FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — On Wednesday, the Humane Society of the Ozarks offered free clinical care to pets for the unhoused community in Northwest Arkansas.
The program, named “Street Vet for the Unhoused,” was held at the Genesis Church Fellowship Hall in Fayetteville.
"People that come here, they really want to take care of their pets,” veterinarian at the Animal Emergency Clinic Stephanie Rainbolt said. “They are really appreciative that this is an opportunity for them to get the care that they need.”
The free program used to provide care less frequently, but moved up to a monthly basis to meet demand and ensure patients had the ability to follow up with their previous appointments. Now, on the first Wednesday of every month, the vet pop-up appears for those that need it.
“We were doing it twice a year, and providing pet care for the unhoused,” Veterinarian for the Humane Society of the Ozarks Laura Hokett said. “I believe that it's going to be much more effective to run that on a monthly basis."
Organizers said that pet healthcare can be expensive and can often be a detractor from taking furry friends to seek the help that they need. According to the Humane Society of the Ozarks, that was one of the reasons they started this program.
“Vet care, just with any healthcare, is costly,” Executive Director of the Humane Society of the Ozarks Chase Jackson said. “A lot of the time our pets are more to us than anything, and we just want to make sure that access to care is there for the underserved population.”
In a Facebook post, the Humane Society said they were able to vaccinate, deworm, and examine around 30 pets in March, the first month of making the switch to a monthly clinical program.
They hope to expand into more local communities as word of this program gets out.
“We post fliers all over Northwest Arkansas,” Jackson said. “We're now in talks of moving it up to Rogers a different day of the week."
The Humane Society of the Ozarks said people deserve to get proper care for their pets, despite their income status.
“I know there's a really big need for pets, especially in the unhoused community,” Rainbolt said. “Everyone deserves to have a pet and pets can really do a lot to help make people a lot happier and make their lives a little bit easier."
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