ARL’s Wellness Waggin’ completes 10,000th appointment

This week, the Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL) and Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) celebrated a major milestone for ARL’s Wellness Waggin’ — a mobile high-quality, low-cost pet wellness program that launched in 2019.

In less than three years, the Wellness Waggin’ has completed its 10,000th appointment, a huge milestone for the innovative program.

Serving clients weekly from ABCD’s Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan/Hyde Park locations, as well as two monthly stops in East Boston, the Wellness Waggin’ offers pets a physical exam, rabies vaccine, distemper vaccine, flea treatment and microchip – all for $10.

ARL is the only animal welfare organization in Massachusetts to offer such an extensive accessible low-cost clinic, and these aforementioned services would normally cost upwards of $300 in a veterinary clinic setting.

The Wellness Waggin’ was officially put into service in August of 2019, serving nearly 1,200 animals in the remainder of the year and the service has grown exponentially on an annual basis.

The idea for the Wellness Waggin’ was born out of ARL’s Healthy Animals, Healthy Communities Initiative, which launched in 2017.

The goal of the initiative was to improve the welfare of animals in Greater Boston, and to deepen the understanding of the human-animal bone and its connections with individual and community health.

Through partnerships with local organizations in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan, ARL received direct feedback from the community regarding existing barriers concerning pet ownership.

Top responses included lack of affordable care and access to services. In its four years of service, the Wellness Waggin’ has drastically reduced these barriers.

Additionally, with pets being a large part of the family dynamic, the partnership between the two organizations has forged a new model of collaboration, with animal and human service organizations coming together to care for both animals and people in need.

“I’m overjoyed to celebrate this milestone and seeing how much of an impact the Wellness Waggin’ has had in the communities that ARL serves,” stated ARL President and CEO Dr. Edward Schettino. “This milestone is a reflection of the wonderful collaboration between ARL and ABCD and I look forward to this partnership continuing for years to come.”

ABCD President and CEO Sharon Scott-Chandler, Esq., said that ABCD seeks to meet as many needs of people who are struggling, including health care for four-legged family members and friends. “Because of the Animal Rescue League and its Wellness Waggin’, people in under- represented and under-resourced communities were and are able to get necessary and local vet care for their beloved furry friends, who are also family members who help get them through the tough moments, improve emotional well-being and make life a little brighter all around”, she said. “ABCD is so proud to be a part of this 10K Wellness Waggin’ moment with the Animal Rescue League, and be a contributor to meeting unseen needs in the community.”