A vacant Ashland firehouse has come back to life as an animal clinic.
The Jessica Beath Clinic at Farrington Firehouse, a low-cost spay and neuter clinic, opened a few weeks ago on Farrington Road in Hanover County.
The clinic is open three days a week and provides spay and neuter services for dogs and cats for between $30 and $60.
The clinic is the brainchild of Bob Tillack, who founded a dog rescue group called BARK. Tillack has been trying to open a clinic in the area for the past three years.
The building has been vacant for a year but was a volunteer fire station for decades.
“Hanover has a shelter, but there are no spay or neuter” services, Tillack said.
His organization is funding about 60 percent of the clinic. Another 30 percent comes from the Jessica Beath Clinic Foundation.
Brock Klich, manager and donor adviser of the Jessica Beath Foundation, said the foundation contributed $75,000.
“Animal rescue was where Jessica’s heart was,” Klich said. “From talking to Bob, and when you start to look at the surrounding counties, population control is a real problem.”
Since January 2010, the Jessica Beath Foundation has contributed $225,000 to local animal rescue groups.
Tillack wouldn’t disclose costs of the clinic but said the rest of the funding came from Susan Massey of Massey Energy Co. and another local animal-related foundation.
Since opening Oct. 1, the clinic has sterilized 300 animals.
Tillack said the new clinic should take some of the burden off the other organizations in Richmond.
“They’re overwhelmed and have been for years and years,” he said. “The cat situation is three times as bad as dogs.”
He said there are spay and neuter services at the Richmond SPCA and the Richmond Animal League, but both are out of the way for residents of Hanover and the surrounding areas.
“Our concentration is north and west of the city, which is not very well serviced,” he said.
A vacant Ashland firehouse has come back to life as an animal clinic.
The Jessica Beath Clinic at Farrington Firehouse, a low-cost spay and neuter clinic, opened a few weeks ago on Farrington Road in Hanover County.
The clinic is open three days a week and provides spay and neuter services for dogs and cats for between $30 and $60.
The clinic is the brainchild of Bob Tillack, who founded a dog rescue group called BARK. Tillack has been trying to open a clinic in the area for the past three years.
The building has been vacant for a year but was a volunteer fire station for decades.
“Hanover has a shelter, but there are no spay or neuter” services, Tillack said.
His organization is funding about 60 percent of the clinic. Another 30 percent comes from the Jessica Beath Clinic Foundation.
Brock Klich, manager and donor adviser of the Jessica Beath Foundation, said the foundation contributed $75,000.
“Animal rescue was where Jessica’s heart was,” Klich said. “From talking to Bob, and when you start to look at the surrounding counties, population control is a real problem.”
Since January 2010, the Jessica Beath Foundation has contributed $225,000 to local animal rescue groups.
Tillack wouldn’t disclose costs of the clinic but said the rest of the funding came from Susan Massey of Massey Energy Co. and another local animal-related foundation.
Since opening Oct. 1, the clinic has sterilized 300 animals.
Tillack said the new clinic should take some of the burden off the other organizations in Richmond.
“They’re overwhelmed and have been for years and years,” he said. “The cat situation is three times as bad as dogs.”
He said there are spay and neuter services at the Richmond SPCA and the Richmond Animal League, but both are out of the way for residents of Hanover and the surrounding areas.
“Our concentration is north and west of the city, which is not very well serviced,” he said.