By Spencer Sterritt

helping paws

Free animal clinic celebrating one year in Nanaimo

Mar 22, 2020 | 7:28 AM

NANAIMO — A beloved animal clinic for those without the cash to pay vet bills is celebrating a milestone.

The Helping Paws community clinic has run once a month at St. Peter’s Church for a year, with the programs birthday on Thursday, March 19.

Organizer Courtenay Large said it’s been an incredible year.

“We’re getting busier and busier,” she told NanaimoNewsNOW. “At every clinic we tend to see around 50 to 60 pets.”

Large said they see many pets several times a year and clinic staff can see the progress made as animals get the care they wouldn’t otherwise have received. She specifically said helping animals and their owners grapple with fleas warms her heart the most.

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“Being able to do that for them and have them rid of fleas has been a big one,” she said.

Helping Paws is completely run by volunteers and supported by the Nanaimo Region John Howard Society.

“It seems once someone has come to volunteer once, they want to come back,” Large said. “We have a core group of veterinarians, technicians and receptionists who always want to be there as much as they can and they all have a great time.”

Given the rapidly changing situation with COVID-19, Large said they currently plan to go ahead with their April clinic in a stripped-down form but circumstances could change.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit