Be a world of good
At about noon on the second and fourth Saturday of every month, dozens of homeless and low-income Seattleites and their furriest friends start to snake around the block of Pioneer Square鈥檚 South Washington Street.
The draw? The Doney Memorial Pet Clinic 鈥� a pop-up facility that sets up shop in the Union Gospel Mission and offers free veterinary care from 3鈥�5 p.m. thanks to volunteers like Dr. Heather Fowler, who鈥檚 working toward her Ph.D. in the School of Public Health鈥檚 Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. With the help of Fowler and other dedicated members of the community, the Doney Clinic aids those those who couldn鈥檛 otherwise afford veterinary care.
鈥淭here are studies that look specifically at the human-animal bond between homeless individuals and their pets,鈥� says Fowler, who received a Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award from the UW earlier this year. 鈥淚n that somewhat unstable environment where you don鈥檛 know where you鈥檙e going to eat or sleep at any given time, that consistent companion that you know won鈥檛 abandon you is really important for mental health and security.鈥�
Fostering a healthy human-animal bond is at the core of Fowler鈥檚 studies. She鈥檚 found a mentor in Dr. Peter Rabinowitz, who directs the UW鈥檚 Center for One Health Research (COHR), and she鈥檚 taken on the role of COHR鈥檚 associate director of Animal Health. From farmers with their livestock to veterinarians with their patients, COHR鈥檚 mission is to investigate health as it relates to humans, animals and their shared environments 鈥� and develop innovative solutions for a healthy coexistence.
The human-animal bond
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the human-animal bond is a mutually beneficial 鈥� and meaningful 鈥� one that influences the health and well being of both human and animal on an emotional, psychological and physical level. Considering 鈥渄og鈥� is synonymous with 鈥渕an鈥檚 best friend,鈥� this is somewhat intuitive. But in the homeless and low-income population, the ties run a little deeper.
Take Christine, who鈥檚 been bringing her pets to the Doney Clinic for treatment for years and says her dog, who was born two weeks after she got sober, means the world to her. 鈥淪he trails my clean time,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檝e had a job for a year and a half now, and she keeps me sober.鈥�
Christine, who represents a much larger Seattle population, gives back to the Doney Clinic as she’s able, whether it鈥檚 through volunteering or donating any extra money 鈥� even in hard times.
鈥淏efore I came to the UW, I spoke with Rabinowitz and said 鈥楾hese are my interests,鈥� and he said 鈥楾hose fall in line with our center鈥檚 mission; follow them,鈥欌�� says Fowler, who hails from New Jersey. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really rare. A lot of times you go into a program and you have to wrap your interests around what they鈥檙e doing, whereas I鈥檝e had the opportunity to really develop my own research plan and goals.鈥�
Fowler鈥檚 research and goals are focused primarily on the occupational health of animal workers in environments such as dairy farms and veterinary clinics. In veterinary clinics, workplace hazards include anything from bites, scratches and infectious diseases to being exposed to toxins and radiation 鈥� which makes her outreach with the Doney Clinic the perfect place to put both her clinical and occupational health chops to use while leveraging her education to give back.
鈥淚f you ask 99.9 percent of veterinarians how long they wanted to be a veterinarian, they鈥檒l tell you that they鈥檝e wanted to be one ever since they were knee-high to a grasshopper,鈥� says Fowler, whose plan is to one day educate animal care workers. 鈥淚 love caring for animals and protecting their health and reinforcing the human-animal bond between pet owner and pet, and the Doney Clinic provides me with an outlet to do just that.鈥�
In the future, COHR hopes to partner with the Doney Clinic to create a clinic that treats both the pet and the owner at the same time.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a homeless and low-income population here in Seattle that are in need of medical services, and the UW has all of these different health clinics throughout the city,鈥� says Fowler. 鈥淲e鈥檙e treating the same target audience, and while not every homeless person has a pet, many do 鈥� and many are more likely to seek care for their pet than themselves. This is an opportunity to help more people.鈥�
Related links
https://youtube.com/watch?v=NTR9HFrm7HE