MERCER Veterinary Clinic For the Homeless

Every second Saturday at Loaves and Fishes in Sacramento, there is a veterinary clinic put on by the UC Davis veterinary students that offers care to pets belonging to the homeless. The clinic is funded by grants, donations and fundraisers. Its policy requires that its patients be spayed or neutered, and clients be confirmed as homeless by Loaves and Fishes. The MERCER clinic has been successful for the past 15 years and provided valuable services to the homeless of Sacramento. Many of you may wonder why homeless people have pets? How could they possibly own a cat? Well I think Dr. Gershwin says it best, "you have to realize for these people that have very little, that (an) animal is something solid and stable in their life, It provides companionship, love, and it's a very important part of their life. I've seen our clients go out and save another animal another homeless person has been mistreating." Sometimes these pets are their life. The majority of the pets are well cared for and come to the clinic monthly for routine heartworm and flea preventative. 

 Today I volunteered at the MERCER clinic alongside several of my classmates and upperclassmen. My Dad also came along to help out and see what MERCER was all about. He was very helpful and seemed to enjoy working the clinic. Today it was about 35-40 degrees F and it was freezing in the warehouse where MERCER is held. We didn't see as many patients as we usually see probably because of the cold, however there were at least 50 patients today. On an average day at MERCER, we can treat up to 180 pets. Today I got to give vaccines, draw blood for pre-surgery blood work and work with some really cool people. It was a great experience!

I have volunteered at MERCER for the previous two years. I started volunteering through the vet aides club as an undergraduate when I was taking my pre-veterinary courses at UC Davis. It was a great opportunity for me to work with animals alongside veterinary students and I was able to get a lot of hands-on experience with animals! As a vet aid member your job is to assist the veterinary student in any way possible which may include restraining animals, drawing up vaccines, flea medication, running to the lab, and recording information. 

Now that I'm a first year veterinary student, the roles have turned. Now I'm the Doctor! At MERCER, the veterinary students see and treat the patients. However we are not alone, we have several dedicated Veterinarians that volunteer every month to assist us. If we need their help, we just add our name to the list. It's a wonderful learning opportunity for us and it really helps people and pets that need it! 


I would like to dedicate this blog post to Anneke Vos, who worked three decades on behalf of the pets of Sacramento's homeless population and sadly died last Monday of undetermined causes at the age of 86. She will be greatly missed and was such a wonderful woman! http://www.sacbee.com/2011/01/06/3302968/obituary-to-the-end-anneke-vos.html

More LINKs:

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/clubs/mercer/

http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/36805/Mercer_Vet_Clinic_Helps_Homeless_Pets