Pet Med
By Mark Loehrke
Appears in the September 2023 issue.
Shelter’s new medical clinic and training center helps area animals
Most high-profile development projects around Naperville tend to focus on its human citizenry. But a recent addition to one of the area’s longtime animal advocacy organizations is geared toward four-legged friends.
More than three decades after setting up shop on the city’s northwest side as a no-kill shelter, the nonprofit Animals Deserving of Proper Treatment (better known as A.D.O.P.T. Pet Shelter) now has expanded with a new medical center in a separate building across the parking lot from the shelter. The 2,000-square-foot clinic is a roughly $275,000 investment (with much of the funding coming via grants and donations) featuring two exam rooms, an X-ray room, surgical suite for multiple concurrent surgeries, as well as areas for recovery, reception, and offices. Executive director Chris Yelle says the dearth of medical professionals coming out of the pandemic extended to veterinary providers as well, inspiring A.D.O.P.T. to step up and help fill the gap.
“We are currently seeing a nationwide shortage of veterinary staff, with hospitals overloaded and unable to take on new patients,” she explains. “We wanted to address this problem and offer support not only to pet owners, but to the doctors and clinics that care for our pets. Opening this clinic helps veterinarians focus on the clients who need them the most, such as sick and emergency visits, while we offer support by providing basic wellness to those who are unable to find this care elsewhere.”
In addition to providing spay and neuter procedures, basic wellness care, and in-house laboratory tests, the new medical facility allows A.D.O.P.T. to handle onsite X-rays and ultrasounds, as well as minor surgical procedures such as lump removals, cherry eye surgery, and dental cleanings. The organization expects that it will be able to treat double the patients as its shelter’s former clinic space did (and in turn open up that space so that the shelter can take in more animals.)
Yelle believes the new facility represents a natural extension of A.D.O.P.T.’s mission: “The addition of a freestanding medical clinic allows us to focus on providing low-cost quality pet care to our community, ensuring that no companion animal will have to go without basic wellness care or lifesaving spay/neuter surgeries. In doing so, we are creating and maintaining a community of healthy, happy pets and families.”
A.D.O.P.T. also is debuting an animal-training facility adjacent to the medical center offering positive-reinforcement instruction (including puppy and intermediate classes) to adopted animals, shelter animals, and owned animals in the community. In addition, the facility will host seminars on animal behavior, positive training, and stress-free handling. The goal is to help decrease the number of animals surrendered to shelters due to behavioral struggles. “This is an exciting time for A.D.O.P.T.,” Yelle says. “With the opening of the clinic and the training center, we will be able to provide complete care and resources for our community, addressing both the medical and behavioral/mental needs of the animals we serve.”
Visit adoptpetshelter.org for more information on the organization.
Photos: Courtesy of Nate Dhamers
