A Florida veterinary company is partnering with Walgreens to offer lower-cost, walk-up clinics for dogs and cats in the parking lots of about 50 of the drugstore chain's Massachusetts stores.
Starting this weekend, ShotVet is offering preventative care services — including rabies and other vaccines, heartworm and Lyme disease tests, and micro-chipping — by state-licensed veterinarians.
"The price is probably about a 70 percent savings (from traditional vet offices)," said Jen Borgman, CEO of ShotVet, which has been offering its services in conjunction with Walgreens in Florida and Georgia for several years. "It's challenging for people to afford veterinary care, and many, many pets are going without. That's not good for the communities, and that's not good for the animals."
ShotVet will visit each participating Walgreens for an hour each month with a vet, technician and "client educator" who explains its packages. No appointments are required.
"There's usually a long line … so we advise people to get there early," Borgman said. "It's no exam fees. What customers say over and over again is this was fast, convenient, easy. And the experience is much less stressful for the pet as well as the owner."
The service is aligned with Walgreens' mission "to help people get, stay and live well," said Phil Caruso, spokesman for the Deerfield, Ill.-based company. "Pets are valued members of many families, and an opportunity to provide a service like this in our parking lots just helps us reiterate our mission," he said.
But the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association finds ShotVet's services "very problematic," according to executive director Susan Curtis. "We want what's in the best interest of the animals and public health, and we want to see all animals properly vaccinated, but this issue is very concerning," she said.
State law requires a "veterinary-client patient relationship" be established before any vaccination is given, Curtis notes. That requires sufficient knowledge of an animal by a vet to "initiate at least a general or preliminary diagnosis" of its medical condition. This means the vet has recently seen and is personally acquainted with the keeping and care of the animals by virtue of an examination and/or by medically appropriate and timely visits to where the animal is kept, the law states.
"In this type of environment, there isn't that relationship," Curtis said. "There should be a physical exam, there should be an assessment, there should be a knowledge of the animal and the animal's living situation, and there should be a relationship."
But ShotVet founder Dr. Wesley Borgman counters that ShotVet vets examine every animal before preventative action is taken.
"Many animals are going unvaccinated," he said. "We go out and service clients that many times aren't going to see a veterinarian. We don't replace the (animal hospital) services. In fact, we refer cases to our colleagues at the animal hospitals … to take care of things we can't handle."
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