Helping Pets, People and Students Through Veterinary Medicine
We are pleased to report that the money awarded under the Field Law Community Fund Program was used for the purchase of medical equipment to assist our veterinary team at AARCS Veterinary Hospital in Calgary. This includes a microscope, Otoscope, Incubator, exam light, otoscope, eye surgical kit, Bear Hugger unit, warming blanket and a new scale. We use the majority of these things in our daily operations and it has been a tremendous help to the staff, volunteers and students who work in the veterinary hospital every day.
Here are a few examples on how your support has helped our team and the animals.
The incubator is used daily to maintain our surgery patient’s body temperature pre and post operation. This ensures that we are providing quality care to the high volume of patients that come through our hospital each day. The incubator is also used for the many neonates and bottle fed puppies and kittens that come into our care. A note from Dr Marta Gunn:
“In rescue work, we do a lot of pediatric spay and neuters and due to their body size, they are more at risk of developing hypothermia. By having reliable and convenient incubators, it allows for our small patients to be warmed prior to and after surgery. This improves recovery from surgery and gives additional peace of mind to our veterinary staff.’
– Dr Marta Gunn, AARCS Veterinarian
When we facilitate the University of Calgary Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) students for their surgical rotations, it increases our capacity to perform more spay/neuter surgeries in our hospital. By having this additional equipment, it allows us to work more efficiently for the animals.
We see a lot of ear issues through our rescue, especially in cats that have been left with chronic ear infections with no treatment prior to coming into AARCS care. By having the otoscope and otoscope heads, it allows our veterinarians and veterinary students the opportunity to best diagnose our patients.
“The new otoscope head is so much easier to use and allows us to have a much clearer picture of what is going on in that animal’s ears. This allows us to best treat the patient and reduce any pain and suffering in an effective and timely manner”
– Dr Sam Sharpe, AARCS Veterinarian
Did you know that in 2022 AARCS Veterinary Hospital assisted thousands of once homeless animals get the vital medical care they needed before adoption, including administering 13,000+ vaccines, performing over 3,300 surgeries, and hundreds of other treatments, including treatment for disease, parasites and viruses, infections, broken bones and gunshot wounds to name just a few. In addition, our team spayed and neutered over 687 pets for low income and Indigenous families as we work towards keeping pets and families together while helping to reduce the pet over population issues our communities face.
The support of the Field Law Community Fund Program will help us continue to provide these vital services to the animals and people in our community for many years to come.