Gigi is a 10 year old chihuahua mix that had dystocia. Dystocia is a difficult birth, typically caused by a large fetus, by smallness of the maternal pelvis, or by failure of the uterus to contract and expand normally. She was in labor for days and she couldn’t give birth. She was seen at a referral hospital and they said they found a non-vital fetus on abdominal ultrasound and she needed emergency surgery. She was going septic because of the non-vital fetus that was stuck inside of her. Sepsis is a widespread infection causing organ failure and dangerously low blood pressure and it is an emergency. When we saw her she was so sick, we weren’t sure if she would survive surgery or recovery. She couldn’t even lift her head, but we had to try to help her. She received around the clock care during her time with us and she recovered so well! She felt so much better after surgery that she wanted to explore our surgery and recovery van! The owner had fallen on tough times and she needed financial assistance. Fortunately, @sagecompassionforanimals was able to fund her surgery! We want to thank our staff for giving our patients the best compassionate care, @alameda_animal_shelter for letting us utilize their mobile adoption vehicle every clinic so that our patients can stay warm and dry post surgery (which requires Steve to pick up the van early in the morning prior to clinic set up and dropping off the van late at night after clinic break down), and @sagecompassionforanimals for giving Gigi a chance. It takes a village and we are so thankful for all the support. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

These two adorable puppies from @dpsrescue came for spay and neuter and we made sure to get in all the cuddles ❤️

Partnerships are so important and Junior’s case is a prime example of how organizations and the community can come together to make amazing things happen. Junior is a 12 year old male intact terrier who was seen at the PawFund clinic. He had a very large ulcerated mass on his leg that needed to be removed for comfort and quality of life. He also had a testicle that never descended. It’s very important to remove undescended testicles as they can turn into cancer. His owner couldn’t afford veterinary care and was Spanish speaking, so she needed a clinic that could help and also one with Spanish speaking staff. A total of 7 groups/donors partnered to help this guy out. 1. Vets in Vans performed the life saving/improving procedure and was able to communicate with the owners all of Junior’s needs 2. Petfix program through Friends of OAS covered the cryptorchid surgery. 3. @oaklandanimalservices partially funded the bill with their grant program to keep animals in their homes and away from shelters. 4. @eastbayspca partially funded the bill through their Humane Advocacy program 5. @paw_fund partially funded the bill through their program 6. Two generous private donor partially funded the bill Every little bit counted in this case and because of our wonderful partnerships we were able to get Junior the help he needed. Here is a photo of Junior with our phenomenal Co-Founder and surgeon on the case, Dr. Tracy Huang. Special thanks to our staff for staying later than our operational hours (past sundown) to help this guy out. We are eternally grateful to have such phenomenal, compassionate, hardworking staff! If you’d like to make a donation to help more cases like Junior, please donate through our website: www.vetsinvans.org

Mittens came to us urgently because her owners said she stopped eating for 4 days. We performed X-rays for diagnostic work up and found that she needed emergency surgery for intestinal blockage. Can you guess what Poor Mittens ate? It’s………… Tinsel! She needed three different areas in her GI tract cut to remove all the foreign material. She recovered very well post surgery. Owner states that she’s doing very well at home and she is very very hungry!! The owners were unable to afford care, so @alameda_animal_shelter was able to fund the surgery through their special grant system for Alameda residents. We are so thankful to be partnered with such an amazing organization like @alameda_animal_shelter. You can find us every Monday at the @alameda_animal_shelter parking lot at 1590 Fortmann Way Alameda CA.

Charlie is a 13 year old Yorkie who needed urgent surgery. She was diagnosed with an infection of the uterus called pyometra. She was very sick and wasn’t eating for 4 days. She needed urgent help. Her family reached out to us on Tuesday and we were able to fit her in on the surgery schedule the next day. Even though the weather in the Bay Area is very wet and windy, our staff made it work with the help of @eastbayspca. They graciously let us use their indoor facility, so that the animals could stay dry and warm during all this downpour. Charlie is doing so much better post surgery and she even started barking for attention in her kennel! We’re so happy to see Charlie and her family get the help she needs!

We are in desperate need of volunteers!!! In order to provide more clinics to the community and help more pets and their people, we need volunteers to help us!! There is a lot of pre-clinic and post clinic work to have clinics run and we are unable to do it without volunteers and your generous help. If you are interested, please email info@vetsinvans.org with “volunteer position” in the subject line. We look forward to working with you!