The Animal League Wellness Center in Leesburg is ready to open its doors to pet owners in search of low-cost veterinary care for their dogs and cats.
Services will include wellness checks, vaccinations, spay and neuter surgeries, flea and tick control, heartworm medicines and micro-chipping.
“Our target market is the underserved community that may not have been able to have those services in the past or that may not be able to pay for services their pets need now,” said South Lake Animal League Director of Development Jessica Whitehouse.
Whitehouse said an example would be a pet owner whose pet needs a spay or neuter, surgeries that on average may cost somewhere in the vicinity of $200 or more.
“For someone living paycheck to paycheck, an amount like that would be impossible to spare,” Whitehouse said. “Without the surgery, pets can go out and get pregnant, then families will have six little mouths to feed instead of one, which is where we come in. We’ll be able to offer those types of needed services at very affordable prices,” she said.
The Leesburg animal center, located at 32721 Radio Road, across the street from the Via Port Mall, will celebrate its grand opening from noon to 4 p.m. on Sept. 10 with an open house event, refreshments and tours. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for 1 p.m.
Whitehouse said the building the organization renovated was formerly doctor’s office, so the location perfectly fit most of the clinic’s needs. She said it includes a large waiting room, four large exam rooms, plus a prep room and two surgery rooms.
With new flooring and a fresh coat of paint, the place looks like new, Whitehouse said. Whitehouse said the clinic is an extension of The Animal League no kill shelter that opened in Groveland in 2010. That shelter takes in rescues, nurses them back to health and adopts them out.
The Animal League has been in operation since 1988, utilizing volunteers to foster animals before the shelter existed.
The new clinic will serve the general public and also be used as the primary location for spaying or neutering shelter rescues.
Whitehouse said the clinic plans on working with feral cat trap and rescue programs in the area.
“The Animal League Wellness Center will continue our commitment to our mission of enhancing the lives of animals and people in our community,” Animal League Executive Director Doreen Barker said. “Our professional, yet compassionate approach to pet care reflects the care philosophy we have had over the last 28 years as an organization: ‘treat each pet like a member of your own family.’”
“The goal is for everyone, either two-legged or four, to feel welcome as soon as they enter the veterinary clinic,” Barker added.
For now, the clinic will employ a staff that includes employees of the You’ve Got a Friend clinic in Mascotte that closed when its owner Joyce Alderman died accidentally a couple of weeks ago, leaving employees displaced and forcing the clinic’s closure.
Whitehouse said Alderman’s advice and knowledge in providing low-cost veterinary care to residents for the past five years out of her clinic in Mascotte was essential in the opening of the Animal League Wellness Center in Leesburg.
“She helped us so much, so we thought we’d help her employees,” Whitehouse said.
The Leesburg clinic will employ a staff veterinarian — part time until October when a full-time vet can start — for check-ups and surgeries.
Two volunteers, both retired nurses, will be on hand to care for and stay with animals after treatments or surgeries.
Whitehouse said additional volunteers are always welcome.
For more information, call 352-530-2688 or visit www.theanimalleague.org. To schedule a spay/neuter appointment, visit www.animalleaguewellness.org.
