EASTON, Pa. — A community resource for pet owners has reopened its doors for the first time since 2022.
The Center for Animal Health and Welfare, at 1165 Island Park Road, announced Wednesday the return of its Community Vet Clinic.
It will offer affordable spay and neuter surgeries, wellness visits, vaccines, TNR services and more, operating from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays by appointment only.
The clinic had been closed since 2022, and had faced challenges finding veterinarians and certified vet techs, CAHW Executive Director Rose LoPiccolo said.
“Those programs only allow so many people in and it’s a fairly high tuition rate, so there’s not as many people interested in the profession,” LoPiccolo said in a phone call Thursday.
Dr. Jennifer Camilli and Dr. Kelly Crouthamel will staff the clinic, providing in-house care. Both are passionate about rescue medicine and low-cost services for the community, LoPiccolo said.
‘If we can help, we want to’
LoPiccolo said the clinic will not treat emergency cases, but will do things such as CBC (complete blood count) chem panels, along with pre-op bloodwork and SNAP tests, which screen for vector-borne diseases in dogs (such as heartworm or Lyme disease) and things like the feline leukemia virus in cats.
“We see a need in our community. It’s been a long time since we’ve had something local that has been able to provide low-cost services to the public."CAHW Executive Director Rose LoPiccolo
“We see a need in our community," LoPiccolo said. "It’s been a long time since we’ve had something local that has been able to provide low-cost services to the public.”
“There’s a need for responsible pet ownership. People want to be responsible, but because of the cost associated with pet ownership there’s an economical financial burden to pay rent or a mortgage and other things. That cost can become a big issue.”
She said the clinic’s passion is to help community members keep their animals and keep them healthy.
“The long-term goal would be to hopefully decrease the number of abandonments," she said, emphasizing it’s a trend across the country.
"The number one reason we are seeing at the shelter currently in terms of people surrendering their animals does tend to lean toward that financial burden.
“It’s not just our shelter. It’s everywhere. The financial hardship of owning animals is the biggest problem. So we hope people are willing to reach out to us about what their needs are.
"If we can help, we want to.”
Shelter at capacity
Like many other animal shelters around the region, CAHW is “always at a capacity limit,” LoPiccolo said.
As of Thursday, there were 150 animals in its care, including dogs and cats in foster homes.
“We are lucky to have great community support and partnerships that help us get our animals exposure so we can get them adopted as quickly as possible,” she said.
But those full shelters show the need for control of the pet population, she said.
The clinic will offer low-cost spay and neuter surgeries, with feline spay for $150 and feline neuter for $120.
Canine spay will cost $250 to $300, and canine neuter will be $200 to $250.
“Spay and neuter is so important,” LoPiccolo said. “Get your pets spayed and neutered so we don’t add to the population and we can have fewer animals finding their way through the shelter system.”
For a full list of the clinic’s services or to book an appointment, visit https://healthyanimalcenter.org/vet-clinic.
Anyone with questions can call (484) 735-6550 or send an email to clinic@healthyanimalcenter.org.
“We also have some upcoming events on our events page that help support the cost of care, and a lot of those events coming up where our animals can be seen," LoPiccolo said.
