Great Things from a SC Vet

By Aisha Khan
WBTW Reporter
Published: April 5, 2009

Pet owners hit by the weak economy had a chance to have their furry friends get basic vaccines at the Best Friend Animal Hospital. Dr. Muhammed Bajwa the owner of the clinic says this was his chance to give back to the community, especially since many pet owners are on edge due to the recent break out of the deadly Distemper virus.

“In these hard economic times people have lost their jobs and they’re not able to take care of their animals and so it was an idea that I came up with a couple of months ago, and people need to realize that they have animals they are responsible for taking care of them and vaccination is just one of things they should do” explained Dr. Bajwa.

A long line of pet owners formed outside of the clinic beginning at 9am Sunday morning. News 13 spoke with Ed Cynar and Marilyn Rachel Viegas, who said that there is just not enough money to make ends meet and take care of their dogs at the same time.

“Right now I’m living off of my child support checks which is $75 so it’s really hard to pay bills and take care of the dogs,” explained Viegas who walked in with three dogs.

“I was really worried about this Distemper virus that’s been going around, so this really helps out, because I had a friend go in the other day and paid big bucks for shots and we really just couldn’t afford it right now so it’s a really nice thing for them to do for us,” said Cynar whose Shih Tzu received vaccines for distemper and rabies.

Dr. Bajwa also explained that typical basic vaccines cost around $36 per animal and if you’re an owner with multiple pets the cost could average hundreds of dollars.

“We can help control distemper, in a better way and I think these types of vaccinations should really help with the situation that we are dealing with right now,” said Dr. Bajwa.

The clinic’s staff along with fifteen volunteers provided vaccinations to nearly 700 hundred animals.