The town of Standish is set to host its first animal microchip injection clinic Monday, April 27.

The microchips, which are slightly bigger than a grain of rice, will allow Jack Freitas, the Standish animal control officer, to quickly obtain contact information for a lost or injured animal’s owner. According to Freitas, about 20 percent of the animals he finds in Standish have microchips.

The event will be held in conjunction with a rabies clinic at the Standish Town Hall from 5-6 p.m. on Monday. Dr. David Nelligan, owner of the Standish Veterinary Hospital, will perform the procedures for a $40 payment that will also cover the cost of enrolling in the microchip identification system. Veterinarians typically charge between $100 and $200 for microchip injections, according to Freitas. Rabies shots will cost $10.

Freitas, the town’s animal control officer since 2003, said he has lost two injured dogs and one injured cat in the last year due to the fact that he could not identify the animals’ owners. If the animals had contained microchips, he would have been able to wave a wand, contact the owners, and ascertain if they wanted to pay for life-saving medical procedures.

“We can save your animal,” Freitas said. “It saves the animal a huge amount of pain and suffering and it could save the animal’s life because if it’s a life-threatening injury the municipality can keep the animal sedated and free from pain, but we do not have the resources to do major operations and life-saving procedures.”

“In a lot of cases if an animal is seriously injured, municipalities do not have financial resources to do large amounts of investment into animals if they can’t find the animal’s owners,” Freitas added.

The microchips can also save money, Freitas said. When Freitas finds a lost or injured animal and cannot locate the owner, he drops it off at the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, a process that can result in up to $100 in fees.

“Besides feeling good about reuniting animals with their owners and saving animals’ lives it makes us feel good to avoid pet owners’ financial hardship,” Freitas said. “We’re not out to make money. We’re out to help animals.”

According to Freitas, the microchip injectios takes less than a minute. The microchips, he said, are “smaller than an infant’s finger nail clipping,” and are inserted into the animal’s upper torso around the shoulder blade.

“It goes in with a needle just like a vaccine,” he said.