Friends of Upland Animal Shelter in partnership with Banfield Pet Hospital held their third annual Banfield Free Preventative Care Clinic at Friends’ shelter-ran thrift shop located in Upland, Calif. on Sunday, October 13. This event is held each year to provide free vaccinations, heartworm testing, flea and tick prevention, ear cleaning, nail clipping, and a general exam to the pets of low-income homes.
In addition to these free services for those families in need, the clinic also provided microchipping for $10 per pet.
Friends of Upland Animal Shelter is a non-profit organization that strives to find loving homes for dogs and cats in the city of Upland. The shelter works in partnership with the city of Upland and relies on volunteers, donations, and private funding to care for the areas abandoned pets. Friends also runs a thrift shop to help support the shelter with funding.
This event brought out around 20 employees and volunteers. The staff arranged 5 sets of tables and canopies to create stations for each of these services. The setup in front of the thrift store allowed for a streamlined pet servicing event. Appointments were preferred but walk-ins were not turned away.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, in 2016, 78.8 percent of dog owners brought their animals in for routine or preventive care at least once a year and 47.2 percent of cat owners did the same.
The event was located in an out-of-the-way area with little parking, yet still managed to create a large enough buzz to fill the lot with pets and owners of all types. Friends set a goal of servicing 50 pets for their first year of the event and exceeded that goal by servicing 70. This year, the shelter set a goal of servicing 100 pets. According to volunteer coordinator, Shelley Foglesong, the event surpassed their goal and serviced 110 pets. The event reached their capacity for the number of pets they were able to service.
Friends of Upland Animal Shelter will continue to host smaller weekend adoption events throughout the remainder of the year.
If you or anyone you know would like to donate or get involved, please contact the shelter at (909) 931-4185.
Leave a Reply