ONTARIO — A new mobile animal hospital will help 4 Leaf Rover to “change the bad luck of good dogs and cats” around central Ohio.
Veterinarian Susan Burkhart founded the nonprofit 4 Leaf Rover after a 2020 work trip to a Caribbean island where she helped homeless pets on the beaches.
The nonprofit has hosted multiple trips to the Caribbean islands with vets and vet techs volunteering their time to spay and neuter the animals as well as vaccinate them, test for heartworm and administer skin infection treatments.
Burkhart knew she wanted to help reduce pet overpopulation and improve the lives of dogs and cats locally, too. 4 Leaf Rover has provided free or low cost spay and neuter services at the Animal Medical Center of Ontario for multiple years.
With a brand new mobile unit unveiled last week, 4 Leaf Rover can now travel beyond Ontario to provide spay and neuter services, as well as vaccinations, blood testing and certain treatments.
“This project took over a year and a half of hard work,” Burkhart said. “In two years, we’ve hosted five community cat days here and have spayed and neutered 575 cats within a 30-mile radius of the Animal Medical Center.”
Major donors for the mobile unit include the Carter family and Hydranamics of Galion, the Norma Foundation of Ashland, Dan and Brenda Niss, and Bob and Rebecca Simonson.
“Mahatma Gandhi said ‘The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated,’ ” Burkhart said at Thursday’s ribbon cutting ceremony.
“Based on the overwhelming support we have received from our local community in the past two years, this area is a pretty great area in which to live.”
4 Leaf Rover’s mobile unit includes three surgical areas and nine cages. Burkhart said it could provide up to 60 spays and neuters during a full day among three veterinarians. The truck is also equipped with blood testing, vaccination and other treatments for stray animals.
“If there’s a community with a big problem of stray and homeless animals, we can go there and make it easier so people don’t have to drive trapped animals this far,” Burkhart said.
“There are approximately 30 to 40 million feral stray and abandoned cats living just in the United States. When presented with a problem of this magnitude, the best approach is just to begin, and 4 Leaf Rover is just a beginning.”
Burkhart estimated that around 15 veterinarians have volunteered for 4 Leaf Rover in the past two years. The organization has helped more than 1,800 homeless dogs and cats since its founding in 2022.
“People who aren’t veterinarians can donate to us, volunteer their time for the dog shelter or similar organizations as ours, by adopting and not shopping, or providing a home for a homeless animal,” Burkhart said.
4 Leaf Rover can be found online, as well as on Facebook and Instagram.
