PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nearly 100 local civic leaders, donors, pet owners, neighbors, and friends celebrated today the grand opening of Emancipet, the new, nonprofit, low-cost pet health clinic. Attendees toured the welcoming new space at 575 Adams Avenue, enjoyed games and giveaways, and met some friendly pets on hand for photo booth fun.
Emancipet serves Philadelphians and their pets with low-cost spay/neuter surgeries, vaccinations, microchips, monthly flea and heartworm prevention, puppy and kitten de-worming, and treatment for common conditions such as skin and ear infections.
“We purposefully opened our new clinic in an underserved part of Philadelphia where there is great need for low-cost veterinary care, but our services are open to all pet owners, regardless of where they live,” said Emancipet CEO Amy Mills. “We want to provide every pet owner with easy access to safe, compassionate veterinary services at affordable, straightforward prices, and we never turn anyone away – financial aid is always available. Our team of 11 full-time, licensed, trained veterinarians and veterinary professionals provide all the services in our clinic with compassion and skill,” Mills said.
Emancipet is a nonprofit organization with a mission to make veterinary care affordable and accessible to all pet owners. Emancipet owns and operates a growing national system of low-cost pet health clinics in underserved neighborhoods. This clinic is the seventh in the system, and its first location outside Texas, where it operates in four cities.
The Philadelphia clinic was made possible through a $450,000 grant from PetSmart Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America. The grant allowed Emancipet to lease the 3,700 square foot space on Adams Avenue and purchase the equipment and supplies needed to open the clinic.
“While providing a lifelong, loving home for a pet in need can be a fulfilling experience and bring immeasurable joy to our lives, many pet parents encounter unexpected challenges that affect the quality of care they can afford for their pet,” said Roger Haston, chief administrative officer of PetSmart Charities. “With this grant from PetSmart Charities, we are thrilled to support Emancipet in their mission to provide affordable veterinary care to local pets and pet parents in need in Philadelphia.”
“We are especially grateful to PetSmart Charities for making this dream a reality,” Mills said. “Their support will allow us to serve thousands of pets each year, keeping pets and their families healthy and together for a lifetime.”
Emancipet is reaching out to the community to share information about its services through grassroots efforts including door-to-door outreach. Pets for Life, a program of the Humane Society of the United States, is an important partner for Emancipet, and shares office space in Emancipet’s new Philadelphia clinic. Pets for Life staff also engage the community through neighborhood outreach, helping make Emancipet’s veterinary care even more accessible.
Today’s festive event included additional leadership staff from PetSmart Charities, members of Emancipet’s local advisory council of business and community leaders, members of Emancipet’s national board of directors, representatives from the ASPCA and the Humane Society of the United States, and Emancipet’s 11 local staff members, including vice president Amanda Foxman and lead vet Dr. Emily Volk, both Philadelphia natives.
Dr. Curtis J. Gregory, senior director of the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Business Services, spoke today representing Mayor Jim Kenney.
“We could not be more pleased to have Emancipet as a new resource for all of the citizens of Philadelphia. Emancipet’s focus on keeping pets healthy so owners and pets can stay together is innovative and positive, and honors how important pets are in our lives,” Gregory said.
The clinic is open every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Spay/neuter surgery requires an appointment; all other services are available on a walk-in basis between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Appointments for surgeries can be made by calling 267-774-4901 or visiting emancipet.org.
About Emancipet
Emancipet’s mission is to make veterinary care affordable and accessible to all pet owners. To do this, Emancipet is building a national nonprofit low-cost veterinary care system, with clinics in underserved areas of Austin, Houston, Killeen, and Pflugerville Texas; and in Philadelphia as of February, 2017. Emancipet advocates for public policy that improves the lives of pets in underserved communities, and recently launched Emancipet New School, which equips and inspires animal welfare professionals in becoming change makers. Since it was founded in 1999, Emancipet has spayed or neutered more than 250,000 dogs and cats and each year serves more than 100,000 pets and their families. www.emancipet.org.
About PetSmart Charities
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is a nonprofit animal welfare organization that saves the lives of homeless pets. Each year nearly 500,000 dogs and cats find homes through our adoption program in all PetSmart® stores across the U.S. and sponsored adoption events. Each year millions of PetSmart shoppers contribute to PetSmart Charities to help pets in need by making donations on a pin pad at the register. PetSmart Charities efficiently uses 90 cents of every dollar to support its mission of finding lifelong, loving homes for all pets. PetSmart Charities grants more money to directly help pets in need than any other animal welfare group in North America, with a focus on funding adoption and spay/neuter programs that help communities solve pet overpopulation. PetSmart Charities is a 501(c)(3) organization, independent from PetSmart, Inc. PetSmart Charities has received the Four Star Rating for the past 13 years from Charity Navigator, an independent nonprofit that reports on the effectiveness, accountability, and transparency of nonprofits, placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization. https://www.petsmartcharities.org
NOTE: High-res photos for media use available at this link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e898h8vcxzuht2k/AADxDBOb_jLTT1eaXSIPku-ka?dl=0. All photos by Steve Lubetkin for Emancipet.