From UC Davis Dateline

Spread some holiday warmth and hope to pets of individuals experiencing homelessness. Volunteers who share an affiliation past or present with the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital are making their annual solicitation of funds to help pay for coats and sweaters and other gifts (toys and treats, for example) for the dog and cat companions of people experiencing homelessness.

The hospital volunteers started the Holiday Pet Baskets project in 1995 to aid the pets of people experiencing homelessness — pets that receive free care at the Mercer Veterinary Clinic, formerly called the Mercer Clinic for the Pets of the Homeless, located on the grounds of the Loaves & Fishes resource center in Sacramento. The 28th annual gift distribution is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 10.

The Holiday Pet Basket project sprang into being just a few years after the clinic, which is also an all-volunteer project, staffed by UC Davis veterinary students, UC Davis undergraduates, and local veterinarians.

How to donate to Mercer Clinic Holiday Pet Baskets (including coats and sweaters):

• Online
• By check payable to UC Regents-Mercer Clinic Holiday Pet Baskets and mailed to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Office of the Dean, Attention: Mercer Clinic Holiday Pet Baskets, P.O. Box 1167, Davis 95617-1167
• Contributions are tax-deductible

For more information, contact project coordinator Eileen Samitz by phone, 530-756-5165, or email: emsamitz@ucdavis.edu. 

The Mercer Veterinary Clinic and its satellite, Davis Pet Advocacy and Wellness, or DPAW, established in 2020 in partnership with the Davis Respite Center, also seek support:

• Online through this dedicated PayPal link (or use this DPAW-specific PayPal link)
• By check payable to the Mercer Veterinary Clinic and mailed to Mercer Veterinary Clinic, P.O. Box 297, Davis 95617
• Contributions are tax-deductible