In-House Vet Clinic

Thanks to the support of our community, our Foglia Senior Pet Veterinary Center is up and running for the senior pets of Young at Heart! It is a full-service clinic where our senior pets can receive expedited care - Xrays, ultrasounds, bloodwork, and vaccines, plus dental xrays and dentals, and all non-specialty surgeries! And right across the parking lot from our adoption center!

Why was in-house vet care necessary?

We could no longer easily access the veterinary care for our senior pets that we could pre-COVID. Many of the vet clinics in our network had to prioritize full-paying clients, rationing the number of “rescue appointments” they offered each day due to a large increase in clientele from all the pets adopted while people were at home. Our senior pets ended up waiting to see a vet, delaying much-needed medical care and adoptions. Several times we had to visit the emergency vet for what a regular vet could take care of in normal times, just so one of our senior pets could see a vet quickly.

We were spending over 40 hours a week just transporting our senior pets to and from vet appointments - sometimes more! It was inefficient for our staff and it was stressful on our senior pets. With the in-house vet clinic right across the parking lot from the adoption center, now an infected ear or a limp can be checked out in minutes! No two-hour round trip vet visit, no waiting until a rescue appointment opens up. Because our vet clinic is not open to the public and is only for Young at Heart's use, our senior pets can be seen "on-demand" and get the care and comfort they need immediately.

It sounds boring, but it's the fiscally responsible thing to do. Our veterinary network is wonderful to work with, and they discounted the services they gave us. But they could only discount those services so far as they have their own business expenses to cover. The senior pets we rescue have often been well-loved, but not well cared for medically, and we are often catching up on years of veterinary neglect. Getting them to a place of comfort and good health is so important to their well-being, but that often comes with a hefty price tag. A healthy senior dog that needs vaccines, bloodwork, and extensive dental can cost us over $1000 just to ready it for adoption. Throw in some X-rays or ultrasound and another round of bloodwork, multiply that by 50 senior pets each month, and the cost increases by leaps and bounds. And the cost of our permanent sanctuary pets with their complex medical needs is an open-ended expense. With our own vet clinic, we can control our veterinary expenses, stretching each donated dollar farther and allowing us to rescue more senior pets each year because of it.

And so with your help, a vet clinic at Young at Heart is now a reality!

View the Adoption Center

Our new state of the art adoption center is designed to look and feel like a home, and yet be able to house senior pets in safe and sanitary conditions. From the minute a senior dog or cat walks through our doors, they are provided with the best care possible to give them the best golden years.

View the adoption center