PORTLAND, Ore. — Veterinarian Dr. Robert Mack is on the board of the Oregon Humane Society and told KGW they host pet clinics several times a year serving houseless communities.
On Tuesday, Dr. Mack, along with the Oregon Humane Society, hosted a free pet care clinic for people experiencing homelessness and those temporarily sheltered or unable to afford care of their animals. The pet care clinic was located in Blanchet House’s parking lot on Northwest Glisan Street in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood.
"I wanted to try to do something for the folks who have pets who are without homes or shelter or so forth," said Dr. Mack. "Blanchet House was nice enough to have us use their parking lot, because it got a lot of space. And they have a large population of the people that we want to serve with pets here."
Dr. Mack said that in addition to care, they've supplied vaccinations, flea and tick care, pet food, leashes and collars and more.
"This is just just to try to make sure that these pets are getting looked at by a veterinarian and people get their questions answered," he said.
Dr. Mack examines the animals, but if they need a higher level of care he refers them to free or low-income animal hospitals.
"For the most part the pets are really well taken care of," he said. "These people will do anything for their pets, they mean so much to them."
Once a month, he also sets up a table in the parking lot next to Blanchet House in downtown Portland with food and supplies for animals. He said he understands how important pets are to people experiencing homelessness and wants to help keep them healthy and thriving.
"These people will feed their pets before they feed themselves sometimes," said Dr. Mack.
For some homeless Portlanders like Tami Seely, her dog Sasha is like family. "She's my dog. My, you know, she's my family. Right now I don't really have family."
Blanchet House welcomes pets to accompany their owners inside its free café. Volunteers provide pets with food and water during meal services.
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