Vulnerable Pets of Vulnerable People

As pet owners - an extremely large community - there is the indelible impression that veterinary medicine and its practitioners have a very good thing going for them. People love their pets, and as long as they can afford ongoing and fairly fundamental medical-health services for their animal companions they will continue to pay what for many appears to be a stiff price.

There is nothing particularly modest nor 'affordable' of many veterinarian services; even routine ones are expensive. On the other hand, most people want to ensure that their valued pets are well looked after and that means that their annual shots and medications are looked after.

Let alone matters that invariably crop up throughout the course of a year. And we won't even mention those times that rate as emergencies when we have to rush a suffering animal to emergency care - and pay, literally, through the bank account for needed ameliorative care.

Veterinarians are right up there, with human medical practitioners, particularly those in specialized fields of medicine - and lawyers, and bankers and chartered accountants. Making big money and being highly respected in the field of professional services. But what happens when people who love their pets and would like to ensure they're medically treated can't pay?

The option is always there to take out pet health insurance. It's not cheap and it doesn't cover everything. And many people have discovered - aside from reading Consumers Reports that lists it as not at all a good deal - that insurance doesn't live up to its public relations. Call upon it for an expensive surgery for your pet after having paid into the plan for a decade, and discover you're no longer a favoured client.

There's a story in the news today about a non-profit group founded by Ottawa veterinarian Michelle Lem, representing some 20 local veterinarians who have formed a kind of syndicate, a charitable one, benefiting local pet owners who are homeless or otherwise severely financially constrained whose pets face severe medical emergencies. "We treat them on a case-by-case basis ... A lot of the surgeries are cost-prohibitive."

The Community Veterinary Outreach group is a public-service oriented charity, holding about one clinic a month at the Ottawa Mission. They accept referrals from other local shelters, from community health centres and mental health organizations. Ms. Lem alone has volunteered her professional time and services for the past 8 years: "It has been very rewarding. I think this is why I became a veterinarian."

She estimates that outreach volunteers have taken the time and trouble to use their professional expertise to examine, treat and vaccinate over 1,200 animals during the past eight years of the group's existence. She emphasizes her belief, given her experience, that a pet represents all too often a primary source of companionship and social support for people living on the street.

"In my experience, these dogs are well looked after. I've seen hundreds of animals since I started doing this, and I've never seen an animal that was outside the realm of what I'd normally see in the clinic." This outreach program has assisted the vulnerable who are homeless to maintain their relationship with another vulnerable group; their homeless pets.

Society often is indebted in ways not always known to them, to those among us who reach out to others in need. In this valuable instance, it is a small group of veterinarians who obviously feel a responsibility to those vulnerable pets of vulnerable people.