Media are welcome to cover the assembling and distribution of 110 holiday gift baskets for the dogs and cats of the homeless, coordinated by the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. The public is also invited to participate by donating items or funds for the baskets.

The baskets, filled with donated food, leashes, grooming supplies, toys and treats, will be assembled from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10, by staff and students at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and will be distributed from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, to clients of the Mercer Veterinary Clinic for the Homeless http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/clubs/mercer at Loaves & Fishes in Sacramento. Loaves & Fishes is a non-profit organization serving the homeless and poor.

Since 1995, the staff of the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital's newsletter, "Voice," has organized holiday pet baskets for Mercer Clinic, which was started in 1992 by UC Davis veterinary students. The clinic provides the animals of homeless individuals with basic veterinary care, access to emergency care and high-quality pet food, all free of charge. It is open on the second Saturday of each month, staffed by faculty and private veterinarians who volunteer their time and supervise the students.

"Working with homeless owners and their pets at the clinic has proven to me that the bond with a pet is often a critical motivating factor in the life of the homeless person," said veterinarian and faculty member Laurel Gershwin, who chairs Mercer Clinic's board of directors. "To hear a person who has been sleeping outside by the river in the cold express concern over an injury that his or her dog has sustained and to see how directions for treatment are followed to the letter is an amazing experience."

Members of the public interested in donating items for the holiday pet baskets may contact Eileen Samitz, the hospital's staff coordinator of the basket program, at emsamitz@ucdavis.edu. Tax-deductible financial donations may be made out to "VMTH Mercer Vet Clinic Holiday Pet Baskets" and sent to the attention of Debra Nelson, VMTH Business Annex, Financial Services, University of California, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616.

Media are welcome during the Dec. 10 assembling of the gift baskets in the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital Annex conference room.

Take Interstate 80 to Highway 113 and drive north toward Woodland. Exit to the right onto Hutchison Drive and continue east toward the main campus. At the first stop light, turn right onto La Rue Road. At the first opportunity, turn right onto Garrod Drive, then right onto Veterinary Medicine Drive and left into Parking Lot 50. The one-story annex is located between the parking lot and the east entrance of the teaching hospital. Enter the annex on the south side of the building. The conference room (Room 102) is the first door on the right.

Media may also attend the Dec. 13 distribution of the baskets at Loaves & Fishes, located at 1321 West "C" Street in Sacramento. Veterinarians and students will be available for interviews.