"Sharon's barnyard and beyond" in Niceville was to be the site of a pet micro-chipping clinic on Saturday.

More than 70 pets had been signed up to receive the micro-chip injection from a licensed vet who was donating his time, but all those plans changed with one phone call from a state attorney's office representative.

Sharon Burke said, "He let us as a courtesy call know that there are only two areas where micro-chipping is allowed to be done. One is a permanent vet's office and the other is a mobile vet unit."

The pet product store doesn't fit into either of those categories, and even though it can't register for micro-chipping, the store can register to administer pet vaccinations. That's causing some event organizers to wonder if the issue is really about the safety of the animals.

"To me it seems as if the best interest of the animal is not at stake in this particular case. Because micro-chipping is a fairly easy procedure it's a sub-dermal injection."

Burke says micro-chipping in a hurricane prone area is crucial, and pet owner Anne Bailey agrees.

"With storms, evacuation, a lot of times you don't know where you're going at the time and whether pets are allowed to be there at the time, and in case of separation from a pet it's a good way to get them back to their original owner."

The clinic's proceeds were going to be donated to the Alaqua Animal Refuge in Freeport. There is no animal shelter in Walton County. The non-profit organization relies on donations to help rescue the thousands of animals euthanized from Walton County each year.

While the refuge won't be getting any money from the micro-chipping clinic, it will be hosting a K-9 Carnival from 10-4 next Saturday at Gulf Place on 30A.

In the meantime there is talk the laws regarding micro-chipping locations could be changed in the near future.