The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine provides free pet exams for dogs, and spay and neuter surgeries for dogs and cats at no cost to the owner.
Student veterinarians do the exams and surgeries, and a veterinary doctor supervises them.
“Our goal is to kind of make it mutually beneficial for the students and people in the community who need the services,” said Dr. Emily Lawrence, a professor at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Last fall, they began offering free physical exams for dogs. Pets receive free bloodwork, heartworm testing, and medicine to prevent heartworm, fleas and ticks.
The college also recently began offering free spay surgeries. Students had been doing surgeries on dogs and cats from animal shelters and opened the program up to household pets.
“The students so far seem to really love it,” Lawrence said. “They love the client interaction, which they didn’t get before with the shelter animals.”
This spring, the college is also beginning a free neuter clinic for the first time.
Owners will need to be able to travel with their pet to the college in Blacksburg, including getting any necessary vaccines ahead of the exam or surgery. The slots for this spring are already full, but Lawrence said there will probably be more openings in a few months, and she encourages any interested pet owners to apply.
For more information, pet owners can call 540-232-2100, email or visit the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine website.