Humane Society’s Rural Area Veterinary Services hold animal clinic in Redby

By Michael Barrett

Red Lake Net News

      For three days on September 2-4, 2004, a free Animal Clinic took place at the Red Lake Fisheries Building in Redby.

      The free clinic was open to any resident of the Red Lake Indian Reservation and was sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States and local agencies, which included Red Lake ALC, St. Mary’s Mission, Redby Community Church, Red Lake DNR, The Other Store and Red Lake’s Indian Health Service.

      Some of the services provided at the clinic included neutering, spraying, surgery, shots, treatment for Mange or other illnesses in dogs, cats and other family pets.

      This clinic was part of the Humane Society’s Rural Area Veteriary Services (RAVS), which is a non profit program that brings free veterinary services to under served rural communities around the world.

      Volunteer veterinary students work with experienced veterinarians to provide essential animal health services such as sterilizations and vaccinations, as well as educational programs on a variety of topics that include disease prevention and humane animal care.

      According to their website, the program’s three fullptime veterianarians and more than 500 volunteers provided veterinary care for animals in more than 80 communities in 2003, where no other animal services existed.

      Each year RAVS is reported to treat more than 20,000 animals at no cost to the clients or communities served. The program also provides valuable training and experience for hundreds of veterinary students.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who are we?
The Humane Society of the United States' Rural Area Veterinary Services (RAVS) is a mostly volunteer program that delivers veterinary medical services and humane education to poor rural communities in the United States and throughout the world. Our volunteers are veterinarians, veterinary technicians, veterinary students, educators and people from all sorts of other careers.

Dr. Eric Davis heads the RAVS program. Before joining The HSUS, Dr. Davis was veterinary director of Remote Area Medical (RAM) in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he founded the traveling veterinary services program in 1995. Veterinarians Susan Monger, Louis Lembo and Ila Davis and program coordinators Tammy Rouse and Windi Wojdak complete the RAVS staff. We are supported by program staff from each of the HSUS regional offices and hundreds of dedicated volunteers.

What do we do?
Our projects include free spay/neuter, vaccination and parasite control services for dogs and cats on Native American reservations throughout the western United States and in the Appalachian counties of Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia and Kentucky; routine care for horses and other livestock in remote areas of the United States and Latin America; and care of sick and injured animals in rural communities where local veterinary care is not available. We also provide education to both adults and children on a variety of topics including disease prevention, humane animal care and dog bite prevention.

Where have we been?
Rural Area Veterinary Services works regularly on the Rosebud, Cheyenne River, Lower Brule, and Pine Ridge Sioux reservations in South Dakota; Fort Berthold, Devil's Lake, Turtle Mountain, and Standing Rock reservations in North Dakota; White Mountain and San Carlos Apache reservations in Arizona; Leech Lake reservation in Minnesota; Navajo and Zuni reservations in New Mexico and Arizona; Hoopa and Round Valley reservations in Northern California; numerous rural counties in Tennessee, Ohio, Georgia, and Kentucky; villages in the Peten region of Guatemala; and the Pacific islands of Kosrae, Pohnpei, Palau, and Guam. Expeditions have also included teams working in the Dominican Republic, Bimini, Mexico, Romania, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, and Paraguay.

What services does RAVS provide?
RAVS clinics provide basic health care services for dogs and cats including spay/neuter surgery, vaccination programs, parasite treatment and control programs, various soft tissue surgeries (tumor removal, hernia repair), porcupine quill removal and laceration repair. In some communities services are also provided for horses and include reproductive exams, humane castration of working horses, vaccination and parasite control.

Every clinic also includes a very important education component. Presentations for children are provided on humane pet care, dog bite prevention and the role of veterinary medicine. Programs for adults generally focus on humane animal care, disease prevention and the benefits of spay/neuter. In some remote communities like those in Guatemala, RAVS veterinarians work with local residents to help them learn to provide basic health care for animals in their own communities.

In addition to the regular clinics we operate, The HSUS is committed to the ongoing support for the development of humane animal care and control programs in the communities RAVS serves. By providing training and resources to local communitiy members and administrators, we can assist communities in achieving large scale improvements in the welfare of animals in their area.

How many animals do you help?
Last year, RAVS provided treatment to nearly 20,000 animals at a value of over $1 million dollars, all at no cost to the communities. In addition, our educational outreach program reaches thousands of children and adult community members, helping to bring about lasting improvement in the care and treatment of all animals.

How can I help?
Rural Area Veterinary Services operates entirely on donations and grants. Your generous donations allow us to continue to provide these valuable services. Skilled veterinarians and veterinary technicians, as well as eager students and others with or without animal experience, are needed to go on expeditions or to help with packing equipment and supplies. Donations of time and money are tax deductible.

What type of person participates?
Most volunteers are veterinary students with a sense of adventure and a dedication to helping animals. Experienced veterinarians and technicians who enjoy teaching are always needed as well as humane educators and animal care and control professionals. But enthusiastic volunteers from any field are welcome. Some of our best volunteers have had no previous veterinary experience. It just takes energy and commitment.

What is a typical expedition like?
A typical RAVS expedition will include 12–25 veterinary student volunteers and 3–5 veterinarians and technicians who together will conduct one or two clinics a day. Trips last anywhere from 2 days to 3 weeks. By the time their multi-day tour is complete, volunteers and staff will have performed up to 300 vaccinations and 30–60 surgeries each day. In a two week tour the team may perform over 400 surgeries and administer thousands of vaccinations and other treatments.

What is the volunteer experience like?
Under the supervision of experienced veterinarians and technicians, veterinary students examine animals, perform surgeries, monitor anesthesia, and present educational programs, among other tasks. Other volunteers help check in patients, talk with local children about pet care and safety, help care for animals awaiting treatment, prepare surgical instruments and much more. Volunteers work long hours in often less than ideal conditions. It can be extremely challenging work, but the reward of helping so many animals and people in need is enormous.

The RAVS experience provides veterinary students and others with experience and training in a wide range of clinical skills. But, just as important, is the training students receive in initiative and self reliance, qualities not taught in the classroom. We believe that future veterinarians need to know that it is right to come to the aid of animals in need, simply because it is the ethical thing to do. Many RAVS volunteers return after graduation to volunteer their time and to train new students.

What schools do student volunteers come from?
Veterinary students from Tufts, Mississippi State, University of Georgia, Iowa State University, Virginia Tech, University of Pennsylvania, Ohio State University, Colorado State, University of California, Michigan State, North Carolina State University, University of Florida, Cornell, University of Illinois, Kansas State University, University of Wisconsin, Tuskegee University, University of Saskatchewan, Texas A & M University, Purdue University, Louisiana State University, University of Illinois, Washington State University, University of Tennessee, Ross University, University of Prince Edward Island, University of Guelph, University of Montreal, St. Georges School of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, University of Edinburgh, the Royal Veterinary College of London, and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences have participated in clinics operated by the RAVS program. Many of these institutions offer academic credit for participation.

How can I contact RAVS?
Eric W. Davis DVM, Director of Rural Area Veterinary Services 125 Old Stage Rd., Salinas, CA 93908 Phone: (831) 442-8359 (office); (831) 809-8248 (cell) or Email: edavis6702@aol.com

In many parts of the world, those far removed from daily veterinary services, people often cannot afford to provide routine care for their beloved pets. Sometimes they don't even know that their pets need routine care.

This is where The HSUS's Rural Area Veterinary Services (RAVS) enters the picture. RAVS brings veterinary services to poor communities around the globe, whether in Bolivia or Bell County, Kentucky. Volunteer veterinary students work with several professional vets to provide not only essential services such as sterilizations and vaccinations, but also educational services such as talks on disease prevention and pet care.

Dr. Eric Davis, DVM, heads the RAVS program. Before joining The HSUS, Davis was veterinary director of Remote Area Medical (RAM) in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he founded the traveling veterinary services program in 1995. RAM was often supported by The HSUS and assisted by our regional offices. Davis has led teams into some of the neediest regions in the western hemisphere, including locations in Mexico, Guatemala, the Caribbean, Paraguay, Bolivia, Guyana, Guam, Palau, Pohnpei, Kosrae, not to mention countless rural communities and Native American reservations in the United States.

A typical RAVS site visit (or tour, for the longer trips abroad) will include 12–25 veterinary school volunteers and 3–5 veterinarians and technicians who together will conduct one or two clinics a day. By the time their multi-day tour is complete, volunteers and staff will have performed up to 300 vaccinations a day and 30–60 surgeries per clinic.

RAVS has benefited not only thousands of animals and their owners, but has also expanded the knowledge of veterinary school students who learn some important life lessons. "We are exposing future veterinarians to humane work. They need to know that it is right to come to the aid of animals in need," says Davis, the director of RAVS and a diplomate for both the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

"The field work is a life-focusing experience for the veterinary students and veterinarians alike," says Paul G. Irwin, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. "Some who have engaged in RAVS field projects have since chosen to work as shelter veterinarians or as veterinarians in rural communities.”