medical programs

SPAY AND NEUTER CLINIC

Pawmetto Lifeline’s Spay/Neuter Clinic offers high-volume surgeries for public pets and community cats. Pawmetto Lifeline’s Spay/Neuter Clinic continues to be busier than ever despite the ongoing pandemic and veterinarian shortage! Our dedicated team of surgeons, assistants, and support staff performed a total of 10,132 spay/neuter surgeries for dogs and cats since January 1st, 2021, including 4,667 feral/community cats and 417 bully breeds. We also provided 173 free microchips for bully breeds in Lexington and Richland Counties.

Making an appointment with the Spay and Neuter Clinic is now easier than ever! Book online at bit.ly/sncappointment! Phone: (803) 465-9100 Email: clinic@pawmettolifeline.org SHELTER MEDICINE

Our Shelter Medicine team had a very busy year in 2021! With the Veterinarian shortage, it has been challenging to continue to provide the highest level of care for our shelter pets, but our team continues to rise to the challenge every day! Averaging between 40 – 60 pets per week, our shelter medicine doctors and support staff provide care including vaccines, heartworm tests, wound care, emergency triage, and more! With the state and nationwide Veterinarian shortage, we have seen an increase in the amount of sick and injured animals that require our help. We regularly consult with local clinic partners, the emergency clinic, and specialists to ensure these pets are receiving the care necessary to become ready to find their forever home. Because of you, we can provide a chance at a full life for these sick, elderly, or hard-to-place pets.

FREE MICROCHIPS FOR PITBULLS OF LEXINGTON & RICHLAND COUNTY RESIDENTS

Pitbulls and Pitbull mixes are the least-likely breeds to leave a municipal shelter alive, which makes microchipping their best chance of making it home alive. Visit any of our Care-A-Van stops, Wellness Clinic or On-Site Vaccine Clinic for your FREE microchip with FREE registration.

Pretty Girl

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and at Pawmetto Lifeline we think this frail, severely neglected cat is beautiful. Pretty Girl came to us via animal control as a good Samaritan had alerted them about a cat that was in horrible condition. Thankfully, the Animal Control Officer removed Pretty Girl from the property that day and we committed to give her a new positive experience with humans. She had a severe neck wound and unfortunately due to the sun exposure and living outside 24/7 she has squamous carcinoma. She is also FIV positive which means all healing will take an extended period of time. She has received the absolute best medical care from specialists and she continues to thrive in our CEO’s office. She is slowly healing as she gets all the food she could possibly want, lots of treats, brushed daily, gets massages and now loves the touch of a hand. The man that owned her and allowed her to live in this condition pled guilty to the charges and thankfully, Pretty Girl will spend the rest of her life at Pawmetto Lifeline. We are so grateful that we have donors that care about the severely neglected and abused as their donations allow Pawmetto Lifeline to grant miracles to pets like Pretty Girl.

Donate now at bit.ly/PLDonate!

Pawmetto Lifeline has proudly maintained our American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) accreditation again for 2021. We are among an elite group in the top 12% of veterinary hospitals in the nation and only one of three accredited not-for-profit clinics in the Southeast. We are voluntarily evaluated on more than 900 care standards to ensure our patients receive the best quality of care.

WELLNESS CLINIC

Pawmetto Lifeline’s Wellness Clinic has had a busy year despite the veterinarian shortage. While we have had to decrease our hours or cancel appointments on days when a veterinarian is not available, we have continued to provide topnotch care for 2,541 patients, including 101 dogs treated for heartworms, since January 1st, 2021. Our team has provided a variety of services for our patients, including acute illness care, annual exams, heartworm treatment, x-rays, bloodwork, and more!

Appointments are required. Phone: (803) 465-9196 Email: wellness@pawmettolifeline.org

CARE-A-VAN MOBILE VACCINES

2021 certainly was a challenge for our Care-a-Van Mobile Vaccine Clinic. Due to the nationwide Veterinarian shortage, we have been unable to operate at full capacity, however, our team has continued to push through to serve 29,838 pets since January 1st, 2021 with services such as vaccines, heartworm tests, microchips, and heartworm/flea prevention.

No appointment needed. Schedule: careavansc.com.

PRESCRIPTION AUTO-REFILL PROGRAM (PARP)

Pawmetto Lifeline’s Prescription Auto-Refill Program had a busy year in 2021! As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, we have seen a steady rise in demand from pet owners to have their pet’s medications mailed to them instead of picking up from a store or office. Thanks to our amazing partnership with Pets First Choice, a local pets-only pharmacy, we are now mailing medications to more than 3,000 pets each month. As a member of the Prescription Auto-Refill Program, pet owners can have their pet’s prescription medication, heartworm/flea prevention, supplements, and more mailed directly to their home. Each member receives Care-a-Van Manager, Hannah Cook holds a young puppy while a free heartworm test for their Dr. Kenneth Judson, DVM, gives a vaccine. dog or free vaccines for their cat, as well as monthly medication reminders and free shipping! All proceeds benefit homeless pets of the Midlands right here at Pawmetto Lifeline!

Visit bit.ly/PARPPL to enroll today! Phone: (803) 465-9156 Email: prevention@pawmettolifeline.org

Thank You to our Veterinarians for your endless generosity!

“Why can’t you take this pet immediately?”

MANAGED INTAKE SAVES LIVES! Every homeless pet at Pawmetto Lifeline gets life! Why, because we implement a managed intake process. We have a formula that we follow based on the animal-to-staff ratio and our standards of care. We have an established number of animals that we care for daily and we only bring animals into the building when we adopt animals and the number dips below the established number. This allows our staff to provide the proper medical care, exercise, training and socialization. It helps us keep the animals in our care healthy -- physically, mentally and emotionally. No animal gets euthanized at Pawmetto Lifeline due to space because we don’t allow staff to over load the building with animals we can not care for properly. Every dog has its own kennel. Every dog gets a clean bed to sleep on and is exercised 2-3 times a day. The cats are allowed to free roam during the day and to socialize with our staff, volunteers and other cats. All of this helps us learn more about each animal and it creates a less stressful environment for them to live while they wait for their forever home. If we all want South Carolina to be a NoKill state for companion pets, then we all need to embrace the managed intake process. We are often amazed when people say “I can’t keep a cat/dog. I already have two.” But yet they expect our facility or animal shelter to take their one cat or dog when we are already managing 150-200 animals every day. Our true goal is pet retention. Rehoming a dog or cat is very stressful for the dog or cat. No matter how nice a facility is when an animal loses its family, it is stressful and heartbreaking. We want to help people keep their pet and work through issues so facilities like ours and other shelters are only needed in emergency cases. Surrendering should be the last option. We need our community to commit to their pets for life and always be willing to work through the medical and behavior issues. We will help you as we have programs that can assist with most all scenarios. Help us save lives by keeping pets with their families or being patient and allowing shelters to implement the ONLY way to have a no kill shelter which is the Managed Intake process.

WE HAVE REACHED THE LOWEST EUTHANASIA RATE

YET IN THE MIDLANDS! 15%

July, 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021 7,691 dogs and cats entered the two municipal shelters in Richland and Lexington Counties. 1,152 (approximately 15%) of the animals that entered these municipal shelters were euthanized. When we began in 1999, the euthanasia rate was over 90%. Over 23,000 animals were euthanized! We have achieved this milestone through programs such as T.N.R., community education, spay/neuter, managed intake and pet retention. “NO-KILL” STATUS = 10%

Pawmetto Lifeline is grateful to be able to promise life to all of our homeless pets. Most of these seven dogs have been failed by humans and they struggle to trust again. We have a dedicated team of staff members that are committed to working with these “Special Seven” dogs every single day. We know their perfect forever family match is out there so we give all of our animals as long as they need to find the best home. Please consider giving one of these loving dogs a chance!

BEAU is a 4-year-old Shepherd mix that was adopted as a puppy and returned several years later. He has issues trusting people. His needs a home with adults who can give him space and time to get to know them at his pace. He absolutely loves to play fetch and it is a great way to make friends with him! The staff has been working diligently with Beau on training and socialization and he is doing amazing! He has even made some new dog friends lately to keep him company.

BERNARD is a 4-year-old Terrier mix that is the sweetest, most playful guy! He loves going for walks and car rides. He loves other dogs that will romp around a yard with him. He does best with energetic pups. Sometimes he has a hard time sharing his things like toys and food so he would really love an adopter that will continue the training he has been working on at Pawmetto Lifeline. He is very smart and food-motivated so training is a breeze with him! Once he trusts you, you are his snuggle partner for life! CODY is a stunningly handsome German Shepherd that we believe is between 3 and 5 years old. He absolutely adores the people he knows and trusts. His favorite things in the world are stuffed toys, treats and going in the water! He loves to stick his whole head in the pools like a snorkeler. Cody loves going on road trips to Lake Murray for a dip, too! He is a playful boy that enjoys being petted. He can be a little mouthy when he gets excited but our staff has been working on that with him.

FRANKIE is a 5-year-old Terrier mix that is a world class snuggler! He might look like a tough guy but he has lots of love to give. Frankie is an all-star leash walker and actually enjoys being in a crate. Frankie had a rough start to life after being shot in the head and understandably developed some trust issues and learning boudaries. He is ready to start over with you and learn to trust again. He will need a seasoned dog owner without children but does get along with some dogs.

KEATON is a 4-year-old Terrier mix that was adopted as a puppy and kept outside with little-to-no socialization for his entire life. We are looking for a family to show Keaton what love is! He would do best in a chill home without young children. It’s super easy to win over his trust and heart with treats! Keaton is very affectionate when he gets to know you. He loves to sit in staff members’ laps. We hope to find a family with a little patience and a lot of love to give!

LUCEY is a 5-year-old Shepherd mix that is affectionate and goofy! She is quirky and a lovebug once she trusts you. She absolutely adored car rides, Puppuccinos from Starbucks and watching birds from afar. Lucey loves walks on scenic trails. She is quite comfortable sleeping in her crate. Lucey is most comfortable as the only pet in the home and with no small children. She needs a confident dog owner with experience. She is a fast learner so just give her time, patience and love!

SPOT is a 6-year-old Boxer mix that needs a hear-o! Spot is completely deaf. He may not be able to hear your voice but his ability to love and learn makes up for it. Spot needs a confident dog owner. He needs someone that will give him the time and training he needs to feel comfortable in his new home. Spot is very intelligent and eager to learn. He is very treat motivated and already knows four hand signals - “come”, “sit”, “down” and “no”. He is so loving and goofy! Spot would do best in a quiet home with no children.

Thank You Ela Schafer!

Sunflower escaped her foster home and was on the run for over 3 weeks before she finally went in the trap!

For all you do for our homeless pets!

Pawmetto Lifeline would like to give a special thank you to Ela Schafer for her unwavering dedication and tireless efforts in helping to rescue dogs on the run so they can have the opportunity to find their forever homes!