On a Sunday morning, two student volunteers held down Jinx, a German Shepherd, as she tried to wriggle away from them.
The 11-year-old German Shepherd panted as UF veterinary students Erin Sole and Kimberly Couch sprayed her with a hose on a sidewalk outside the UF College of Veterinary Medicine. The students were part of the college’s Project HEAL, which hosted its first monthly dog wash Sunday, said Jenny Moreira, the president of the student organization.
“She’s just big and has a lot of fur,” Sole, 20, said with a smile.
The dog wash raises money for the organization’s service trip to Quito, Ecuador, Moreira said. They washed about 70 dogs by mid-afternoon, with the help of about 14 volunteers.
The 25-year-old second-year veterinary student said the money helps fund a public clinic that provides free services to the residents in Ecuador. At the dog wash, owners can choose to donate $5 for a wash and ear-cleaning for their pets and $3 for a nail-trimming.
“Sometimes owners have difficulties washing them at home, so they come here,” she said.
Kyle Alfard, 34, waited in the shade of the building as Jinx got her ears cleaned and nails trimmed.
Amanda Gonzalez, who brought her 2-year-old hound mix Jack with Alfard’s Jinx, said washing both 100-pound dogs is a mission.
“It’s a big hassle to wash those dogs,” the 27-year-old UF Health Shands Hospital employee said. “It’s a lot of wrangling.”
Sole, a member of the organization, said Sunday’s event was a break from classes.
“You spend most of your time in the classroom, so it’s nice to spend time with real pets,” she said. After she dried off Jinx, her shirt was covered in dog hair.
Gina and PJ van Blokland have brought their dogs, Barley and Hops, for the past year. She said the one-and-a-half-year-old mixed breed and 9-year-old Great Dane love getting their monthly baths, adding she doesn’t mind spending money for it.
“It’s a good cause, that’s the main thing,” Gina Blokland, a 59-year-old Micanopy, Florida, resident, said. “We really appreciate them out here doing it.”
Dates for next dog washes at the UF College of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Academic Building:
- Aug. 28
- Sept. 18
- Oct. 2
- Oct. 16
- Nov. 13
