©HSVMA

In many parts of the world without veterinary services, many people cannot afford to provide routine, basic care for their beloved pets. Sometimes, they don't know that their pets need routine care.

This is where The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association (HSVMA) Field Services—formerly known as Rural Area Veterinary Services or RAVS—enters the picture.

Our team brings veterinary services to poor communities around the globe from Bolivia to Bell County, Kentucky.

Volunteer veterinarians, veterinary technicians and veterinary students work with the team to provide essential services such as sterilizations, vaccinations and instruction about disease prevention and pet care.

Dr. Eric Davis, DVM, heads the HSVMA Field Services program and is a diplomate for both the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Before joining HSVMA, Davis was the veterinary director of Remote Area Medical (RAM) in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he founded the traveling veterinary services program in 1995.

On a typical HSVMA site visit, 12-25 veterinary student volunteers and three to five veterinarians and technicians will conduct one or two clinics a day. By the time their multi-day visit or tour is complete, volunteers and staff have typically performed up to 300 vaccinations a day and 30-60 surgeries per clinic.

HSVMA has not only helped thousands of animals and their owners; it has expanded the knowledge of veterinary school students. "We are exposing future veterinarians to humane work. They need to know that it is right to come to the aid of animals in need," Davis says.

Because its work is never done, HSVMA Field Services is continually looking for two things: more veterinary volunteers and more funds. Click here for clinic schedules, and become a volunteer, or donate to HSVMA.