On January 19th at 11:30 a.m., the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS) and Spokane County Commissioner Mary Kuney officially cut the leash to open the new in-house veterinary clinic. This new addition to the regional animal shelter provides high quality health care to the nearly 10,000 animals housed there each year.
Before the clinic opened, staff and volunteers had to schedule appointments at outside veterinary clinics for sterilizing, rabies vaccinations, and dispensing medication. This was very time consuming for people and stressful for the animals.
“Our vet and vet tech will work together with SCRAPS volunteers to provide much needed medical support in the care, treatment, and sterilization of SCRAPS animals,” said Nancy Hill, Executive Director of SCRAPS. “We are really looking forward to having a streamlined process, faster diagnosis of illnesses, and quicker treatment of the animals here at the shelter. “
Dr. Kim Tanguay has been hired as the new veterinarian and Ashley Sherman is the new licensed veterinary technician. A grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) paid for the start-up equipment and a bequeath to the SCRAPS Hope Foundation funded the interior remodel to accommodate the clinic.
The SCRAPS veterinary clinic:
- Improves herd health for the animals housed at SCRAPS
- Provides sterilization of shelter animals prior to adoption in a timelier manner, helping to reduce days of care
- Provides sterilization of un-socialized/feral cats entering Community Cat Program
- Allows SCRAPS to offer low cost vaccinations/microchips and promote pet licensing to the public, helping to improve overall health of animals in the community and reunite lost pets with their owners.
- Provides emergency triage for injured/sick animals coming into the facility
- Provides examination of animals subject to animal cruelty, including necropsies and expert witness testimony as needed in court
About SCRAPS: Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS) is a progressive municipal animal care and protection agency serving the unincorporated areas of Spokane County, the cities of Spokane, Spokane Valley, Cheney, Deer Park, Fairfield, Liberty Lake, Millwood, Medical Lake and Rockford. SCRAPS has deputized animal protection officers extensively trained to enforce animal laws and respond to emergency situations.
