Instead of a ribbon-cutting for the clinic’s grand opening Wednesday, King County Executive Dow Constantine and Doney Coe Pet Clinic board president Marti Casey linked two dog leashes and held them up to symbolize the partnership. between the nonprofit clinic and the county.
“If you have a 20-year-old shelter cat, like me, or a dog, or for that matter, a lizard, or a rabbit, or a bird, or a fish, that’s our family,” Constantine said. , whose cat is named Kiyomi. “Even for people with well-established incomes, the cost of veterinary care can be significant. … For those struggling with housing insecurity, that can be a difficult choice between some of the necessities of life and the necessary care. That’s where Doney Coe Pet Clinic comes in.”
The clinic has only one full-time and one part-time employee. It relies heavily on volunteer veterinarians and vet techs to provide their services, as well as veterinary students from Washington State University who come to help on Saturdays. Many of those volunteers work at Urban Animal, whose owner Dr. Cherri Trusheim sits on the board of Doney Coe.
