“Trippy recovered well and became a completely different, social cat following her surgery”
Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh has many goals when it comes to the care of our animals. Three of our main goals are to expand access to care, create a new lease on life for some animals that may otherwise be euthanized, and fight overpopulation. As the Senior Director of Medical Services, I am very passionate about fighting for these goals.
HARP has many programs directed towards expanding access to care but one near and dear to many of our medical team members’ hearts is our Humane Health Coalitionprogram in coordination with Allegheny Health Network’s Center for Inclusion Health. Through this program, we provide veterinary care to housing-challenged individuals, which allows them to keep their pets with them. HARP now, with its new M.O.V.E.S. (Mobile-Outreach-Veterinary-Essential-Support), has its own mobile vet unit fully fitted with a surgical unit, anesthesia, wet sink, an exam table and even seating for the pet’s owner(s).
Recently, I was able to provide multiple surgical procedures during the same anesthetic event to a small dog to improve her quality of life. Not only were we able to spay her and eliminate her risk of pyometra, (an infection of the uterus) but we were also able to amputate her forelimb that was causing chronic pain due to a chronically luxated elbow. This sweet little pup also received extensive dental extractions to alleviate the pain caused by her diseased teeth; her final surgery was to remove a cancerous mammary mass. This little girl is just one example of how HARP is dedicated to expanding access to care and allowing animals to remain with their loved ones.
The surgical skills and capabilities since I have been at HARP have expanded exponentially. Through the great teamwork of our medical management and medical team, as well as the dedication of our Executive Director, Ariella Samson, we have been able to give animals chances that would otherwise have been euthanized in the past. We recently received a sweet kitty named Trippy through our transport program who had a tail injury with multiple chronic fractures as well as compression of multiple disc spaces. This injury was extremely painful to Trippy and required a radical tail amputation almost at the pelvis. Trippy recovered well and became a completely different, social cat following her surgery. As of today, Trippy has recovered from her surgery and is awaiting her forever loving home.
Shelter medicine as a whole has a goal of fighting pet overpopulation. Castration eliminates the risk of accidental litters and decreases the number of kittens and puppies being born into the world where there are not enough homes for them. Castration also eliminates the risk of pyometras, which will lead to decreased senseless deaths for a treatable condition.
HARP is always looking for individuals who share our goals in expanding our veterinary care and the improvement of animals’ lives. My time at HARP has been very rewarding. Being able to spend everyday around sweet dogs and cats looking for their forever home is the most gratifying career I can think of. When you think of animal welfare, we hope you will think of HARP!
By Dr. Amy Kalinauskas
Senior Director of Medical Services Humane Animal Rescue Pittsburgh
