Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Grandpa GPS?

New implanted chip would aid in identification of dotty, daffy, or merely dizzy Olds

"Permanent identification of people! Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?"

A bill working its way through the California legislature would require that all seniors afflicted with dementia and not living in an institutional environment be implanted with identification microchips. In San Diego County, this practice has been in place for some time and has recently reunited families with doddering relatives lost for months at a time.

Dan DeSousa, with the county’s Department of Senior Services, said, “Every confused and forgetful old-timer, as soon as he or she is found wandering the streets in pajamas at three in the morning, gets scanned for a microchip. If every senior had a microchip, we’d be calling the responsible caretaker right then and there.”

“Whether or not the use of the chip could save the county money on operational costs, it can definitely cut time from the poor old guy's stay at the police station,” DeSousa said. “Our goal is, if you get a microchip that means we can get that loopy oldster home to you right away.”

More than 26,000 disoriented grandparents were admitted into San Diego County Shelters last year.

According to last year’s figures, 35 percent of lost uncles taken to county shelters were reunited with their nephews and nieces. A more widespread use of the microchip could improve the chances a lost relative makes its way back home.

Recently, a great-grandmother missing for 18 months from her Oceanside family was found in San Marcos. The person who found the woman took her to a county homeless shelter where she was scanned for the chip and reunited with her family.

San Diego County shelters offer chip implants for $20 on Thursdays.

"The amazing thing is, we started this initiatives with dogs," marveled DeSousa. "You know, for lost pets. But while pets are precious, people are even more precious. It just made good sense. If we get good response on the senior initiative, we see children as a natural next step. We even have plans to install radio transmitters onto the chips, so that no one need ever be lost again. We'll be able to track lost kids via satellite, and even send them directions home. And if someone wants to pay us to beam in a suggestion that they stop at a 7-11 on the way and pick up an ice-cold Coca-Cola to refresh them on their long journey - well, so much the better."

Related.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks

New implanted chip would aid in identification of dotty, daffy, or merely dizzy Olds

"Permanent identification of people! Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?"

A bill working its way through the California legislature would require that all seniors afflicted with dementia and not living in an institutional environment be implanted with identification microchips. In San Diego County, this practice has been in place for some time and has recently reunited families with doddering relatives lost for months at a time.

Dan DeSousa, with the county’s Department of Senior Services, said, “Every confused and forgetful old-timer, as soon as he or she is found wandering the streets in pajamas at three in the morning, gets scanned for a microchip. If every senior had a microchip, we’d be calling the responsible caretaker right then and there.”

“Whether or not the use of the chip could save the county money on operational costs, it can definitely cut time from the poor old guy's stay at the police station,” DeSousa said. “Our goal is, if you get a microchip that means we can get that loopy oldster home to you right away.”

More than 26,000 disoriented grandparents were admitted into San Diego County Shelters last year.

According to last year’s figures, 35 percent of lost uncles taken to county shelters were reunited with their nephews and nieces. A more widespread use of the microchip could improve the chances a lost relative makes its way back home.

Recently, a great-grandmother missing for 18 months from her Oceanside family was found in San Marcos. The person who found the woman took her to a county homeless shelter where she was scanned for the chip and reunited with her family.

San Diego County shelters offer chip implants for $20 on Thursdays.

"The amazing thing is, we started this initiatives with dogs," marveled DeSousa. "You know, for lost pets. But while pets are precious, people are even more precious. It just made good sense. If we get good response on the senior initiative, we see children as a natural next step. We even have plans to install radio transmitters onto the chips, so that no one need ever be lost again. We'll be able to track lost kids via satellite, and even send them directions home. And if someone wants to pay us to beam in a suggestion that they stop at a 7-11 on the way and pick up an ice-cold Coca-Cola to refresh them on their long journey - well, so much the better."

Related.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

El Cajon offers pet-sitters to homeless

Only PATH San Diego and Father Joe's Village allow pets on-site
Next Article

Behind the Border Fire fire wall

"We know that quite a lot of animals were left behind."
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.