Kern County Animal Services offered free microchipping and pet ID tag services to help owners keep their pets safe over the Fourth of July weekend.Between Tuesday and Wednesday, 84 people brought their pets in to get microchippe d, and the shelter made 124 pet ID tags, according to Nick Cullen, director of Kern County Animal Services.Shelley Urzua brought her mom's dog, Kelly, to get microchipped after hearing about the free services on social media. Urzua said she knows firsthand how it feels when a pet runs away because of fireworks."A couple of my dogs ran away because of the Fourth of July. I try to go to the vet and help get my dogs some sedation, so they don't get scared of the fireworks, but just because of all the illegal fireworks that a lot of people do around here, the dogs get terrified.""I've rescued quite a few pets here from the pound, and we have three of them at home, and Kelly is our newest edition, so my mom loves her to death, and I just wanted to make sure that she would be protected," Urzua said.Last year, between July 4 and July 19, Kern County Animal Services received 752 animals 425 dogs and 327 cats.Cullen said the turnout for the free services shows the community is taking the holiday seriously."It seems like when we do something that it gets we realized, the community is more aware that the Fourth of July typically results in pets escaping. So it's just a sign that folks are aware and they want to be prepared, they love their animals and they don't want them to escape. And if they do escape, they want to make sure that they get them back," Cullen said.LeeAnne LeMaster drove from Arvin to Bakersfield to get tags for her pets. She said the trip was especially important after a scare about a month ago when her cat accidentally got out."We couldn't find him for almost an entire day. He spent the night and everything outside. He didn't have a collar, nothing, so if anybody found him, nobody would have known to, you know, who to call or what, what not," LeMaster said.LeMaster left the shelter with new tags for her 2 dogs and 5 cats."They all have their name tagged now with collars. So anything happens, it's by chance any of them get out, they take somebody can call me and let me know," LeMaster said.Kern County Animal Services recommends pet owners make sure their pet's microchip contact information is up to date.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere: Download Our Free App for Apple and Android Sign Up for Our Daily E-mail Newsletter Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Instagram Subscribe to Us on YouTube ...read more read less