KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A new program in Kalamazoo aims to help low-income pet owners get the services they need to keep their furry friends healthy.
The Kalamazoo Humane Society says the last thing it wants is for people to have to put their pets’ health on the back burner because they cannot afford it.
A lot of times, this results in the owner having to give up their pet.
“We’re a solution-based organization and we are working towards lowering as many surrenders as we can,” Hannah Medill, the humane society’s outreach coordinator, explained to FOX 17 Wednesday. “We don’t want them to end up being euthanized or having to go through the trauma of being surrendered, nor do we want their owner to have to go through that.”
The humane society says the new program is possible thanks to grants from PetSmart Charities and the Kalamazoo Community Foundation.
“It is a grant-funded program,” Medill said. “So our goal is to basically provide wellness care, such as vaccines, exams, all of that stuff, for those who don’t have access to or can’t afford it.”
The Kalamazoo Humane Society plans to host pop-up clinics throughout the community to make healthcare even more accessible for pet owners.
“What this means to me is be able to provide care for a lot of pets, for a lot of families that have heard ‘no’ year after year after year because they didn’t have the resources to go and pay [the] full fee,” Kalamazoo Humane Society Executive Director Aaron Winters said.
The next pop-up clinic is Monday, May 15 from 1 p.m.- 5 p.m. at the Kalamazoo Farmers Market.
The humane society hopes to serve around 200 people.
“We service everybody on a first-come, first-serve basis and we expect that to be a big event,” Winters added.
