Helping Animals In Need—Training Tomorrow’s Vets (NAPSA)—For most pet owners, keeping their animal companions healthy is as simple as making regular visits to the veterinarian. But whatif there are no veterinarians within reach? No spay/neuterclinies? No routine pet health care services or information? And no way to pay for them, even if they could be found? That’s the situation faced by tens of thousands of people and their pets in impoverished communities within the U.S. and beyond its borders. In these communities, The Humane Society of the United States’ Rural Area Veterinary Services (RAVS) program can mean the difference between sickness and health, between life and death for dogs, cats and other animals. In one year alone, RAVS brought free pet health care and spay/neuter services to more than 80 communities, including Native American reservations, Appalachian areas in Ohio, Tennessee and Georgia, and a number of countries from the Caribbean to Bolivia. On each visit, they have eased animal suffering, prevented unwanted litters and taught basic pet care and respect for animals. About 10,000 animals a year benefit from the clinics. Nearly 500 veterinary students from 25 veterinary schools in several countries participate in RAVS programseach year. What they experience goes beyond anything they could learn in a classroom. Performing treat- Hundreds of volunteers provide veterinary care for cats, dogs and other animals. ments and surgeries under a veterinarian’s direct supervision, students get hands-on clinical experience not often available at veterinary schools and hospitals. Students also get the opportunity to interact with people from different cultures and see the conditions under which animals live outside of the urban and suburban areas where these future veterinariansarelikely to practice. The program is staffed by experienced, professional veterinarians, led by Dr. Erie W. Davis, DVM, who founded the service in 1995 before becoming part of the HSUS. The program is funded by donations. To contribute to RAVS, you can send a check to The HSUS, 2100 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037 (mark “RAVS” on the memo portion of your check). For more information about the program, visit www.hsus.org/ravs.
