Both one-year and three-year rabies vaccines were offered. A previous one-year vaccine is required in order for an animal to receive a three-year vaccine.
Andrea Wade, the lead veterinary health care technician at OCAS, organized the clinic. She said in an email that the event was a beneficial opportunity to educate the community on spaying and neutering their pets.
“There were lots of people who actually requested information on getting their animal spayed and neutered, and that’s one of our goals at OCAS,” Wade said.
The clinic also translated information for Spanish-speaking community members who attended. Baddour, who identifies as Latinx, said she did not have this information growing up and it was important to make information accessible to Orange County's Latinx communities.
“For me, it was really hard to try to find those resources when my mom didn’t know how to speak English,” Baddour said. “I was able to help our Spanish speakers understand all of the information that we needed and where they can get resources that we offer, and I hope they can go out and help more of the Latinx community find those resources.”
The clinic had several community volunteers, like UNC sophomore Sarah Gress, who assisted in directing the flow of traffic.
Gress said she began volunteering with Orange County Animal Services in the summer of 2021, when there weren’t many on-campus activities available due to COVID-19.
She said new volunteers with Orange County Animal Services initially start assisting with animal socializing, cleaning and other tasks on the adoption floor. Cat socializing was how she got her start as a volunteer and her service reminded her of her two cats back home.
“When I go in and try to socialize some of the more timid cats, it reminds me of when (my cats) were little and we had to get them adjusted to the family,” Gress said.
As OCAS is now offering services such as the drive-through rabies clinic that it hadn't during the height of the pandemic, the organization is now recruiting volunteers.
Schifano said OCAS will be accepting new volunteers once the sign-up link on their website is reinstated in the coming weeks. She said they hope to have another vaccine clinic before the end of June.
Baddour said the clinic on Saturday couldn’t have been as successful without the community’s support.
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“Thank you to everyone who came to support the shelter and take part in this great resource that we offer in Orange County,” she said. “We hope we can continue giving back to our community and if they have any questions, come to animal services. We are always here to help.”
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