The Doney Memorial Pet Clinic | #BtC4A

Typist: Bethany
Two Saturdays a month, volunteers gather at The Union Gospel Mission in Seattle to provide free or discounted veterinary care, as well as pet food and pet care items, for qualified low-income or homeless pet owners. The Doney Memorial Pet Clinic is the legacy of Dr. Bud Doney, who saw a veterinary care need for the pets of homeless people in Seattle. Dr. Doney began to fill that need over 25 years ago, inspiring the formation of The Doney Clinic and it's hard working volunteers.

100% volunteer powered and entirely donation funded, The Doney Memorial veterinary clinic and food bank provide vital assistance to help less fortunate pet owners care for their best friends.

Volunteers at The Doney Clinic range in age from retired veterinarians to teenagers interested in the veterinary field. Volunteers come from all over the state, driving 4-6 hours to help sometimes 50 pets in 2 hours on clinic days. One volunteer is a former client of the clinic! Donors to The Doney Clinic come from all walks of life as well. An elementary school student recently made 8 jars of dog treats for a school project and donated them to the clinics food bank.

It is tough for an entirely volunteer run organization to raise interest, funds and donations when competing with flashy non-profits that have paid marketing and fundraising positions. I have personally witnessed The Doney Clinic struggle to please donors who are used to dealing with non-profits with paid employees. It's disappointing. Personally, I've always preferred donating to 100%

volunteer run organizations. I'd rather employ patience and understanding with a non-profit that is using 100% of my donation to help the cause instead of paying employees. And 100% volunteer fueled organizations like The Doney Clinic mean something. Everyone, from the board members to the vets to the bookkeeper, are doing this purely because they love it. That is volunteerism at it's finest!

Thank you to Blog the Change for Animals and National Volunteer Month and to The Doney Clinic for inspiring this post and the many like it. I am proud to be a part of this blog hop and of the The Doney Clinic.

The Doney Clinic is a cause that is near and dear to my heart because I believe the services they provide helps to keep animals out of the shelter. Clients of The Doney Clinic can still care for their pets despite difficult circumstances. People who have fallen on hard times need their pets more than ever and The Doney Clinic provides a way for less-fortunate people to not only keep their pets with them but to keep their pets healthy. I wish every city had a clinic like Doney!

Here's more about The Doney Memorial Pet Clinic:

Click here to watch a moving story about The Doney Clinic on Evening Magazine

Click here to learn more about The Doney Clinic & it's importance

Cascadian Nomads was not asked to or paid to promote any businesses or organizations mentioned and linked in this post. We're just sharing information or stuff we like!