Caring for Communities and Animals: The Veterinary Community Outreach Programme
Dr. Teresa Lee, Consultant, Centre for Animal Health and Welfare
The Veterinary Community Outreach Programme (VCOP) was established in September 2024 as an outreach initiative from the Centre for Animal Health and Welfare, in collaboration with the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences. The idea was the brainchild of Professor Julia Beatty who wanted to provide more practical resources for marginalised pet owners who often have great difficulty accessing care for their animals.
VCOP' s approach is unique. The programme works with disadvantaged communities to provide education and practical support for basic veterinary care in the form of low-cost health exams, vaccinations, parasite control, desexing, and the treatment of simple diseases. Underserved groups include people living in remote villages, the elderly, those with special health needs and pet owners affected by poverty. Through its various activities, VCOP also provides supervised volunteering opportunities for Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and other CityUHK students to develop their skills in a safe environment.
Although still in its infancy at one and a half years old, VCOP has been busy. Equipped with a dedicated van, the team consists of two full-time staff. Lead veterinarian Dr Teresa Lee was born in Taiwan and studied veterinary medicine at the University of California, Davis. She has a passion for shelter medicine and many years of experience working internationally for private practices, government shelters, and NGOs. Veterinary nurse Keva Choy, a native Hong Konger, has worked in veterinary clinics, as an adoption counselor at the Hong Kong SPCA, and a supervisor at Hong Kong Guide Dogs Association taking care of guide dogs and therapy dogs. The VCOP team go to wherever the need is. And there is plenty of need.
In January of 2025, VCOP organised its first preventative health care clinic in Mai Po in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong. It was a freezing
morning in the New Territories but when the VCOP team and three BVM students arrived at the site, several villagers were already braving the cold, waiting patiently with their dogs. Some people even carted over their meowing cats in folding cages, definitely a new experience for these felines. For many of these owners who lived in the surrounding fish pond villages, this was the first time their pets had received any preventative care.
For those who were unable to bring their animals to the clinic site due to transportation or other constraints, the VCOP team made house visits and frequently found themselves running around in open fields, retrieving dogs and cats who were not used to leads, cages, or being restrained in any way, sometimes necessitating acrobatic feats in order to safely administer the vaccine.
For those who were unable to bring their animals to the clinic site due to transportation or other constraints, the VCOP team made house visits and frequently found themselves running around in open fields, retrieving dogs and cats who were not used to leads, cages, or being restrained in any way, sometimes necessitating acrobatic feats in order to safely administer the vaccine. Despite these challenges, over 30 animals were successfully treated that day and owners learned about the importance of preventative care, desexing, nutrition, welfare and behavioural training. Many of these village dogs are free-roaming and the WWF has become increasingly concerned about them entering the Mai Po Nature Reserve and encroaching on wetland habitat. Vaccinating and desexing these dogs helps to prevent the transmission of life-threatening diseases such as canine distemper and parvovirus to other mammals that live in the area like the Eurasian otter and small Indian civet. It was a win-win situation for all and an eye-opening experience for staff and students alike.
Since then, VCOP has organized its second annual Mai Po preventative health care clinic and many more events in venues ranging from a rural committee village office in Sha Tau Kok and an AFCD rabies clinic in Yuen Long to warehouses in Sheung Shui and shelters in Lau Fau Shan. The VCOP team works with volunteers and partners with government agencies and NGOs who are very aware of specific local needs. These individuals and organisations have built trust through their long-standing relationships with communities and often know pet owners by name. In addition, VCOP collaborates with groups such as the Hong Kong Guide Dogs Association to help working dogs and their carers, providing low-cost wellness exams and vaccinations for guide dogs and therapy dogs that devote their lives in service of humans.
Veterinary Assistant Keva Choy talking to kids about pet care at a carnival in Tai Po
And it's not just the owners and their animals who benefit. The many BVM students who participate in VCOP activities enjoy invaluable opportunities acquiring both the hard and soft skills that are essential for their chosen profession. Through the programme, final year students spay and neuter dogs during their GP rotations and EMS placements at SPCA Tsing Yi, one of VCOP' s partner organisations, learning crucial surgical skills and gaining confidence in their abilities. Budding veterinarians from all years get to practice hands-on skills such as drawing up vaccines, dispensing parasite control, animal handling and performing physical exams. Equally important is the chance for students to hone their communication skills with owners, increase their social awareness and empathy, and give back to their community.
Thanks to its wonderful donors and volunteers, VCOP has already desexed over 1,195 dogs and cats, provided preventative veterinary treatment to more than 1,866 animals, supervised many dozens of students, and talked to over a thousand people at carnivals and educational events about health care, animal welfare, and how to provide a better quality of life for their pets. And we are only scratching the surface. The need in the community is great and will only increase in these challenging economic times. Looking to the future,
The VCOP team doing desexing surgeries with final year BVM students
VCOP' s goal is to secure sufficient funding for the next five years to consolidate our operations. Relying solely on private donations, the program hopes that it can continue to make a positive impact by supporting Hong Kong's most marginalized groups to enjoy the benefits of pet ownership while also improving welfare outcomes for Hong Kong's much loved pets. We are grateful to our donors, whose generous support allows us to continue our community outreach work. In particular, we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Wofoo Foundation Limited, MaxiPro (Asia) Limited, Hill's Pet Nutrition Asia Limited, and FlO Products. cf
For more information, including sponsorship opportunities, please contact Teresa Lee at teresa.lee@cityu.edu.hk. To make a donation, large or small, please scan the QR code below: sun to donate
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IntegratingAl intoVeterinary Education: Driving Innovationat CityUHK
Professor Santiago Alonso
Digital Learning Ambassador, Department ofVeterinary Clinical Sciences
Artificialintelligence(AI)isreshapingthe landscapeofhealthcareandveterinary medicine,offeringpowerfultoolsforclinical practice,education,andresearch.Asa veterinarianandeducator,mypassionlies inharnessingthepotentialofAItoenhance boththequalityandaccessibilityof veterinarytraining.AtCityUHK'sJockey ClubCollegeofVeterinaryMedicineand LifeSciences(JCC),myresearchand teachingaimtobridgetechnological innovationwiththeprofessional competenciesourgraduatesneedtoserve theanimalsandcommunitiesoftomorrow.
Myjourneyinveterinarymedicinebeganin Spain,continuedthroughadvancedtraining inCanada,theUnitedStates,andtheUnited ArabEmirates,andledtospecialist certificationwiththeAmericanBoardof VeterinaryPractitioners.Theseexperiences, spanningbothclinicalandacademic settings,shapedmycommitmentto modernisingveterinaryeducation.Joining CityUHKin2022providedtheideal environmenttoexploreandimplement digitallearningstrategiesthatprepare studentsforanAI-enhancedfuture.
AsCityUHK'sDigitalLearning Ambassador,Ichampiontheintegrationof AIacrossthecurriculum.Ourmostrecent workhasfocusedondevelopingtheAIEnhancedLearningandAssessment Framework (AIELAF),astructuredmodelcombining casesimulations,AI-drivenrole-play consultationsandAIcasecritique.By leveraginggenerativeAItoolssuchas ChatGPT,studentscanpracticeclinical reasoning,critiqueAI-generated suggestions,andbuildhigher-order thinkingskillsinasafe,interactive environment.Thisapproachhasresultedin significantlyhigherstudentperformance andengagement,asdemonstratedbyboth quantitativeoutcomesandpositivestudent feedback.
Importantly,weteachstudentstotreatAI asacognitiveco-pilot,atoolthatenhances, butneverreplaces,clinicaljudgementand ethicaldecision-making.Ourresearch showsthatwhenguidedappropriately, studentsuseAIcritically:over90% reportedactivelyevaluatingtheaccuracy ofAIrecommendationsbeforeapplying theminsimulatedcases.Thisreflective engagementhelpsfutureveterinarians remainvigilantagainstriskssuchas misinformationorautomationbias.
Ourongoingprojectsextendwellbeyond AI-assistedassessmentandquality assurance.Wearedevelopingan interactivesimulationplatformtohelp veterinarystudentsmasterclient communicationandhistory-takingskills throughrealistic,AI-drivenrole-play scenarios.Anotherinitiativefocuseson breakingdowngloballanguagebarriersin veterinaryeducationbyleveraging AI-poweredtranslationandcreatingan open-accessplatformforclinical knowledgesharing.Inaddition,weare pioneeringtheuseofinteractiveavatars withinteam-basedlearning,offering engaging,immersiveexperiencesthat enhancestudentmotivation,professional communication,andteamwork.Together, theseeffortspositionCityUHKatthe forefrontofAI-drivenveterinary education,preparinggraduatesnotonlyto adoptnewtechnologies,buttoshapeand leadthedigitaltransformationofour professionresponsibly.
Asdigitaltoolsbecomeevermoreintegral toourprofession,Ibelievethereal strengthofAIliesinitsabilitytoaugment humanexpertise,nottoreplaceit,butto serveasatrustedco-pilotonthejourney towardbetteranimalhealthandwelfare.f
By leveraging generative Al tools such as ChatGPT, students can practice clinical reasoning, critique Al-generated suggestions, and build higher-order thinking skills in a safe, interactive environment.
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CityUniversityofHongKong
Casesshared bythe CityUVeterinary MedicalCentre
TheStoryofWongChoi:ASmallDogwithaBigProblem ~Dr.JoaoLOUREIRO
·� ,Caise Sharing Won,g Chor
Sometimes, a routine checkup changes everything.During a routine pre-neutering check-up, Wongchoi, an approx.one-year-old greyhound, was diagnosed with a very loud heart murmur by the family veterinarian. The suspicion was a Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA), a serious congenital heart defect and his breathing was starting to be affected.
Wong Choi was referred to the Cardiology team at CityU VMC, where the diagnosis was confirmed, and the reality was severe.He wasn't just a puppy with a murmur... His heart was massively enlarged, struggling under the strain of the large, abnormal blood vessel that should have closed shortly after birth (PDA) and he was already in congestive heart failure (fluid in the lungs).
A PDA can be closed either by open chest surgery or by an interventional (key-hole) procedure.Closure was urgent and Wong Choi case posed a real challenge due to his small size (4.2 Kg), the large size of his PDA and the fact that he was already in heart failure.
The Team Effort Began:
1. Stabilization: He was started on medical treatment for his heart failure to support his heart, clear fluid from his lungs and optimise the procedure safety.
2. Strategic Planning: The Cardiology, Soft Tissue Surgery and Anaesthesia team prepared for both surgical and transcatheter options, ensuring we were ready for any scenario.
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