Veterinary clinic rodeo rounds up pets for wellness

By Karen SampsonFebruary 9, 2023

Veterinary clinic rodeo rounds up pets for wellness
Staff Sgt. Dominick Grilli, animal care specialist and clinic noncommissioned officer in charge, along with Cpl. Kyler Hansteadsmith, a veterinary food inspection specialist from Raymond W. Bliss Army Health Center, administered a health check and performed a blood draw for Haru, a female, heeler-mix dog, during a pet wellness and vaccination rodeo at the Veterinary Treatment Facility on Feb. 7 at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. (Photo Credit: (U.S. Army photo by Karen Sampson)) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. – The Veterinary Treatment Facility held a pet wellness check and vaccination rodeo on Feb. 7.

Patrons and their pets cued in front of the facility at 9 a.m., allowing the veterinarian and animal care specialists to administer microchips, standard vaccinations or conduct overall wellness checks for their animals.

"Everything is curbside service," said Staff Sgt. Dominick Grilli, animal care specialist and clinic noncommissioned officer in charge. "Our representatives will meet clients in the parking lot and bring the pets to the veterinarian for wellness checks and complete requested vaccinations."

In accordance with Department of Defense regulations, animals owned by personnel authorized DoD medical care may receive veterinary medical care through an Army Veterinary Treatment Facility.

Cpl. Kyler Hansteadsmith, a veterinary food inspection specialist from Raymond W. Bliss Army Health Center, assisted Grilli with a health check and blood draw for Haru, a female, heeler-mix dog.

To manage the volume of customers during the rodeo Hansteadsmith, Sgt. Anais Oja and Spc. Matthias Gregory, veterinary food inspection specialists from RWBAHC, assisted the veterinary medical staff.

"I'm administering forms to register for the vet clinic," said Pfc. Javon Bellamy, animal care specialist.

He greeted customers at their vehicles, directed safety briefs and gave out forms.

"The customer notifies us what care they would like for their pet," Bellamy explained.

He added that conducting rodeos gets local pets registered in the fort’s Veterinary Treatment Facility system.

"Servicing the registration for Fort Huachuca also lists one's pet into the Remote Online Veterinary Record, or ROVR, system which follows the pet from installation to installation," Grilli explained. "Once the pet is registered, the records can be seen by all military veterinary facilities in the United States and overseas."

This rodeo was especially helpful for a female Miniature Schnauzer, Bella, said her owner, Katrina Germaine.

"Our family, including Bella, are moving to Korea," Germaine said. "The vet facility will give her the vaccinations she requires to enter the country."

Grilli said the annual rodeo helps families and their pets during the permanent change of station or PCS, season noting the staff are experts in preparing family pets for global travel.

Grilli said the rodeo served 30 customers and the veterinary treatment facility will plan to have another rodeo in early fall.

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Fort Huachuca is home to the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Army Signal Command and more than 48 supported tenants representing a diverse, multiservice population. Our unique environment encompasses 946 square miles of restricted airspace and 2,500 square miles of protected electronic ranges, key components to the national defense mission.

Located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about 15 miles north of the border with Mexico, Fort Huachuca is an Army installation with a rich frontier history. Established in 1877, the Fort was declared a national landmark in 1976.

We are the Army's Home. Learn more at https://home.army.mil/huachuca/.