Collin Anderson
Loving Care Animal Society is working on providing veterinary services to the community.

Lincoln County currently has no working veterinarian. Susan Austgen of Panaca, who operates the Loving Care Animal Society, is seeking funding for additions to her facility in Panaca to change that.

Austgen is hoping to be able to make improvements to Panaca’s Loving Care Animal facility that will allow her to establish a veterinary clinic with a visiting veterinarian from Cedar City.

As reported in the minutes of the Sept. 14 Lincoln County Regional Development Authority (LCRDA) meeting, Austgen said she is seeking funding for a concrete pad on the rear of the building, where the kennels are, and awnings in both the front and rear.

She estimates the cost of the concrete pad to be about $40,000.

Austgen and her husband have raised enough money through the thrift store they operate at the same location to pay the full cost to have 85 pets spayed and neutered by a vet from Cedar City.

She said Maddie’s Fund, based out of California, has partnered with Humane Networking in Carson City and is providing $200,000 to establish a veterinary clinic at the Loving Care Animal Society.

“The mission of Humane Networking is to help rural Nevada, focusing mostly on shelters. But because we don’t have a vet in Lincoln County, they decided to sponsor us, too.”

Dr. Boyce Blood, a veterinarian from Cedar City, has agreed to come to Panaca one Saturday a month. Licensed in both Utah and Nevada, Blood works on both large and small animals. He is in the process of obtaining a mobile veterinary license for use in Nevada. He will do wellness checks, administer shots, etc., and order pet medications for the Panaca facility.

“I don’t know when all this might come about because we still have to deal with the state veterinary medical examiner,”Austgen said. “However, we did receive approval from them to allow Dr. Blood to work out of our facility. But the room is not completed yet, and we still have applications to file and get licensing.”

Development Authority Executive Director Jeff Fontaine told the meeting his preliminary research has shown that the Loving Care Animal Society may be eligible to qualify for USDA and Rural Development grants and Community Development Block Grant funds.

The board approved the motion to have Fontaine continue to look into obtaining the funding.

Loving Care Animal Society is open 10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Thursday- Saturday.