Crow Wilds named his squirrels after Nordic warriors.
Freyer and Frehja, Wilds' male and female pets, sat atop 33-year-old Wilds' shoulder as he waited outside the free veterinary clinic at St. Francis House on Nov. 7.
The clinic is the work of Dr. Dale Kaplan-Stein, a Gainesville veterinarian who gives free veterinary care to animals owned by local homeless people.
"It's all about paying it forward," Kaplan-Stein said.
The veterinarian and her small team of about four people cram into a small room at the back of St. Francis House every Wednesday for two hours as they diagnose and treat pets of the homeless.
Kaplan-Stein was inspired to start her clinic after many people in New Orleans were forced to leave their animals behind while evacuating the city.
"I would have never left my animals," she said.
The people who seek Kaplan-Stein's services often can't afford medical assistance for themselves, but they usually walk away with bags of dog food and some of the best veterinary medicine money can provide.
The veterinarian doles out medications for doggy ailments such as heartworm and arthritis.
"You gotta work with the obvious," Kaplan-Stein said.
Kaplan-Stein said she continues working with the homeless even though she knows some people don't believe the homeless should own pets.
"Whether anyone agrees or doesn't agree," she said, "they are going to be there anyway."
A majority of Kaplan-Stein's patients are stricken with contagious but curable diseases. She said she believes that by helping the animals, she can provide a better quality of life for their owners, as well.
Dennis Schultz, 27, brought in Tiger, his 7-month-old pitbull and boxer mixbreed.
Tiger lay calmly on the cool tile floor at Schultz's feet as they waited to see Kaplan-Stein.
Tiger is "good inside, but if you get him outside, he's a wild child," Schultz said.
The orange-and-black dog was brought in for a routine check-up, but Kaplan-Stein wanted to see the dog again in December so he could be neutered.
She said she tries to convince everyone she sees to fix their pet because it decreases an already overwhelming homeless pet population in Gainesville.
She sent Schultz and Tiger off with two bags of dog food.
"He'll eat anything you put in his face," Schultz said.
