PENDLETON — Tri-County Technical College’s student chapter of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) brought home a first-place award for a community project.
The students received the award at the S.C. Technical Education Association (SCTEA) conference in Myrtle Beach for their annual pet adoption event, the school announced in a Friday news release.
Of the three Veterinary Technology programs among the state’s 16 technical colleges, TCTC is the only one with public pet adoptions.
The annual pet adoption event provides clinical learning experiences and enables students to develop competencies while addressing the overwhelming problem of animal overpopulation, the release said. In 2007, public pet adoptions were incorporated into the curriculum and today it’s one of the many ways students make a difference for the college and the community.
“We’re proud to be recognized statewide for what we do every day, every semester, that includes day, night and weekend work,” program director Stephanie Brown said. “I, along with the entire faculty and staff, am so honored and humbled to work with such a fantastic group of students who know what it means to sacrifice their time to give back to our community.”
“I love the fact that they get to work and interact with these rescue groups and see firsthand the huge need that is in our community. I am in awe that they not only see it but are so eager to act upon it and help by volunteering their time, effort, and knowledge,” Brown added. “I do not think there is a more deserving group of students to accept this award.”
Pet adoption program
Each semester the department takes in up to 38 dogs and 24 cats from shelters, humane societies, rescues and sanctuaries, the release said. Under the supervision and guidance of the college’s veterinarians and licensed veterinary technicians, students use their acquired knowledge and hands-on skills to perform procedures that benefit each animal. These skills include physical exams, heartworm and feline leukemia testing, blood counts, urinalysis, microchip placement, vaccinations, baths, ear cytology and other procedures that lead to a successful course of treatment.
Each student is assigned an animal that they will train and socialize, transforming them into a highly adoptable pet.
Students work with multiple shelters in South Carolina and Georgia to aid in animal spaying/neutering and adoption, according to the release. Four times a year, public adoption events are held on campus for animals that have been cared for during the semester as part of the program.
“Each student spends countless hours above and beyond lectures and labs to guarantee that the animals we take in receive the absolute best care and best opportunity for adoption,” Brown said. “Shelters, humane societies and rescues are always full and usually lack the funds needed to obtain the care that homeless animals need. Our students enthusiastically step forward to bridge the gap.”
From Aug. 1, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2023, the department gave routine veterinary care to 156 dogs and 142 cats and approximately 130 animals were successfully adopted.
The cost of adoption is $60, which includes animal spaying/neutering, microchip with registration, up-to-date vaccines and current heartworm and flea prevention, according to the department. Dogs have been started on basic commands and leash manners and cats have been socialized.
A portion of the adoption fee is returned to each supported organization.
Brown invited the community to the pet adoption events to meet — and potentially adopt — the animals and learn more about the program.
“Each adoption event is completely run by our students. They welcome our guests, facilitate ‘meet and greets’ between animals and potential adopters, help new owners complete adoption paperwork and register microchips and explain how to care for the new family member,” she said. “Everybody is 100 percent invested.”
‘Best experience’
By working with rescue animals, students gain experience in seeing the shelter side of veterinary medicine vs. the clinical side, Brown said.
“Graduates say working with these animals is the best experience they have as students,” she said. “They get to see the shelter side of medicine that you typically don’t see in practice. It’s a great hands-on learning experience.”
Currently there are 30 day and evening senior students, and the department boasts a 100 percent job placement rate.
“We get calls from employers across the United States asking for our graduates because of the reputation of the program and our students’ expertise,” Brown said, adding the instructors gauge student successes as their best form of advertisement or barometer for success. “Students make our program so well known when they go out and get jobs with the best of the best.”
Another long-term impact of the program is that students become deeply involved in community service and learn what it means to give back to the community, Brown said.
“I feel like the satisfaction they get from this project will encourage them to volunteer their time and services even after they have graduated from our program.”
