YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — It’s important to keep pets healthy with routine check-ups and vaccines, but the cost of regular veterinary check-ups can be overwhelming. That’s why Youngstown State University offered a one-day affordable clinic for the community.
Vet bills can add up quickly, so to ease some of that burden the Marjorie Hartman Family Foundation Pet Clinic offered a low-cost vaccine clinic to help out the community. It also offered students the opportunity to receive hands-on experience with veterinary procedures alongside a licensed veterinarian.
“The students are getting experience in restraining, blood draws, administering vaccines, taking vitals, taking a temperature, respiratory rate, heartbeats,” said Donald Crum, registered veterinary technician.
Everything from rabies shots to heartworm tests and microchip placement was offered.
In fact, in Mahoning County, you’re required by law to have your pet vaccinated against rabies. Crum stresses that vaccines help prevent the spread of preventable diseases.
“In this area a few years ago, we saw a raise in distemper,” Crum said. “When we had the, what were referenced to as the ‘zombie raccoons.’ They were infected with the distemper virus which is a disease which pets, cats and dogs, can obtain.”
He also pointed out the importance of spaying and neutering your pet, especially in a time when many local shelters are at capacity and overburdened, as it helps to contain the population of pets in the area.
