It’s a Wednesday morning in April and the parking lot of Action for Boston Community Development’s (ABCD) offices on Claybourne Street in Dorchester is getting busy. A red and white van plastered with the faces of pets sitting in the lot is drawing a group of people with pets in hand or on leashes.

The van door slides open, and a smiling Dachshund-Maltese named Cupid jumps down from the small exam room located in the mobile veterinary unit. With his long white fur drooping well over his eyes, Cupid, perhaps following his heart or his nose, quickly shuffles back to his owner.

“​​We haven’t gone to the vet in two years because last time it cost way too much money,” said Kristine Roberts, Cupid’s dog mom. “It was like $400 for a checkup and shots.”

But this visit was different. Roberts paid just $20 for Cupid’s care at the Animal Rescue League (ARL) of Boston’s Pet Wellness Waggin’, which is offered in Dorchester (Wednesday), Roxbury (Monday), Mattapan (Friday), and East Boston (selected days) in partnership with ABCD.

At the Waggin’, pets receive a physical exam, rabies vaccine, distemper vaccine, flea treatment, and a microchip. During his visit, Cupid got his vaccines, was provided heartworm prevention and topical flea and tick medicine, and treated for an ingrown nail.

While Cupid came out of the van happier and healthier than he was when he went in, Roberts knows that even with the help of ARL, having a pet in Boston is hard, especially when it comes to housing.

Dr. Edward Schettino, president and CEO of ARL Boston, says that the issue of pets and housing is sometimes overlooked in the city’s residential crisis.

Over a decade ago, the organization started tracking why people were handing their pets over to ARL Boston, and many times, they found it was due to housing matters.

“In 2024, 372 animals were surrendered to us due to the owner dealing with some type of housing-related issue,” Schettino told The Reporter. “That is a 10 percent increase from 2023 and a 21 percent increase from 2022.”

He added, “Nationally, 14 percent of animals surrendered to animal shelters are due to housing-related issues, but we are finding at ARL that 29 percent of animals being surrendered to us are because of those issues. This is a true problem for us in Boston.”

In addition to being one of the most expensive cities to live in in the US, Boston ranked last for pet friendliness in a recent WalletHub study. The research shows that Boston lacks pet-friendly housing and accessibility to low-cost veterinary care.

According to Schettino, while 39 percent of rental units in Massachusetts will accept pets, only 7 percent accept pets without any weight or breed restrictions.

“When somebody’s with their dog and the landlord says you can’t keep your dog here anymore, people have to make a hard choice,” Schettino. “What do you do? Do you uproot your entire family to find housing that will accept your dog, knowing that the chances of finding acceptable housing is so slim, or do you surrender your dog?”

He and his team at the ARL Boston hope that the Wellness Waggin’ and other services, like their Spay Waggin’, free pet behavior helpline, and dog training, can help.

“We’re really trying to remove any barriers people have for the veterinary care and bringing the services directly in communities where there aren’t any veterinary hospitals and trying to just reduce as many barriers as we possibly can,” Schettino said.

Dr. Emily Forline, the Medical Director of Community and Shelter Medicine at ARL, is one of several doctors who help care for pets with the Wellness Waggin’. On any given day, there are three providers in the van, one veterinarian and either one technician and a veterinary assistant or two veterinary technicians.

“Appointments are encouraged, but we do take some walk-ins,” said Forline. “Usually, we have appointments scheduled every 15 minutes. The appointments can be one to two pets in that 15-minute block.”

She added: “Sometimes they’re patients we’ve seen before and we already have their medical history, but a lot of times they’re patients we haven’t seen. So we will ask the client if they have any records they can provide us and we look through all of that. Sometimes they’ve never been to a vet before, and this is their first chance to kind of talk to somebody.”

Rocket, a two-year-old Micro-Bully, is no stranger to the wagon. Her owner —Franchesca Pena, 23, of Dorchester— said she’s been coming to the mobile van for care since last March.

“The Wellness Waggin’ really, truly, tremendously helped me,” she said. “If it wasn’t for the Wellness Waggin’, for real, I probably wouldn’t even have my dog.”

Pena is experiencing homelessness, she said, and as she’s looking for a place to live, it’s been a additional challenge because Rocket has many Pitbull-like features.

“I was stressing thinking about my dog and his living conditions and all of that,” she said. “Right now, I am still homeless, and I really don’t want to lose my dog. He’s a dog, but he’s really my kid.”

ARL Boston says there are other resources to help. The agency runs its own foster care program that places qualified pets for up to 120 days.

“As people are going through their process of finding stable housing, we can hold their pet for them and then reunite them afterward,” said Schettino.

There’s also legislation under consideration on Beacon Hill that ARL of Boston is backing.

Sen. Ann Gobi has filed a bill that would help families with pets maintain their housing. And state Rep. Tacky Chan of Quincy has offered his own bill that seeks to “codify pet-friendly elderly housing policies and ensure pet parity across authorities.”

In the meantime, the Wellness Waggin’ is a steady source of comfort for people with dogs and cats like Shadow, a Shih Tzu-yorkie mix, who visited the clinic with owner Sherma Grant-Woods. “I think it’s the best thing that could have ever happened for me because the people are friendly, they take care of my pet, and I love that they are so warm and caring,” said Grant-Woods. “Every time I come they accommodate me, sometimes even when I don’t have an appointment. I really appreciate it and really love that we have this support in the neighborhood for my pet.”

For more information, visit arlboston.org.