Accessing veterinary care in rural parts of Arizona can be difficult. It’s even more challenging in some tribal communities like the Navajo Nation, which is spread over 27,000 square miles of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. KJZZ talked to one vet who is bringing care to these places.
Lacey Frame is registered veterinary technician and the field clinic manager for the Banfield Foundation, a nonprofit that serves pets. She says there are a lot of barriers to getting vet care in places like the Navajo Nation and on Hopi land in northern Arizona.
"There's not enough doctors for the amount of dogs and cats that there are, you know, rising costs, access to reliable transportation," Frame said.
Frame says her group sees pets that haven’t been spayed or neutered or suffer from ticks. So, they partner with other nonprofits to provide critical care.
"Surgery wise, we will do probably between 80 to 100 spay and neuter surgeries in one day. And then, as far as wellness or illness care, we'll see another few hundred in a day," Frame said.
By the end of a weekend, she says they might see upwards of 500 animals.
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