Happy Tails now offering low-cost clinic services

ROCK FALLS – Happy Tails Animal Shelter and Humane Society is expanding its mission to help animals stay healthy while keeping the pet population in check.

Shelter organizers have hired traveling veterinarian Dr. Timothy Dayton of Rochelle to run a low-cost Wellness Clinic from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays.

For now, Dayton will be spaying, neutering and administering vaccinations only, with surgeries to be available in the future. The services are available not only to shelter animals waiting for adoption, but also to those that already have homes to call their own.

His arrival has Donald Czycyk, the nonprofit, no-kill shelter’s director of operations, ecstatic.

“Part of our mission is to service the community as much as possible,” Czycyk said. “The largest part of that is having a veterinarian who can offer low-cost services, so people who can’t afford normal vet fees can get a reduced cost.”

Dayton, a vet for 33 years, typically does at-home visits. He has run White Oaks Veterinary Service in Rochelle since 1982, and also has practiced at Amboy Veterinary Clinic and Bellwood Animal Hospital in Rockford.

He will be paid per animal – a bargain for what the shelter will get in return, Czycyk said.

Dayton started off caring for large animals before switching to smaller pets. He brings a “lifelong love” of animals, and the expertise to treat complex health issues.

“I’m providing the same exact services I would provide to anyone else,” Dayton said. “In some cases, we’re dealing with older animals that may or may not have been abused, abandoned, and no, they’re not in the best of health when they come in a lot of times.”

The clinic is being offered as part of the shelter’s Pets for Life program, a program of The Humane Society of the United States.

The program varies by location, depending on the needs of the community it serves.

“We see a need for low-cost preventive services, including spay and neuter,” Happy Tails board President Mark Razo wrote in a news release. “For some pet owners, cost is a barrier to getting their pets vaccinated or altered. The Wellness Clinic is there to serve the needs of those owners in particular, but it is open to anyone in the community.”

Having a regular vet on hand is rare for a nonprofit shelter, Czycyk said. And thanks to medical equipment donations, the shelter eventually will add a surgery center, also not a common feature in humane societies, he said.

“We have a very professional board that is pushing the shelter to its next step,” Czycyk said. “If you don’t have a knowledge or professionalism, you can’t build your facility the way we’re hoping to.”

About the clinic

Happy Tails Animal Shelter and Humane Society, 1408 McNeil Road in Rock Falls, is open from 8 a.m. to noon daily, and also from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

The low-cost Wellness Clinic is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays.

An office visit costs $15.

For now, spaying and neutering costs are: male cats $80, females $120, or half off if the cats are feral; male dogs $125 to $175, females $140 to $200, depending on their size.

Those prices will drop significantly in about 3 weeks, once the surgery center opens, said Donald Czycyk, the shelter's director of operations.

In addition, vaccinations and feline leukemia tests range from $12 to $25, microchipping is available for $25, and the shelter also can collect Whiteside County registration fees.

The clinic offers preventive care only. Owners whose pets need medical treatment must see another vet.

Go to happytailsanimalshelter.org for a complete price list or more information. Call 815-626-2994 for an appointment.

The shelter, which runs entirely on donations, also has a Facebook page for updates and more information.

Dine with your doggie tonight

Happy Tails' "Pasta with Your Pup" dinner will be served from 5 to 6:30 tonight at the Rock Falls Community Building, 601 W. 10th St.

Doggies will dine from a huge doggie treat bar, while their humans will be served a full-course meal.

The cost is $10 for ages 11 and older; $7 for ages 10 and younger; and $3 per pooch.

Proceeds benefit the nonprofit, no-kill animal shelter. Tickets are available at the shelter, 1408 McNeil Road, or at the door.

Call 815-626-2994 for more information.