The St. Francis Pet Care clinic opened its doors in 2007. Its first patient, Baby Girl, belonged to a homeless woman in the community.
“That dog holds a special place in my heart,” said Dr. Natalie Isaza, a clinical associate professor at UF’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “She was our very first client; after sitting there for two hours she was the only one that showed up.”
Nine years later, the organization plans to expand to a bigger location and will hold a fundraiser today from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m at UF’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
The clinic first operated in an old closet-like room behind the St. Francis House by Isaza, animal advocate Chris Machen and Gainesville veterinarian Dr. Dale Kaplan-Stein. They later moved to a nearby building.
The organization is a nonprofit, non-emergency pet clinic that serves animals of veterans, homless and low-income residents of Alachua County, Machen said.
“We have to get our own build- ing, we have to get sustainable, we have to have a much better working environment,” Machen said.
“We are literally on top of each other.” The clinic runs only on volunteers and is funded by different grants from the city and through donations from Alachua County residents, Machen said.
About 80 percent of their patients are dogs and about 20 percent are cats.
“We are thrilled and amazed at how many people we have been able to take care of,” Machen said.
Corey Fisher, a 21-year-old UF biology senior and volunteer veterinary technician at the clinic, said he’s happy with how much the organization helps the community. He volunteers at the clinic every Tuesday from 8 a.m. to noon.
“For some people their animals are all they have left,” Fisher said. “I never walk away on a Tuesday from there without knowing I did something meaningful. I know it’s a good cause.”
Follow Jessica on Twitter: @jesskorina
Email: jrodriguez@alligator.org
