About

Established in 1996 as a student-run, cost-subsidized healthy pet clinic for low-income residents of the Ithaca community, Cornell University's Southside Community Center Healthy Pet Clinic acts to:

Provide veterinary service to a pet population that would otherwise have no access to veterinary care
Reduce the prevalence of parasite infestation and infection
Act as a learning resource for Cornell veterinary students
Promote a positive link between Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and the Ithaca community

The cost of a visit, including a physical examination, vaccinations, preventative medicine, non-specific diagnostics, and other procedures is $20 per pet. Low-income residents are defined as those whose income falls within twice the poverty line as federally defined for their household size. All of the services are provided at a minimal cost to the client, and the proceeds are donated to the Southside Community Center and used to improve other community programs.

At Southside clinics, Cornell veterinary students serve as the primary clinicians and assistants. They are responsible for conducting physical examinations, administering vaccinations, and giving heartworm and flea/tick preventatives in addition to providing other basic services, including but not limited to diagnostic tests and deworming, to animals that are otherwise deemed healthy. Veterinarians from within Cornell University volunteer at the clinic to serve as a resource for student clinicians. Southside cannot provide care for chronic or serious illnesses or injuries, and additional health concerns discovered at examinations should be referred to a local veterinarian.

In addition to operating out of the Southside Community Center on a biweekly basis (the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month from 6:00PM - 9:00PM), we sometimes organize traveling clinics. Past Southside Traveling Clinic locations include Brooklyn, Queens, Albany, Buffalo, Binghamton, Syracuse, Rochester, Utica, Troy, and Onondaga Nation.