PAWS Chicago News item | PAWS Chicago

Filling the Gaps in Vet Care

Sep 14, 2021

Whether a pet is sick, injured, or simply in need of resources, PAWS is constantly creating and expanding our veterinary programs and capabilities to ensure every animal gets the care they deserve. These initiatives don’t just operate independently, they work together to fill the gaps and make sure fewer and fewer animals fall through the cracks.

The PAWS Veterinary Assistant Apprenticeship Program was established in 2020 and provides job training skills, mentorship, and industry exposure to under-represented populations in the field. During this 12-week course, apprentices work one-on-one with PAWS veterinarians, learning about animal care, nutrition, medication, and supporting PAWS veterinarians in their overall diagnosis and treatment of animals. 

All apprentice graduates have gone on to receive jobs at PAWS Chicago and help mainly at our Englewood Outreach Center, which opened in 2019 and provides essential care to sick, injured and suffering pets in under-resourced areas who would otherwise never see a veterinarian.

“A vet needs technicians and assistants, and instead of pulling someone away from the Medical Center, we used this real job need as an opportunity to engage the community in a different way,” PAWS Director of Community Outreach Laurie Maxwell said. 

By taking on responsibilities at the Englewood Outreach Center, Veterinary Assistant Apprentices give staff at the newly expanded PAWS Medical Center the bandwidth to tackle more complex cases in-house, like we did for Nikita. 

Nikita came to us as a stray from longtime cat colony caretaker and PAWS for Life partner, Dolores Sanchez. Nikita had been living with a severely damaged left front leg for a long time and it was causing her a lot of discomfort. After being examined by our outreach team, Nikita was transferred to PAWS Medical Center where she underwent amputation surgery in early August.

After 2 weeks of careful monitoring while she healed, Nikita was cleared for adoption. Though very shy, it took just one week for this sweetheart to find a loving family that was a perfect match her. Nikita is now living her best life with adopter Justin Klei and absolutely thriving with three healthy legs.

This is a perfect example of how PAWS has built a unique network of veterinary resources for the Chicagoland area. By creating programs that support each other, we’re able to save more lives and move closer to our goal of a No Kill Chicago where every healthy and treatable pet is given a second chance.