Source: Fleishman-Hillard Canada - Vancouver

Canadian Animal Assistance Team Partners With Quatsino First Nation to Provide Needed Veterinary Services on Reserve in 2015

Veterinary Volunteers Visit Community to Offer Spays, Neuters, Free of Charge for Community Member Dogs and Cats at Clinic This Weekend, April 24-25

COAL HARBOUR, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - April 23, 2015) - A team of fourteen veterinary volunteers with the Canadian Animal Assistance Team (CAAT) will visit the Quatsino Reserve at the invitation of the Nation on April 24 and 25 to provide spays and neutering for up to as many as 50 animals on reserve. This visit is the second since March 2015, where a team of four volunteers first went door-to-door to provide vaccination and deworming support to community members' pets. The visit this weekend will involve a two-day clinic on Friday and Saturday, where residents can bring in their pets to see CAAT veterinary volunteers at a temporary vet hospital set up on-site for spay and neutering services.

The series of visits is part of a potential five-year partnership between CAAT and the Quatsino First Nation to provide services, support and education to the community related to pet health care. By the end of this weekend's visit it is expected that, between the March and April clinics, nearly 80 dogs and cats will have been vaccinated for rabies, distemper and parvovirus and treated for parasites through worming, will have been spayed or neutered and received general health and wellness checkups.

CAAT is a registered charity that funds and mobilizes veterinary volunteer-driven animal health clinics, delivered across Canada, in areas where there is a need for no-charge access to vet services. CAAT relies on member donations, grants, and other fundraising to deliver as many as ten animal health care clinics annually. Communities in need can apply through the CAAT website to be partner recipient of these services.

"We are honoured to be welcomed back into the community for the second time this year and our CAAT volunteers are excited to provide animal health care to the pets of the community and humane education to the children of Quatsino," said Nicole Emery, Veterinary Technologist and CAAT Team Leader. "The community is demonstrating great leadership in animal health care by partnering with us and we are proud of the relationship we are building. We look forward to meeting more of the pets, children and community members of Quatsino."

The CAAT Team will include two volunteer staff members from the local North Island Veterinary Hospital in Port Hardy, who will lend their time and expertise during the spay and neuter clinic.

"Quatsino First Nation members and our leadership care very deeply about our community pets on reserve, but in many cases we do not have the means to access needed veterinary services," said Quatsino First Nation coordinator Melinda Sheard. "Working with CAAT was a natural fit for us, allowing our members to get the care they need for their pets, but also to learn more about animal needs and care in general, and CAAT provides this support in a way that resonates with our community. These clinics are always a great success that result in so much goodwill on both sides."

To learn more about CAAT and other upcoming health care clinics, or to donate in support of CAAT's work with animals in need, please visit the CAAT website at www.caat-canada.org.

Contact Information:

Elisha McCallum for CAAT
Email: Elisha.Mccallum@fleishman.ca
Cell: 778-668-0851