What’s better than an affordable vet clinic? An affordable vet clinic on wheels.
The Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County has launched a campaign to raise money to cover the cost of a mobile vet unit. It will help address the demand for veterinary care for pets in the community.
The 26-foot mobile vet clinic is set to cost $316,773 and will feature 17 kennels of various sizes, an exam table, a surgery table with a hydraulic lift, storage cabinets, an autoclave for sterilizing surgical tools and other surgical equipment.
According to the HSTPC website , the shelter has raised 62% of their goal including $30,000 in matching funds from the Puyallup Tribe.
Jennifer Bennett, the HSTPC Chief Veterinary Officer, said in an interview that the mobile vet clinic would serve as a full vet clinic and would allow them to take their services and activities on the road and into communities that need it the most.
“The mobile veterinary unit will provide essential access to care for those who struggle to find available appointments or lack transportation to reach veterinary clinics,” Bennett stated in a press release. “By bringing veterinary services directly to these underserved areas, we can ensure more pets receive the necessary care, preventing illnesses and reducing pet overpopulation.”
The mobile veterinary unit is in the process of being built and is expected to be delivered by November and the shelter plans to begin using it right away, Bennett said.
What will the mobile vet clinic be used for?
Bennett said the mobile vet clinic would be used for many things including their Targeted Trap-Neuter-Return program for community cats , Vaccine & Wellness Clinics, owned animal spay/neuter surgeries and mobile adoption events.
Targeted Trap-Neuter-Return program (TNR)
TNR is a program that helps reduce the size of the population of community cats in Pierce County. Bennett described community cats as cats that do not have any owners, but are taken care of by the community.
The HSTPC has developed a plan that enlists the help of community volunteers and staff to identify locations in Pierce County that have large populations of community cats, and to also set traps the night before scheduled TNR days.
Bennett said that having a mobile vet clinic would facilitate the TNR program because the cats would be caught, neutered or spayed and released back into the area that they know “without the stress of moving them in and out of the shelter and taking that transportation away.”
Bennett added that TNR has been proven to reduce community cat populations and they plan to help as many community cats as possible.
“Usually we’re targeting to reduce that colony by about 80% over time, so the number of days we initially estimate are a couple of days a month, but each of those days could be 40 or 50 cats that go through surgery,” Bennett said. “That number will get modified over time as we identify where the colonies are, and how successful our efforts are, so that means that there’s a lot of other days in the month for us to use this mobile veterinary unit and we have other plans for it as well.”
Vaccine & Wellness Clinics
The HSTPC offers a monthly Vaccine & Wellness Clinics, but these clinics are held in the shelter’s parking lot under tents “which is not the best for the elements or the safety of the animals,” Bennett said.
Bennett added that the shelter plans to use the mobile veterinary unit for these wellness clinics in order to make them safer, but also to take the clinics to other locations.
Vaccine & Wellness clinics are available to residents that can attest to a low income status. Vaccine prices range from $5 to $15 and microchips are $35.
The HSTPC does not offer spay/neuter surgeries to the public, but Bennett said they hope to reestablish this service through the mobile vet unit.
Adoption events
Bennett said the can will also be used for adoption events since it features an external roll door that can be lifted so people can view adoptable pets .
If you want to donate
The HSTPC is asking the community for donations to help fund the new mobile veterinary unit.
Visit the HSPTC website to make a direct donation to them.
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