Collaboration within Ottawa community receives Summit recognition

Dr. Michelle Lem, Founder and Director
of Community Veterinary Outreach

The Community Veterinary Outreach (CVO) program launched in 2003 in Ottawa to meet the growing need for integration of veterinary care in the community. Over the past 10 years, the organization has examined, treated and vaccinated over 1,500 animal and has experienced an ever-increasing rise in demand for this service. 

Community Veterinary Outreach, along with the City of Ottawa By-Law Services, were recognized by their industry peers in the form of a 2013 Summit Award for Community Collaboration. This award, sponsored by CVMA, recognizes programs, codes of conduct or best practices delivered to create a healthier environment for urban animals. 

Community Veterinary Outreach programs provide preventative care to animals of the homeless, at risk of becoming homeless or marginally housed. The clinics are staffed with volunteers, animals are examined, vaccinated or treated for internal and external parasites and owners receive education and advice. Community collaborators include shelters, municipal public health, community health centres, mental health organizations, IAMS as well as pharmaceutical companies. 

“I think the work that Dr. Michelle Lem and Community Vet Outreach program provides is invaluable," said Eric Coulson, champion of sales and operation at Pets Plus Us and nominator for this award. "Members of the Pets Plus Plus team volunteer with the CVO at the Yonge Street Mission and know firsthand how important the work they do is and the positive impact it has on the pet owner and their  four-legged furry companion.”

By providing preventative veterinary education and care to the animals of those in need, the CVO program improves, not only the health of the animal but also supports the physical and emotional well-being of their owners and contributes to protecting public health. 

Founder and director of the CVO, Michelle Lem, was also a recipient of the Individual Achievement Summit Award in 2011 for her extensive work and accomplishments with companion animals.