His best friend - both worthy of our help
Willamette Valley Animal Hospital (Keizer, Oregon wvah.net) and Marion County have joined together with a Salem group that helps with the special needs of homeless individuals with pets. The goal is to spay or neuter and provide each pet with with a general health examination,a complete set of vaccines, flea control and deworming medications.
This Is A Problem That Affects All Of Us
Not surprisingly the homeless and their pets frequent our public parks and green spaces, the same spaces where our children and pets play. The risks of these pets spreading zoonotic diseases and infectious viruses is higher in these pets than pets receiving regular veterinary care. Treating the pets of the homeless helps us in numerous ways. Vaccinating for rabies is a public health issue the helps all of us. Vaccinating for parvo and corona viruses reduces the likelihood of spreading these infectious diseases among the general pet population. Providing internal parasite control reduces the risks of exposure (to hookworms and roundworms) to zoonotic diseases for us and our children. And last but not least its just the right thing to do. Staff of the hospital visit with the homeless and their pets every second Sunday in downtown Salem. If you would like to volunteer or make a contribution please visit www.wvah.net and look for the link to community involvement.
The goal is to spread this program to all of the rural counties in Oregon and then across all of America’s rural counties. Please help us make this possiible – volunteer, contribute, give us a suggestion on how to make this worthwhile goal achievable.
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