When Tammy Jalbert became executive director of the Columbia Animal Shelter in 2019, she had a five-year plan. It included expanding the shelter's low-cost wellness clinic and hiring a full-time vet. It didn't take that long to reach her goals. "Even with the pandemic, we were able to achieve this in fewer than five years," said Jalbert, noting that the organization recently hired Dr. Lindsay McMenemy as a full-time veterinarian. "The local community not only needs this, but there's a nationwide basic need for low-cost vet services."

Jalbert noted that across the country, there is a shortage of qualified veterinarians. "We are so lucky to have found Lindsay and to be working with her," she said. "If we can offer low-cost services, we can meet our goal of keeping pets in people's homes. So many people are facing challenges with paying for vet care and pet care and everything their pets need."

McMenemy was hired in March, and her arrival allowed the clinic to expand from just a few days a month of services to full-time care. "We are not a hospital, but we can do minor sick visits, minor surgeries like spay or neuter and give vaccines," Jalbert noted.

With the new veterinarian, the shelter - currently home to 70 cats and a handful of dogs - is expanding its humane education initiatives as well, having partnered with the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine's Shelter Medicine Program.

"Our goal is to get into local schools and teach (students) things like pet responsibility, the importance of spaying and neutering, dog-bite prevention and things like that," Jalbert said, noting that she also hopes to bring school groups in for tours of the shelter. The shelter has also set up a book nook at Columbia Public Library and will host a reading program at the library in August to further spread its message of responsible pet ownership.

In April, Columbia Animal Shelter launched Senior Cats for Senior Laps, bringing some of its older felines to visit residents at local retirement homes. "It's a great opportunity to match seniors with senior cats," Jalbert said. "It's been proven that seniors do so much better with daily companionship, and senior pets are often overlooked when all they want to do is be somebody's lap cat. It's a perfect match."

Jalbert remarked that the summer tends to be an especially active time for the shelter, with this year's events including a concert series held on the second Saturday of each month through October; a cornhole tournament on Sunday, May 22; and a Cruisin' for Cats car show on Saturday, July 30.

McMenemy noted that it's the perfect time to come on board at the organization. "I came from a background in shelter medicine, and to have the opportunity to build affordable vet services from the ground up is very exciting," she said.

Columbia Animal Shelter is located at 265 S. 10th St. For more information, visit https://columbiaanimalshelter.com.