Life Savers

"These pets are often the most significant relationships that they have. "
"Everyone finds it incredibly fulfilling. The clients are really appreciative and vets are able to renew their faith in why they became vets in the first place."
"We had a youth who said 'I know what love is because of this dog'. You have these youth who came from group homes or foster care and have never really experienced unconditional love. These animals provide a source for that; they often learn how to love."
Veterinarian Michelle Lem, founder of Community Veterinary Outreach

"This is one of the most important programs I have ever seen. There have to be thousands out there who cannot afford to fix an animal, but that animal is so medically beneficial for them. What it does for the people is quite something."
Homeless 59-year-old Lee, double-amputee ... [Pets] "keep you alive"

      Dr. Michelle Lem talks with Ron Potter and his dog Spanky at the charity Community Veterinary Outreach in the Ottawa Mission’s chapel on Sept. 21, 2013. Now in its 10th year, the free vet clinic has performed examinations, treatments, vaccinations and microchipping for hundreds of animals.   Photograph by: David Kawai , Ottawa Citizen

Dr. Lem studied youth living homeless on the streets, with pets for intimate company, for her master's thesis. Those young homeless people informed her that they minimized their use of alcohol and drugs to avoid becoming incapacitated or arrested because of their responsibility to the well-being of the pets they loved and who depended on their being there to look after them.

They may themselves have been neglected as children, and grew to young adulthood without the fundamental emotional support they needed to develop as well-balanced, empathetically sound human beings, but they had no intention of abandoning their responsibility to the helpless pets depending on them. Their pets aided their emotional development.

Young people who, having been deprived of the love and understanding that everyone needs to thrive, understanding instinctively that they have an obligation to provide that support to the creatures they adopted. Apt demonstration that under the right circumstances even those deprived of the most basic of human emotional needs; young people are capable of finding the best in themselves.

Dogs of all sizes were brought into the charity Community Veterinary Outreach in the Ottawa Mission’s chapel. Now in its 10th year, the free vet clinic has performed examinations, treatments, vaccinations and microchipping for hundreds of animals.   Photograph by: David Kawai, Ottawa Citizen 

It is Dr. Lem's observable opinion that most of those pets living on the street enjoy good living conditions; in her opinion often far outstripping in value to them the lives that pets experience in affluent homes where the homeowners who have taken those pets in, neglect their needs and often have little time for the animals meant to complement their lives, not complicate them.

Mayday has his paws examined by Dr. Don Caldwell at the charity Community Veterinary Outreach in the Ottawa Mission’s chapel on Sept. 21, 2013. Now in its 10th year, the free vet clinic has performed examinations, treatments, vaccinations and microchipping for hundreds of animals. Pet owners are referred to the clinic by community shelters and health centres.   Photograph by: David Kawai, Ottawa Citizen

 

The difficulties arise when and if those street-living pets become ill. When those who maintain their quality of life cannot afford to find medical help for them. And from her experience and her understanding was born the outreach centre, Community Veterinary Outreach, where local veterinarians see the need to volunteer their expertise to care for the pets of homeless people.

With the added realization that when they commit themselves to improving the quality of life of their pets, the added, considerable bonus, is that by extension the quality of life of the homeless pet owners is also improved. Pet owners bring their friends in to the Ottawa Mission where they can undergo checkups and treatment, and they have done so for the past ten years.

Veterinarian Lem points out the usefulness of these voluntary vet clinics in persuading the homeless to themselves access health and social services. People who live on the street with pets are required to meet with a social worker or health worker as a contact that can lead to assistance for the pet owner, for clients must be referred through that initial contact if they want a clinic appointment for their pet.

   Jenna stayed close with owner Tammy Carriere before getting vaccinations at the charity Community Veterinary Outreach in the Ottawa Mission’s chapel on Sept. 21, 2013.     Photograph by: David Kawai, Ottawa Citizen

 

"If you support that pet, you can support the person", observed Ms. Lem. "There are benefits and liabilities We tend to focus on supporting that relationship so we can maximize all the benefits", she said, explaining that pet ownership brings additional burdens and hardships to the homeless who may not sleep in shelters if they have a pet. Accessing health and social services means they need someone to care for their pets in their absence.

    Pets and their owners wait in the hall outside the charity Community Veterinary Outreach in the Ottawa Mission’s chapel on Sept. 21, 2013. Now in its 10th year, the free vet clinic has performed examinations, treatments, vaccinations and microchipping for hundreds of animals. Pet owners are referred to the clinic by community shelters and health centres. Photograph by: David Kawai, Ottawa Citizen

 

Dr. Lem points out that street pets spend less time alone, they have exposure to more exercise and experience more social interaction with people and other dogs than pets raised in conventional situations. Since the program was first initiated, the charity has examined, treated and vaccinated over 1,800 animals. Demand for their services continues to increase annually.

Six-month-old Forrest Gimp, with owners Kayla Ackehurst and Damon Trepanier, has her teeth checked at the charity Community Veterinary Outreach in the Ottawa Mission’s chapel on Sept. 21, 2013.    Photograph by: David Kawai, Ottawa Citizen