Nearly 80 pets vaccinated at clinic

There are many more pets vaccinated in the Clovis area after the Adopt-a-Pet animal rescue organization sponsored a free shots clinic Saturday at the Baxter-Curren Senior Citizen Center in Clovis.

Karl Korff, an Adopt-a-Pet founder, said 78 pets, mostly dogs, received basic animal vaccines that protect against diseases like parvovirus and distemper. An employee of Dr. Rebekah Ford of the Clovis Veterinary Hospital, who administered the vaccines, said Monday that Ford poked 77 animals with rabies vaccines, for which owners paid $10 each.

The first 11 shots went to "special needs" dogs, Karff said. "Of those, four were blind, three were deaf and four had epilepsy."

Owners of pets that got rabies shots were ushered to a table operated by Clovis Animal Control to be registered with the city, Korff said.

The event drew about 300 people and their pets, Korff said, but time limitations and complications involving anxious animals limited the number of animals that were actdually vaccinated.

The event opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony introducing Adopt-a-Pet to the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce and launching the animal welfare group's free vaccination clinic.

The free vaccines were donated through a grant from PetcoLove, a national animal welfare charity affiliated with the Petco pet store chain, Susan Alman, who coordinated Saturday's clinic, said. They were among 1 million vaccinations that Petco Love plans to administer nationwide as part of National Pet Vaccination Month declared in March.

Korff said Adopt-a-Pet works closely with the city's animal shelter and the High Plains Humane Society, based in Clovis, to find homes for pets that are picked up as strays.

Eventually, Korff said, Adopt-a-Pet seeks to establish a "no-kill" shelter for animals in the Clovis area.