Computer kiosks could help people find pets

Officials with Columbia County's Animal Care and Control Advisory Board are working toward a plan that would allow people to find out about adoptable pets while shopping or checking out a library book.

From a computer mounted in a kiosk, a special software called Chameleon would allow animal control departments and county residents to access such information as what pets are adoptable in the county, how many times the county has been called out to a certain home regarding a pet and how many times a particular pet has bitten someone.

"Right now we do everything by hand," said Linda Fulmer, the manager for the Columbia County Animal Care and Control Department. "This software would keep us from having to go through paper (to find out this information)."

The issue was brought up at the Animal Care and Control Advisory Board's meeting Wednesday. Board members were told that a request for proposals is going through the committee process.

The next step, Fulmer said, is for the county's finance committee to approve the $25,000 software program at its Dec. 21 meeting.

"My plan is to go ahead and get the software up and running (after it is approved) so all the staff is trained and comfortable with it," she said. "By having this program, the public will be able to visit (our Web site) and see what we have available.''

Fulmer said her department is thinking about getting kiosk machines that will allow people who don't have access to a computer to find such information with the touch of a button in public places such as the county's new library, which is being constructed in Evans, and a Wal-Mart or other crowded businesses.

She said the machines would allow people to access the information in Martinez and Evans without having to go to the department's facility in Appling.

She said she doesn't know the cost of the machines or how many the county will purchase.

Another issue addressed at the meeting was the facility's planned building expansion. Fulmer said that with the help of special-purpose, local-option sales tax money, her department would be able to get a building addition for more quarantines and areas for adoptive animals in the next couple of years.