Written by: Sienna Escobar
Pet owners in the Collegedale area can receive low-cost animal care at an upcoming outdoor community event. The Humane Educational Society (HES) will host a vaccine clinic for cats and dogs on April 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot of The Commons at 4950 Swinyar Drive.
According to its website, HES will offer free DHPP shots for dogs and FVRCP shots for cats while supplies last. Other services, such as rabies vaccinations, pet licenses and microchips, will be available for $25 or less per animal.
The clinic will serve pet owners on a first-come, first-served basis. According to Jeanine Cloyd, director of community outreach and communication at HES, similar clinics generally reach capacity at approximately 80 to 100 people; however, she said they have doubled many of the staff and volunteer positions for this clinic to care for more pets.
Attendees can expect to stay in their car with their pets while they fill out paperwork and wait their turn in line. According to Cloyd, the final step for pet owners will be to take their animals out of their vehicles and approach the veterinarians for treatment.
HES asks owners to keep their dogs on leashes and cats in pet carriers outside their vehicles. Cloyd said wait times can be long and advised pet owners to come early and be prepared to stay at the clinic for an hour or more, depending on how many other people are present.
The clinic is run by a mixture of HES staff and approximately 17 volunteers, including the two veterinarians on site. The DHPP and FVRCP vaccines were donated by Petco Love Care, a program run by Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc., that has donated millions of vaccines to similar community clinics, according to the retailer’s website.
HES runs similar clinics monthly in different locations throughout Hamilton County. While clinics are typically held in Ooltewah four times a year, this event marks the first of its kind within Collegedale city limits. Cloyd said the event could return to Collegedale, depending on its reception and the level of need in the community.
The next HES clinic will be held April 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Soddy Elementary School in Soddy Daisy, Tennessee.
Cloyd said she hopes to inform community members that HES can help them and their animals.
“Times are tough, and we understand that financially, animals can be very expensive,” Cloyd said. “We want to see all of the pets in our community cared for, and we hope to see them get all of the necessary vaccinations.”
