FALLS TWP., WYOMING COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A local animal sanctuary is expanding its services to help the community.
Indraloka Animal Sanctuary is a nonprofit in Wyoming County that rescues farm animals.
Since 2022, they've also been operating the NEPA rescue veterinary clinic on-site, where they service nonprofit rescues and animal welfare organizations at a low cost.
Now, they're expanding those affordable services for pets in low-income households. Providing veterinary care for pets in need.
"We want families who have companion animals to keep those companion animals safe and healthy. We know that they bring joy to lives and can help with loneliness and all sorts of other emotional and mental challenges," said Robin Olson the director of development at Indraloka Animal Sanctuary.
That's why the team at Indraloka is expanding their NEPA Rescue Veterinary Clinic to offer care for animal companions from low-income households.
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"We don't want the cost or financial burdens to be a barrier for people who want to bring an animal into their life or who already have one and might be facing a choice to keep this animal healthy or surrender them or even prematurely euthanize them," explained Olson.
One of their goals with this expansion is to relieve animal rescues and shelters in the area.
"There was an influx of adoptions during the pandemic but now when you're going back to the office every day you're faced with what do I now do with an animal who might not be comfortable being home alone, or might not be able to be left home alone. so we're seeing more animals return to shelters," continued Olson.
Shelters that are already overwhelmed with animals Olson says that by offering low-cost veterinary care, they'll ease some of that burden.
"That will help alleviate the pressure on some of the rescues and shelters that we work with,and help them be able to adopt and rescue more," added Olson.
In the future Indraloka is looking to expand the accessibility of its low-cost vet services with the creation of an angel fund.
"So that even those low-income households who can't afford even our low-cost services, we're working on creating an option," stated Olson.
Olson says just like many of the things they do at Indraloka, this couldn't be possible without the support of the community.
"We've worked with the Willary Foundation, the Robert Spitz Foundation, and the Scranton Area Community Foundation. We're a nonprofit organization, we do not exist without the support of our community," says Olson.
For more on how to qualify and apply for low-cost veterinary services visit their website.
