Local dog owner Yvette Morales is hardly on Facebook, but on Thursday she logged into the app and the first post she saw was about a dog wash and trimming event.

Morales felt uncomfortable with clipping the nails of her recently gifted dog, Mochi. However, the 10-month-old, small Pomeranian was one of many pets that attended the event because Morales couldn’t pass on this opportunity.

“[I thought], we’ll see other dogs and she’ll get her toenails clipped,” Morales said.

On Saturday, Oct. 1, the Pre-Vet Club hosted the dog grooming event outside the Dairy Unit at Fresno State. Organizers wanted the event to help the community with low-cost dog services while providing club members with hands-on experience, according to club president Angelina Colunga.

To prepare for the dog wash, Colunga said volunteers, who were mostly freshmen and Pre-Vet club members, received training on how to properly care for a dog by practicing the services provided at Saturday’s event on her friend’s dog.

Rosemary Cortes, the club’s public relations officer, said the event helped sharpen her decision-making skills.

“If a dog is scared of the water or they’re not close to their owner and they get that separation anxiety, we can make those quick decisions [on how to respond],” Cortes said. 

Dog owners brought their four-legged friends to the check-in tent and were given a color-coded ticket depending on their desired services: dog washing for $10, nail trimming for $5 and both services for $15. 

Dog owners and their pets waited in two separate lines depending on their desired services before being escorted to the dog wash area by a volunteer. Food and refreshments, including hot dogs, hamburgers, sodas and water, were available for guests to purchase while waiting in a shaded grass area.

“It’s been pretty easy. They brought water and there is shade and the wait is not too long,” Morales said.

Volunteers guided the dogs to a canopy tent where a team of two or three others assembled the wash. While volunteers soaked the dogs in water, the others scrubbed their paws and fur with soap. Afterward, the dogs were sent to a folding table to be dried with a towel. 

Dogs getting their nails clipped were gently gripped around the waist by one volunteer while  another held its paws and cut its nails.

Organizations such as the Central California Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) were also in attendance at the event to provide guests with information about services such as dog training and low-cost vaccines for Fresno County animal owners.­­

“We just want to reach out to the community and get them to know us and our services,” said Samantha Perez, Fresno State alumna and humane educator at the SPCA. 

Most of the earnings from the event will go toward funding the club’s biggest event of the year, Dinner with Doctors, according to Colunga.

“We have Dinner with Doctors toward the end of the year, [where] we recruit a lot of different veterinarians with similar practices and then we usually have them gather with us,” Colunga said. 

Prior to the event, Cortes said she was kept busy responding to guests via social media, but was still shocked at the turnout at Saturday’s event.

“I didn’t think it was going to be that many people, but we’re really grateful that everyone was able to come out and support the Pre-Vet Club here at Fresno State,” Cortes said.

Students interested in the Pre-Vet Club or future events can visit its social media account on Instagram with the handle @FresnoState_PreVetClub.