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🌱 Patch AM: How a new mobile vet unit could change pet care access

Spotted on the Baton Rouge calendar: 4th Annual Listening Room Film Festival

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Hey there, Baton Rouge! Let's get started with what's happening in and around town. Read on and stay in the loop. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • How a new mobile vet unit could change pet care access
  • How LSU’s music therapy students are changing care in Baton Rouge
  • How a $4 LSU invention could transform Louisiana’s water safety

Also on today's calendar: Bonsai Workshop at Agile Brewing and 1 more event.

Find out what's happening in Baton Rougefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: What did the alien say to the puzzle? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

Find out what's happening in Baton Rougefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Wednesday: Mostly sunny and pleasant, with a high of 71 and low of 41 degrees.
  • Thursday: Intervals of clouds and sun, temps: high: 64, low: 43.
  • Friday: Pleasant with clouds and sun, with a high of 78 and low of 55 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Fifteen years in, Companion Animal Alliance has served thousands of pets—and the humans who care for them (225batonrouge.com) — Companion Animal Alliance has transformed East Baton Rouge Parish’s open-intake shelter, boosting animal save rates from about 20% to 80% and adopting out nearly 4,000 pets in 2024. The nonprofit now runs a modern Gourrier Avenue facility and, after a recent city ordinance change, is launching a mobile vet unit to bring free or low-cost care into underserved north Baton Rouge neighborhoods.
   

2. LSU music therapy program thrives in honor of deceased founder (lsureveille.com) — LSU’s growing music therapy program is training students right here in Baton Rouge through hands-on work at Baton Rouge General, Our Lady of the Lake, and Southdowns Pre-K Center. Built by the late Dr. Kamile Geist and now led by new faculty, the tight-knit program blends music and psychology to support patients from preschoolers to oncology and NICU patients, while steadily expanding enrollment and local clinical partnerships.
   

3. LSU researchers develop low-cost device for water testing (wafb.com) — LSU researchers in Baton Rouge have created a 3D‑printed, $4 device that can capture microbes in water as effectively as traditional samplers costing up to $10,000. Developed from pandemic wastewater work, the tool could dramatically expand monitoring in rural Louisiana, protect seafood-related industries from bacteria like Vibrio, and even pave the way for future air-testing applications if new grant funding comes through.
   

4. Lawmakers consider new school security options (wafb.com) — State leaders meeting in Baton Rouge are weighing new school security measures, from bulletproof glass to advanced mapping tools, that could reshape safety protocols in every Louisiana district. Officials say any statewide upgrades will likely depend on dedicated funding lawmakers may consider in the 2026 legislative session, with some parishes already moving ahead on their own.
   

5. Dunham eyes first state title since 2004 (wbrz.com) — Baton Rouge’s Dunham School football team is heading back to the Superdome, chasing its first state title since 2004 after close championship losses in 2022 and 2024. Led by a senior class teammates praise for its leadership, the Tigers face Calvary Baptist on Thursday at 7 p.m.
   

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Do You Have “The Answer?” Find Out at Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation’s Premier Gala —Ernie Ballard Read on Patch
  • This weekend, a young boy came to our door with his father.
    He was collecting food items for the Food Bank. He wasn’t doing this with an organization. He came up with this idea on his own. Today, I received a… (Nextdoor Webb Park)
  • A huge shout out to all the volunteers that came out to help us cleanup a huge nightmare on coursey this am !
    We had Elite waste donate a huge rolling dumpster that was completely filled to the top w over 150 contractor bags and debris . A special thanks to… (Nextdoor Summa Court)
  • Compass Group, North America posted a job opening for HOUSEKEEPER (FULL TIME) - Children's Hospital in Baton Rouge. Apply here.
  • Campus Apartments, LLC posted a job opening for Porter in Baton Rouge. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Baton Rouge here.

Ok Baton Rouge! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I come in peace. You come in pieces.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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