Jul 3, 2009 2:14 pm US/Eastern
Mobile Vet Clinic Attracts Crowds At Restaurant
FUNKSTOWN, Md. (AP) ―
Grab a burger or a crab cake, and while you're at it, get your pet spayed or neutered.
That's the unusual service offered at Next Dimensions Restaurant, whose owners have allowed a mobile veterinary clinic to set up shop in their parking lot.
Promise Animal League Inc. operates the clinic inside a trailer that was custom-designed by an Indiana company and has been operational for a few weeks. It's already been met with an enthusiastic response, said Star Silva, director of the league.
The clinic is open Thursdays and Saturdays by appointment only, and 25 to 30 animals were treated each of the first four days it was open, Silva said.
"People bring their animals to us or we go get them and bring them here," Silva said.
Brad Sheldon and Mary Hoffman, owners of Next Dimensions, are adoptive and foster parents for pets and set aside space in their parking lot as a way to support the clinic. The restaurant furnishes electricity and water when the clinic is in operation.
It attracted plenty of attention recently, when Next Dimensions held an event called "Picnic With Your Pooch." Tina and Darrell Shank stopped by with a newborn kitten they named "Pooch" and vowed to return when the kitten is old enough to be spayed or neutered.
The Shanks live in a rural area with a large population of feral cats. They've been working closely with the Promise Animal League to care for and feed the animals -- and prevent them from reproducing.
"We have about 16 cats now, but we would have had about 75 if it wasn't for the league," Tina Shank said. "It's been a godsend for us."
So far, Dr. Briardo Reich, a veterinarian from West Virginia, has performed same-day surgical procedures and given pets vaccinations and treatment for parasites.
The cost is $50 for spaying and a rabies vaccination or $45 for neutering and a rabies shot. For those who can't afford the service, grants from Ecolab, PetSmart and Petco, as well as donations, can be used to defray the costs.
League members will help transport animals to the clinic site if necessary, Silva said.
"Afterward, the pets go home with their owners," she said.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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