Remember last year, when the Royal Campaign for King and Queen of Fantasy Fest raised more than $587,000 for the Florida Keys SPCA?
It was the first year that the proceeds of the annual eight-week fundraising campaign benefitted the SPCA, and it broke all prior records.
The payoff of those candidates’ hard work arrived last week in the parking lot of the animal shelter’s Key West location, and it’s a beaut.
The nonprofit Florida Keys SPCA took delivery of a mobile animal clinic that has been at the top of its wish list for more than a decade, said executive director Tammy Fox.
The CEO of LaBoit Specialty Vehicles in Columbus, Ohio personally drove the custom vehicle from the Midwest to Key West and delivered it on Nov. 21.
“Without the 2023 Fantasy Fest royal court — and every single person who donated to one or more of those candidates — we would never have been able to do this,” Fox said, giving an impromptu tour of the $350,000 vehicle. It will cost an additional $150,000 a year to operate, she added.
The mobile animal clinic will travel between MM 0 and MM 70, providing low-cost or free spay, neuter and wellness services in areas where pet owners may not have transportation that enables them to bring their pet to the SPCA’s in-house clinic or to a local veterinarian’s office.
The mobile clinic will definitely be at the Marathon SPCA every Wednesday, Fox said.
There are also plans for it to spend time in Key West’s Bahama Village, where many residents ride bikes or depend on public transportation.
Additional stops are planned in Big Pine, the Lower Keys and up to MM 70.
“We’re in the process of getting it insured now, but we’ll be up and running by the first of the year,” Fox told the Keys Weekly, standing inside the mobile clinic that comes complete with an exam room and operating table. “People can check our website and social media for the schedule each week at fkspca.org and on Facebook.”
In addition to the royal court, financial support came from the Dogwood Foundation, Steve Brenner, Darla Snyder and Stanley Kovak. The animals featured on all sides of the van were photographed by Nick Doll of Nick Doll Photography, an ardent SPCA supporter, and they represent either local pets of SPCA donors who entered a drawing to have their pet featured on the van, or the animals are adopted alums of the local shelter.
Doll’s own dog, Sir Winston, also a shelter alum, appears on the door of the mobile clinic, and under its rear taillight.
