11/07/2024
Happy July everyone! July marks the 5th anniversary of Veterinary Community Outreach! Yes, it has been 5 years since we started our non-profit providing services to the community. We have come a long way! We have completed 1,557 feline Spay/Neuter surgeries since starting them last year, and since 2019 we have vaccinated and served approximately 6,882 (which IS including the 1,557 cats), meaning we have seen approximately 5,325 pets for JUST VACCINES in 5 years!
We started with Dr. Adrianne Doering having an idea, working with Jefferson County Community Ministries to provide services in her free time, and noticing the large need for preventive services in Jefferson county WV and surrounding communities. All of these services were done out of Dr. Doering's pocket, on her own time, and with little help.
She then brought in help from colleagues who had similar a passion for helping community pets and families to prevent diseases and illnesses, and educate the public. Thus came LVT Roberta, and her sidekick daughter Alora, who worked alongside Dr. Doering at JCCM to provide no-cost vaccine clinics to the community, organizing and developing the clinics and helping Dr. Doering into creating what they are today, along with the rest of the team, with many mistakes and problem solving. Roberta and Alora still help today with most vaccine clinics, and if you communicate via email or social media, it is likely Alora doing the responding, who does this between her full time job, which is why there may be a delay!
They brought in Assistant Andrea, who had done her time in Shelter Medicine, seeing the impact and need for preventive medicine and low-cost services for the community, as well as education to help decrease animals entering the shelters, and increase owners being able to keep their pets. She now helps full time with spay/neuter and is a large factor in the in's and outs of keeping the spay/neuter program behind the scenes going! If you email about spay/neuter, it is likely Andrea who you are talking to!
Around the same time, Shobana came to assist, who was a student with a passion to learn and grow, and she helped bring passion and education to clients, teaching them about diseases and importance of our mission, while coordinating with various other community members and non-profits. Shobana is still in school, but she drops by to volunteer when she has time!
Then came Assistant Kaci, who had experience working Veterinary Medicine for many years, experiencing emergency medicine, spay/neuter, and general practice, and bringing a vast knowledge and understanding of preventive care to the community. She was able to provide education, assistance, passion, and problem solving into the vaccine clinics. She continues to do so, and is now a part of the spay/neuter team, playing a huge role in the daily ins/outs and making sure pets are being taken care of when undergoing these procedures in our facility.
Lastly, Dr. Doering runs the show more than she takes credit for, and deserves additional praise and appreciation. Without her thoughts and idea, Veterinary Community Outreach would not exist. Thank you Dr. Doering for providing this service for the community, and for allowing us to be a part of it!
And that makes VCO's board, our "ride-or-die's", our "couldn't have done it without" individuals, in addition to the volunteers, spay/neuter staff, and organizations we have had the opportunity to work with and partner with in the last 5 years, and for many more years to come. Many of you have been around since we set up at JCCM or the park in Charles Town, and we remember each of you. We enjoy watching your pets grow up and vaccinating them, and helping you afford your pet care. Whether we have met you one time, or we have met you 15 times, we thank you!
