November 29, 2018

Three Wins and Three Cheers for Ottawa’s Veterinary Hospitals

 

Veterinarians in Ottawa are very a special breed.  They truly care about the well-being of animals, including the ones that are not their patients: the homeless, lost and injured and abused ones at the OHS.

I know that in many communities, the veterinary community and the local humane society are at a low level of constant warfare. This is not the case in Ottawa.

Many Ottawa veterinarians donate, some volunteer at the OHS, others give deep discounts. Some offer inclusions with OHS adoptions that, in some cases, outstrip the adoption fees.

 

Among our newer initiatives has been to recruit veterinary practices to our PAL Program.  To date, three have agreed to participate:  Ottawa Veterinary Hospital, Carling Animal Hospital and Centretown Veterinary Hospital. This has been a tremendous boon to the program. We generally don’t send cats with special needs—those with medical needs beyond the usual—to pet store partners. But we are very comfortable adopting from a veterinary hospital where their needs can be met, and where the staff can provide good information about the cat’s needs to adopters. And here is a bonus: sometimes when a cat needs medical intervention prior to adoption, the hospitals will perform the service on the OHS’s behalf.

I understand that participating in PAL is a great morale-booster at the hospitals, the OHS gets a service that would otherwise cost, sometimes considerable, cash.  And the pets get homes that understand and can provide for their special needs. Three wins in one program. Not bad.

Bruce Roney

President and CEO