Volunteer Appreciation Series: Dr. Kathy!

As any animal welfare organization knows, volunteers are a vital component to successful daily operations, and Berkeley Humane is no different. Those individuals who are willing to give their time, talent and efforts, asking for nothing in return, are our true heroes and deserve to be praised!

We launched a new program in April that highlights and recognizes a special volunteer each month in an effort to thank them for their dedication to the animals and service to BEBHS.

Dr. Kathy is a skilled veterinarian from Chile who has been an amazing volunteer in our hospital.  She is an asset on spay/neuter clinic days and a very knowledgeable helping hand during surgeries.

My name is Katherinne and I´m a Veterinarian from Chile. I arrived to Berkley some months ago following my husband who was accepted in master program in UCBerkeley. Back in Chile I was working in a private clinic for small animals and had a very pleasant living, but in order to come here I had to quit my job which was a very important part of my life.

I started to look for volunteer job in my field of work at first just to have something to fill my time with and also to learn more about the veterinary practice in the US. That is how I got to know about the work animal shelters do in the US, and this opened a new area of interest for me.

In Chile there thousand of stray dogs and cats and there are almost no municipal shelters or defined legislation about responsible ownership of pets. Most private initiatives in this matter are run by people with big hearts and love for animals but not much knowledge about the care they need and how to organize themselves into a proper institution.

I was welcomed in BEBHS, and more recently into BACS, and started helping in their Hospitals. I´ve learned about shelter medicine, the way animal shelters are run, and above all the amazing work they do placing them in new loving homes.

But it hasn´t been all just about dogs and cats, I have also met wonderful people who have shared their knowledge and their laughs with me and have made me enjoy every minute of my time there.

I plan to keep on helping and learning from this wonderful experience which has changed my perspective about what truly caring for animals means, and hope that I can change people’s perspective in this matter too when I return to my country.

Kathy has had an amaizingly positive impact on Berkeley Humane during her time here, and we are so fortunate to have her working with our team. Says Annalisa, one of our Registered Vet Techs, Kathy "is super amazing! She helps with every step from prepping the animals for surgery to helping them during recovery. Kathy helps with everything and anything we need her for." Jehn, another superstar RVT at BEBHS writes: "It's great having Kathy in the hospital. She has helped with everything including intake, anesthesia during surgery and equipment. She does it all, doctor-related tasks and vet tech tasks. She is great!" 

Yet another example of how very fortunate we are here at Berkeley Humane to have such devoted, passionate, and high-quality volunteers in our mix! If you're interested in learning more about volunteering at BEBHS, click here!