St. Petersburg College Veterinary Technology department set up a booth at Largo Central’s Pawfest last month showing their love for man’s, or women’s, best friends.
SPC Vet Tech provides college students an excellent education in providing care for animals. Their program expands one’s vocabulary in the dog arts, it broadens one’s ability to recognize health issues in many breeds of animal and provides a foundation on nursing, nutrition and surgical practices to help save a life. SPC Vet Tech is all about the animals.
“For those who decide to take courses on campus, we have special helpers to assist them on their journey. These helpers are our SPC animal residents. All come from local area shelters. While they stay with us, our students assist in spaying or neutering them, giving them their vaccinations, treating them for any other medical problems and even teaching them basic obedience. At the end of each semester, our animals are then put up for adoption,” said Jessica Rice, a Kennel Technician at St. Petersburg College.
That brings us to Pawfest, a local event set up for the sole purpose of adopting out in need K-9s. Largo Central Park in Pinellas County was a perfect location as it sees an extremely upbeat and vibrant community daily, and they did not hold back. People walked dogs, pushed dogs in strollers, carried dogs; one person even had a pup strewn across his shoulder. I don’t know why, but the dog loved it! There were cutest dog contests. There were dog relays. There was even a machine that fastened a plastic bag to a makeshift track that dragged the bag at break neck speeds. Have you ever seen a dog flip out over a plastic bag? It is insanity. It is awesome. And it is too damn cute.
Returning focus to SPC Vet Tech, they do many of these events to try and adopt out many of their animals. One such pup, a Rottweiler named Ghost, won second place in the cutest dog contest!
“Students and animals alike had a blast, checking out the booths and looking for their “furever” home,” said Jessica.
If you are an animal lover, events like Pawfest and Bark in the Park are perfect for a nice afternoon out. Take your dog. Or your cat if you swing that way. Hey, maybe even your boyfriend or girlfriend. I know they may seem like a 4th wheel to you and fluffy, but that’s ok. You have to live with them after all!
As far as SPC Vet Tech is concerned, they did not find any takers for the few pups they brought along. It is a difficult time to find adoptees for pets just because of economic reasons, but that does not stop these SPC students from trying. As I stood by, I clued them into creating rescue videos to place on social media to help get the story out about some of their animals. Take Ghost for instance, he was brought in disheveled. His body was ragged to the bone. Thanks to SPC Vet Tech he now stands on all fours again.
If you plan to adopt a pet, find a place like SPC Vet Tech instead of big chain sellers. The animals at those places have a past. And you could definitely be their better and loving future!
