio.
TxDOT announced the news in August. The Cibolo project, according to local officials, will create a grade-separate railroad crossing to improve safety and mobility at Farm Road 78 and Country Lane.
“Removing the conflict between rail traffic and our everyday drivers at FM 78 and Country Lane is a massive win for the safety and convenience of everyone who lives and works in Cibolo,” Mayor Kara Latimer said in a statement. “As our city continues to grow, delivering key transportation solutions like the north-south connector is essential.
The Schertz project will provide a grade-separate railroad crossing at Farm Road 3009/Roy Richard Drive and Farm Road 78. Schertz authorities have responded to several train/vehicle collisions in recent years, including last October and this past February.
The city of San Antonio is receiving funds to build overpasses at two separate railroad crossings at Gibbs-Sprawl Road – one at Walzem Road and another at Rittiman Road.
Local residents, merchants and first-responders often complain about long waits for passing trains at each of those Gibbs-Sprawl Road intersections.
