FELLSMERE — If not for a low-cost vaccination clinic this weekend at the Fellsmere Community Center, dozens of dogs could have gone without protection against various diseases.
One such dog, a mastiff named Duke, certainly would not have been inoculated as he flat refuses to step one paw in any vehicle.
“We walked here,” Duke’s human Steve Haigis said. “He’s a big baby.”
At four years old, Haigis said he did not know if Duke ever had gotten his shots. Haigis and his wife, Chris, recently adopted Duke from a Vero Beach resident.
Sandy Stewart, a Sebastian resident, said that her two dogs, Cheyenne and Soldier, most likely wouldn’t have gotten their shots if the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County had not held the special clinic.
Due to the economy, the Stewarts have come up against challenging financial times.
“I could afford the $10 today,” Stewart said of the shots for each dog.
It was for that reason the Humane Society offered the low-cost clinic in Fellsmere, to provide families that are struggling financially the ability to vaccinate their pets.
“We really didn’t know what to expect,” Humane Society spokeswoman Janet Winikoff said of the Fellsmere clinic.
With about 80 dogs vaccinated, organizers said they were pleased with the turnout.
While in Fellsmere, Humane Society members surveyed clinic-goers about sterilizing their pets. Winikoff said that many male dogs had not been neutered, which was what organizers believed they would find.
“Now it was right before our eyes,” she said.
In an informal setting, Winikoff said volunteers were able to explain the importance of spaying or neutering their pets.
Winikoff said Fellsmere was selected for the low-cost clinic because it is underserved by veterinarian care and has unique issues to overcome, including language and transportation barriers.
A second clinic is scheduled for next month in Gifford.
