In a day dedicated to the celebration of pets, Tender Care Veterinary Center in Falcon, Colorado, hosted its inaugural Pawfest to shine a light on the importance of pet care and community on Saturday, Sept. 9.ìThis is a celebration of pets in general, and we also wanted to give back to the community,î said John Amen, co-owner of Tender Care Veterinary Center. ìWe are in the process of expanding this clinic, and we wanted to give back to our supporters.îThe event, held at the Tender Care clinic just off Meridian Road, was also the perfect venue to introduce its two newest veterinarians, Dr. Jennifer Wade and Dr. Lindsey Blair.The centerís parking lot turned into a fun-zone for the day, complete with a bounce house, free food served by Boy Scouts Troop 221, balloon animals, face painting and free ice cream. Guests and their pets were welcome to take tours of the clinic; they offered microchipping for $20; dog training and agility demonstrations were provided by Mutt Masters; and local pet sanctuaries Wild Blue Animal Rescue and Sanctuary and Douglas County Canine Rescue were both on site with felines and canines ready for adoption.Guests like Tammy Wilkes and Jolene Martin were enjoying the festivities with their pets, dogs Merlin and Daisy Mae, respectively. Wilkes took advantage of the grooming and microchipping services offered at the event, and Martin called the event ìfabulous.îSarah Rawlinson of Falcon brought along her family and their dog, a regular client at Tender Care. Rawlinson stopped by the event after taking her kids to soccer because it looked like fun, she said as she watched her son, Miller, age 9, wait patiently in line for a balloon animal.Inside, Dr. Lindsey Blair greeted visitors after completing her first week at the veterinary center. Originally from Colorado Springs, Blair practiced veterinary medicine in Arizona for four years before returning to her hometown to be close to family and friends.She became interested in becoming a veterinarian after taking an anatomy class in high school, Blair said. Though she always liked animals, that class sparked her interest in the field, she said.ìThis is a great practice with great people,î Blair said. ìThis event today shows how much [Tender Care] cares about their community. I am happy to be a part of a practice that feels that way.îTender Careís second newest veterinarian, Dr. Jennifer Wade, has been with the center since April 2017. She has lived in Colorado for seven years, previously hailing from North Carolina.ìAs far back as I can remember, I loved animals and science,î Wade said. Wade received her undergraduate degree at Texas A&M and attended veterinary school there.ìI think itís great that Tender Care is opening itself to the community like this, and visitors get to see behind-the-scenes. They are really becoming a part of this community, and I donít know too many hospitals that do that. I think this is a great thing they are doing,î Wade said.Tender Care Veterinary Center provides its community with emergency room services, dentistry, grooming and other pet health care services.For more information, visit their website at http://tcvetcenter.com.
