Our first Veterinarian was a true 'shelter vet' but didn't know it....

Our first veterinarian, Randy A. truly was our first 'shelter' veterinarian, even though he worked in private practice on large and small animals. He cared about animals. He saw what we were trying to do in The Kat Barn and he came on site and showed us how to vaccinate each and every kitty and shared many ideas about how we could do a lot of our work on the animals 'in house.' He inspired us and educated us and then he moved....from ten miles away to an hour and a half away... Well, we, on occasion, would go all that way so HE could do the surgery needed on a feline in need. Then I saw an article in a newspaper about a 'shelter veterinarian' who worked ONLY with shelters but she was way in southern Iowa. We are way in northeastern Iowa. But I wrote her anyway. And, she came! All the way to our sanctuary in her Animals All About mobile lab and worked with us for some years. We still work with her today, traveling over an hour and a half to take animals to her. She helped us learn so much more about shelter medicine (versus regular 'to the vet' style medicine' and how to do more 'in house' than we were already doing. We still consult with her, still take kits to her and she is perhaps the only vet in Iowa I know of that does 'flank spays.'  They are so much easier on the cats and perhaps I'll share what she wrote about 'what flank spays are' at a later day and time. And, we are very pleased to have a veterinarian who comes on site monthly and we make weekly trips to him as well for kits who need to be under gas anesthesia, or more complicated surgeries (which we seem to have a lot of around here). Kent M., DVM is wonderful to work with and we can see sometimes 15-17 animals when he is on site. And I ask him questions... about diabetes insipidous, rectourethal fistulas, .....and he will say... "Where do you get all these odd things". And I tell him... "from all over the United States."
And that is true. Felines from over 30 states call C & W their 'fur'ever home.... Dr. Melick is a great vet and willing to work with our sanctuary. And we appreciate him very much. And so do the furkits, though maybe not if it's 'their turn' to see him.........