Free pet vaccinations offered at 5 chapters

Posted by Jalen Woody | Jul 19, 2022 | Community |

FORT DEFIANCE

On Friday a free clinic at the Fort Defiance Chapter House offered services for animals including microchips, distemper prevention, rabies vaccine, and deworming.

Animal Rez-Q partnered with Petco Love, Maddie’s Fund and the Animal Control department to secure funding to provide protection against common diseases such as rabies and distemper.

The free clinic provided microchips for each pet. In July 2018, a new law in the Navajo Nation Animal Ordinance requires all pet owners to microchip their animals to help find them if they are lost.

Free services were offered at five chapter houses including Church Rock, Thoreau, Crownpoint, Tohatchi and Fort Defiance. A total of 1,000 pets received services.

Jalen Woody | Navajo Times
A pet owner and volunteer workers work together to get three cats safe and vaccinated.

According to the founder and president of Animal Rez-Q, Glenda Davis, only the first 200 pets whose owners waited in line received these services. The aim is to promote healthy animals.

Davis said funding is too low to give vaccinations to all animals that were in line at the chapter houses.

According to Davis, pet owners began lining up at Fort Defiance at 7 a.m.

“This service here is like a public health service,” Davis said. “We’re trying to promote healthy pets.

“When roaming pets go through the community they can bring all kinds of disease,” she said, “they bring parasites. Whereas if you are in your household and your pets are protected, they are kind of shielded from all the diseases that are spreading around.”

Animal Rez-Q has a bill in progress in the Navajo Nation’s legislative branch that, if approved, could help secure more funds.The bill is currently set for $267,184.

The program hopes to organize a team of five doctors and 10 technicians to spay and neuter 1,000 dogs at four sites, equaling their goal of helping 4,000 dogs free of charge.