Utilizing city resources can help minimize pet vet costs

By Leah Rainwater

The St. Joseph Animal Shelter has done a lot to clear the kennels this year, but for adopters, it can still take a lot of time and money to care for a pet. Some organizations make an effort throughout the year to reduce costs.

While adoption specials can take away many costs that come with pets, animals still require check-ups and yearly, if not sometimes monthly, vaccinations.

“A lot of times, you know, vet costs are high and you just never know for sure what you’re getting when you get an animal,” said Erin Evans Green, the vice president at UPCO Pet Supplies. “So a lot of times that’s a concern for a lot of people.”

Animal control officer Stephen Norman said a lot of times, the allure to getting the pet for some people is the fact that they’re free.

“We always try to encourage people that, if you wanna go out and get a free animal from someone, that’s fine,” said Norman. “But you need to figure out what the cost would be as opposed to maybe coming to an animal shelter, humane society or something like that and adopting.”

Norman also said, with that in mind, it may be cheaper to adopt a pet.

“One good thing about if you adopt from the shelter, not only are they spayed or neutered, but they are already vaccinated,” Norman said.

With some pet vaccinations having to be distributed monthly to annually, it can wrack up vet bills quickly.

“We usually try to have our vaccination clinics, you know, to try to help people maybe have access to those at a more affordable cost,” Norman said.

Norman said the shelter has tried different ways to hold vaccination clinics throughout local neighborhoods, while also keeping costs low.

“A lot of veterinary hospitals go by appointment only and if they’re extremely busy, there may be a bit of a delay,” said Stephen Norman, an animal control officer at the animal shelter.

Pet owners can also buy single-dose distemper combo and kennel cough vaccinations at local stores like UPCO or Tractor Supply Co. for a low cost and administer them at home.

Norman said the only vaccine that absolutely has to be administered by a licensed veterinarian is the rabies vaccine.

“It still comes down to the rabies being the big one that has to be given by a vet for the state of Missouri to recognize that it was administered,” Norman said.

UPCO has also held vaccination clinics for a number of years. Evans Green said there’s usually a good turn out.

“We host it for a low cost event for people to get their pets vaccinated,” Evans Green said. “We’ve been doing it, oh gosh, probably 11 years, 12 years something like that.”

UPCO will host its annual clinic on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at UPCO.

A licensed veterinarian will be available to administer distemper combo, kennel cough and rabies vaccines for $10.

The only vaccine that will be $20, is the distemper combo five-way for cats.