By Bill Snyder
Benjamin Franklin said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The
founding father was referring to fire safety when he said it, but the axiom applies just as much to the care of our furry friends.
The Tulsa SPCA recently celebrated the first anniversary of its preventative care clinic. Motivated by the same notion Franklin spoke about, the organization offers low-cost veterinary services to animals in need.
“We saw a need in the community where pet owners were surrendering their pets because they couldn’t afford care,” says Jana Paul, Tulsa SPCA director of development. “We’d always had neuter and low-cost vaccinations, but we felt like there was a need for a preventative care clinic.”
Starting with one clinic session a week, they’ve since expanded to Mondays and Thursdays. The preventative care clinic offers a wide variety of dog and cat health services, starting at $20. Staffers conduct low-cost wellness examinations, treat minor medical issues and provide diagnostics by appointment only. They do not treat serious illnesses, injuries or chronic health issues.
“We never intended to be a full-service vet,” Paul says. … “Oftentimes, we’re the only time they see a vet when they come into our clinics. We are seeing some progress in things that wouldn’t have been addressed because pet owners couldn’t afford the medication or to go to a vet. It helps long-term health and prevents further disease.”
Appointments with the preventative care clinic can be made online at tulsaspca.org where you will also find an itemized pricing list.
“We never intended to be a full-service vet,” Paul says. “We feel that every pet owner should have a full-service vet, but a lot of our clients aren’t in that position because they can’t afford it. Oftentimes, we’re the only time they see a vet when they come into our clinics. We are seeing some progress in things that wouldn’t have been addressed because pet owners couldn’t afford the medication or to go to a vet. It helps long-term health and prevents further disease.”
She says that common maladies like ear infections can lead to much more serious health issues. Those issues can be very harmful for the pet and very expensive for owners.
“If you have an animal that is on heartworm prevention, and they’re not at risk of getting heartworms, they’re not going to suffer,” Paul says. “Just like a human, if we have an untreated ear infection that hurts–not only is it cheaper long term to not have to treat that once it becomes a real big problem, but the animal’s not going to suffer through all of that.”
She says that demand has been high, especially over the last year as the charity and pet owners have navigated the pandemic. Nail trimming, X-Rays, heartworm tests and treatment, and vaccinations are some of the services offered. The clinic can also provide health certificates and discounted flea/tick and heartworm medication for cats and dogs.
Paul stressed that, if possible, regular checkups with a dedicated vet are best for pets.
“If you can have a relationship with a full-service vet, they’re going to be able to have a little bit deeper relationship with you,” Paul says. “If you can afford it, that’s ideal. We don’t want to take the place of a full-service vet if that is something that a client feels like they can do. We’re not equipped to handle emergency situations. Clients need to go to emergency care centers for broken legs.”
In addition to the preventative care clinic, appointments are offered online for the Tulsa SPCA’s spay/neuter surgery clinic. A third clinic, the low-cost vaccination clinic, is open on a first come, first served basis. Services like vaccinations, microchipping, heartworm testing, deworming and feline leukemia testing are offered there on Tuesdays, Fridays and the second Saturday of each month.
All of the services provided by the Tulsa SPCA are underwritten by the generosity of donors. The local nonprofit is unaffiliated with any national organization and supports pets and pet owners in the greater Tulsa area.
“Our donors make absolutely everything possible,” Paul says. “There are a lot of costs and overhead, and they help close the gap. They allow all this to happen. We don’t want cost to be a barrier to a dog having heartworm protection or a cat or dog being on flea and tick prevention.”
In addition to the clinics, the Tulsa SPCA also organizes foster and adoption services.
“We have a pretty robust foster program,” Paul says. “We have even been doing transport to other states. Believe it or not, there are states out there that don’t have enough adoptable animals. Oklahoma is not one of them, so we will transfer to other states that have a need.”
The other component of the Tulsa SPCA’s mission is in its name, fighting animal cruelty. The organization employs a cruelty investigator whose job is to investigate and educate.
“A main component of his job is really education,” Paul says. “We find that the majority of cruelty isn’t intentional–they might not have the resources. We do accept cruelty calls, and he’ll go out and investigate. If it is intentional cruelty, he helps the city to investigate and prosecute.”
As part of the program, the Tulsa SPCA also does food delivery every month.
“We don’t restrict services based on any geographic or income limits that we set. … So you can come to us, and if you live in Bartlesville, we will still offer you services …”
“If there are pet owners who feel like they can’t afford high-quality food for their pets, we will deliver it for them,” Paul says. “We share that information with agencies, so we do provide a food bank and try and spread the food love as far as we can get it.”
Before COVID, the organization participated in a lot of community outreach, holding local adoption events and visiting schools and nursing homes with pets. Paul says they’re looking forward to resuming a normal schedule soon.
With many animals and people in need right now, the Tulsa SPCA is trying to help as many as possible.
“We don’t restrict services based on any geographic or income limits that we set,” Paul says.
“So you can come to us, and if you live in Bartlesville, we will still offer you services. Interestingly, we definitely have a lot of clients that come from the actual city, but we do have a lot of people coming from outlying areas. We’ve had people come from Arkansas for our neuter program.”
Tulsa SPCA veterinarian Dr. Megan Buford adds, “Here at the Tulsa SPCA, we understand many people struggle with the rising cost of pet care. Unfortunately, this leads to incredibly hard decisions to either surrender an animal to a local shelter or euthanize. One of our goals is to help animals remain with their loving family by removing the financial barriers to medical care. I truly believe the Tulsa SPCA is making a meaningful and impactful difference by providing low-cost services to our community, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
For more information about the Tulsa SPCA, visit the website or check out its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram profiles. Donations can be made online. The organization also has an Amazon Wish List of items needed for various services.
