For some pets in Kansas and Nebraska that need care, K-State Veterinary Services will travel to them.

K-State's Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital provides transportation for pets that require medical treatment through its Wildcat Express Transportation Service.

The service started in January 1998 to help pets from various Kansas and Nebraska cities receive medical service.

Hospital Administrator Shirley Arck said the service was started in effort to reach out and make the veterinary hospital available to people in rural areas.

The service makes trips to several locations in Kansas and Nebraska. Arck also said the trip to Kansas or Nebraska cities costs $90 , but clients who need transportation service outside Kansas and Nebraska are charged based on the mileage to the city.

The trip fee does not include the medical costs and procedures, which vary depending on the diagnosis, she said.

Wildcat Express makes the trip to Wichita on Tuesdays and Nebraska on Thursdays, Arck said. She also said if clients are in need of pet treatment, special trips to different locations also are arranged.

Both veterinarians and veterinary medicine students treat a variety of pets, including dogs and cats. Arck said the students receive hands-on training while assisting the veterinarians.

"It is a great service, because it helps students see cases they may not have seen before, and it offers care for patients," Arck said.

To have an animal picked up and transported to the teaching hospital, owners should contact their local veterinary clinic, said Patrice Scott, College of Veterinary Medicine marketing coordinator.

The veterinary clinic will call the teaching hospital and arrange a pick-up time.

The animal is then picked up and taken to the hospital for treatment, and after the procedures are complete, there is a recovery time before the animal is released. When the animal is ready to leave, the veterinary hospital will contact the patients' veterinarian and will make travel arrangements and set a pick-up time, Patrice said.

Stephanie Humphrey, Little Apple Veterinary Clinic nurse, said the service is good for people who live far away from Manhattan, who might not have local veterinarians.

Humphrey said she thought it was a good service, because there are a lot of out-of-town clients who need their pets treated somewhere.

"If there is ever something major, like surgery or specialty care, we send them to Kansas State," Humphrey said.

Wildcat Express driver Mark Scott said he has driven for six years and enjoys it.

Mark Scott also is an animal-science technician for the teaching hospital. His main duty as an animal science technician is driving the Wildcat Express, but when he is not on the road, he helps out in the hospital wherever he is needed, he said.

Mark Scott said Wildcat Express usually takes several animals a week to Wichita and Nebraska.

During the last nine years, the service has fluctuated on the number of patients it transports throughout the year, Scott said. He also said when people realize the Wildcat Express is available for their use they appreciate and utilize it.

"I get a satisfaction from driving Wildcat Express because, I am sometimes lucky enough to see owners reunited with their pets when I return them to their veterinary clinic," he said.

The bus uses a generator for climate control to keep the animals comfortable, Mark Scott said. On the inside, there are four big kennels on the bottom tier and eight smaller kennels on the top tier for smaller animals.

Mark Scott said it gives him a good feeling to know he helped an animal that might not have been able to receive care without the Wildcat Express' services.

"I am not a veterinarian, but it's nice to have a part in so many success stories," Scott said.