Street Dog Coalition offers free vet services to area pets
Butler residents might have noticed a few more furry friends in the parking lot of First English Lutheran Church between 9 a.m. and noon Saturday, June 13.
The Pittsburgh chapter of the Street Dog Coalition had its first free clinic outside of Allegheny County there this weekend, offering free veterinary services for any animals and access to local nonprofits for their humans, too.
Ahead of the event, 20 dogs and eight cats were registered, but Pittsburgh chapter team co-lead Tim Lydon anticipated that about 30 animals would receive care.
The clinic brought together nonprofit resources from across Butler and Allegheny counties, including Butler’s Center for Community Resources, Tarentum-based Paws Across Pittsburgh and Butler’s community action agency, Community Partnership.
Paws Across Pittsburgh brought free treats, toys, litter and more for local pet owners, while Community Partnership offered information on its local food distribution and sunscreen.
Lydon and his wife, Molly, run a dog boarding facility, in addition to Harmony Dog Rescue, which they founded in 2023. Harmony Dog Rescue serves Western Pennsylvania and provides free emergency boarding and foster care to people experiencing a crisis or temporary hardship.
The event had “nothing but good vibes” for Chris Jolly, a friend of Lydon’s who got his dog, Shadow, taken care of.
“A healthy pet is better than a sickly pet,” Lyndora resident Rob Wargo said, who’s cat, Paws, got taken care of.
Though preventative care can oftentimes be expensive and seem unnecessary, regular wellness exams keep animals healthier in the long term, according to Virginia Tech’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
Veterinarian Tiffany McCarty, of Allegheny North Veterinary Hospital, was just one of several volunteers providing that care at the free clinic, assessing the history of the animals they saw, providing thorough exams, administering vaccines and treating the pets with antibiotics when needed.
It “gives the public hope,” Jolly said.
Hayley Merchant, chief operating officer of the Center for Community Resources, said that a lot of times, people’s pets are their safe spaces, and if the event is taking care of the pets, it is also taking care of the people.
Merchant and the staff at the Center for Community Resources worked with Lydon to get 12 families pre-registered for the event.
Lydon said that oftentimes, people, especially those with more financial resources, are inclined to criticize someone with pets who’s homeless or who’s addicted to drugs.
“There’s a trend in animal welfare where there’s contempt for people,” he said. “To see this organization who’s first value is to love people as much as the pets, I just found this revolutionary.”
The Street Dog Coalition is a national organization that offers free veterinary care for pets of people experiencing homelessness. With only seven employees nationally, three of which are part-time, its services are almost entirely volunteer-based.
“Our company celebrated our 10-year anniversary last year, and every since year we’ve seen an increase in pets and people that we serve,” Street Dog Coalition development director Leah Picker said. “It just means that the need is there.”
