Volunteering at VET SOS in San Francisco

The morning began early for the VET SOS crew. They loaded up their medical supplies and appeared at the Plaza behind the San Francisco City Hall wedged between the Bill Gram Civic center and the Asian Art Museum. I met them at 9AM and helped put the tents up to shelter the volunteers and animals that would be coming through the clinic that day. As soon as the tents were up and the medical supplies unloaded, we brought patients in to be seen by the veterinarian.

The organization, VET SOS is an organization offering veterinary services to pets of the homeless in San Francisco.  It was a great opportunity to see a similar program to the Mercer Veterinary Clinic for the Homeless in Sacramento. I learned a lot about their clinic and how they run their show. They have several clinics each month in different areas of San Francisco and offer veterinary services to the homeless pet population.

http://markrogersphotography.com/pets/links/

I got paired up with Dr. Durfee who has been a long-standing volunteer at VET SOS. We made a great team tackling many different cases. We saw both cats and dogs and were even handed a SNAKE to examine! I enjoyed working with Dr. Durfee very much and he had a lot of knowledge to share having been in practice for over 50 years as a veterinarian. 

A Rainbow Boa Snake that came in for a health certificate

This particular VET SOS clinic was paired with Project Homeless Connect, offering a variety of other free services to the homeless of San Francisco (Eye, Dental, Medical care, food, etc.).

For more information or if you would like to donate: VET SOS Website

What to Expect: Volunteering at a High Volume Spay/Neuter Clinic

A wonderful question from a blog reader: 

There will be a spay/neuter clinic at the MSPCA next week that myself and some members of the pre-vet club I'm in will be attending. I've never volunteered at one of these before, but I'm excited to get involved! I know you participate in these clinics a lot, so I was wondering if you had any advice on how to prepare, what to bring, how to really get involved, etc?

And you are right, it is kinda tough your first time when you don't know what to expect! I'm sure you know, but wear scrubs, you'll probably get dirty! Things I would bring: pens (2-3), watch with a second hand for monitoring respiratory/heart rates, a stethoscope (only if you have it) if not I'm sure they will have plenty there. Bring a snack/plenty of water, these things usually provide volunteers with something, but I never rely on that just in case I bring something like a granola bar.  

As far as what to do at the clinic, first I would remember to take initiative, people will be busy and can't always give you a job, for example if you see something that could be cleaned, go ahead and do it, they will REALLY appreciate it. Try to avoid standing around if you can, get your hands dirty and ask questions. Ask if there is anything they need help with. There are many different positions they might put you guys in. Like sugery prep, monitoring during anestesia during surgery, monitoring recovery, etc. The thing to remember is that they will teach you everything you need to know to help them, they do this a lot with new volunteers. Another big thing is if you have a question, don't be afraid to ask, there are NO stupid questions especially when it comes to your and the animal's safety. 

The experience is what you make out of it! Take initiative to help/ask questions and you will learn a LOT! That's all I can think of right now, also document the volunteer hours as Veterinary hours for your vet school application! If you get a chance, introduce yourself to the vets who are volunteering at the event (obviously when they aren't busy) and thank them for their time, then tell them you are a pre-vet and see what they say, a lot of them love to talk about their pathway to veterinary school which is very helpful information first hand from someone who did it! 

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