COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus Humane has been serving central Ohio pets and their owners since 1883 and this weekend marks the first anniversary of their newest location, the Essential Care Center on South High Street.
"Columbus Humane has been around for 141 years and has three pretty incredible and noble missions," said Columbus Humane CEO Erich Hunker. "One is that we fight animal cruelty, two we help animals in need and three we advocate for animals' wellbeing."
The most recent addition to that mission is the Essential Care Center which Hunker said, "has really revolutionized the animal care and servicing underserved folks in our community."
In its first year, the center has welcomed nearly 5,400 new "pet families" through its doors and still receives nearly 200 calls per hour from pet owners seeking appointments for their animal friends.
"What we've identified is the community is really looking for more in-the-moment, immediate access to veterinary care," said Dr. Laura Advent, chief medical officer for Columbus Humane.
The Essential Care Center helps serve this need by offering subsidized, low-cost fixed pricing for veterinary services.
"I love Columbus Humane," said Connie Goldcamp. Goldcamp utilized the facility's services to care for her pet cat's dental concerns at a significantly lower rate than had been quoted by her vet. "This service is just fantastic."
Another feature of the Essential Care Center is the pet food pantry that has given out nearly 700,000 pounds of free pet food in its first year.
"A well-balanced diet is critical for any animal to have a healthy, long life," explained Dr. Advent. "Our food bank allows us to provide food assistance and supplies and other goods to help meet that need."
The third major feature of the Essential Care Center is its training initiative called the Pathways program to educate future veterinary assistants.
"We are experiencing massive shortages in the workforce in the veterinary field, not only within our community, but nationwide and that's felt at all levels," said Dr. Advent. "We have created here at the Essential Care Center what we call The Pathways to Careers in Animal Health. This invites our community to learn about the veterinary field and get really critical training to become a veterinary assistant and enter the workforce."
As they celebrate the first year of the Essential Care Center, Hunker acknowledged the community organizations whose support made the project possible.
"This facility, the Essential Care Center, came about because of some just fantastic philanthropic investments from so many people in the Columbus Humane community really led by Alterra Real Estate Advisors who gave us the building that we're in," said Hunker.
This was accompanied by major donations from Wolfe Associates and the Davis Foundation, which provided the funds needed to renovate the space into a state-of-the-art animal care facility. Additionally, Greater Good Charities is the principal supplier of the pet food in the center's pantry.
While celebrating the past year's accomplishments, Columbus Humane is also looking forward to the projects they have on the horizon.
"It's going to be a big fall," said Hunker. "We have another essential access event coming up in September which is an all-day vaccine clinic for free vaccines."
The last free vaccine clinic at the center serviced around 400 pets in one day. The center will also have a walk-in wellness program where clients can bring their pets in without an appointment to receive care. Then, in September, Columbus Humane will host their Defend Your Friend 5K walk and run that serves as a fundraiser for the organization's department that investigates reports of animal cruelty and neglect.