By Kim Campbell Thornton

A spider. It had to be a gigantic spider.

Canadian veterinarian Scott Bainbridge, DVM, was in Canberra, Australia, volunteering at Possumwood Wildlife Veterinary Hospital. With dogs and cats as his usual patients at his practice in Toronto, Dr. Bainbridge was wide-eyed at treating patients such as an echidna—an animal he described as a porcupine crossed with a bird that lays eggs. On the last day, Possumwood superintendent veterinarian Audrey Shen, BVSc (Hons), walked up to him holding a syringe and said, "I need your help." Dr. Shen pointed to a large male kangaroo and said, "We need to sedate him and bring him into the hospital for an X-ray. Just casually walk up beside him and stick him with the syringe."

Trying not to focus on the fact the kangaroo was taller than he, Bainbridge did so, and then they stood around waiting for the sedation to kick in. As the kangaroo finally began to stumble, Shen grabbed its tail and hind legs, lowered it to the ground, and directed Bainbridge to cover the head so the kangaroo would remain calm. As he did, Bainbridge realized he was looking down on the biggest spider he had ever seen—a huntsman—on the kangaroo's face. The Australian arachnid is not venomous, but its size terrifies most people, including veterinarians.

"I turned to Audrey and said, 'This is the most Australian thing that's ever happened to me.'"

A passion project

Bainbridge and Shen, who met in Sydney, Australia, in 2019, when they were volunteering at a camp for kids interested in becoming veterinarians, are the founders of International Veterinary Volunteer Opportunities (IVVO), an organization that brings together veterinarians from around the world who want to give back to animal communities globally, learn new skills, make new friends, and have some adventures—even when those may involve gigantic spiders.

The two veterinarians had sold their practices, and each was volunteering in different ways: Shen with the wildlife hospital and Australia's 2020 bushfires, and Bainbridge in coastal Ecuador, running a spay/neuter clinic for local dogs and cats. When their paths crossed again in 2023, they decided to combine their passions for animals and travel to create IVVO.

"I was already bringing teams down and educating them on wildlife," says Shen, "…and Scott was bringing teams down for the desex program, and we could see the joy volunteering brought."

They created a website within two months of their meeting and planned their first trip within three months. Over the next 18 months, veterinary professionals will have opportunities to volunteer in Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands (part of Ecuador), the Republic of the Congo at Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Centre (the largest chimpanzee sanctuary in Africa) in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, and Australia. In the works is a program in American Samoa, located in the South Pacific between Japan and Australia.

An immersive experience

The work is hands-on and can sometimes be challenging for veterinarians and technicians who may never have worked in what can be rough conditions, but fun and discovery are key components.

After performing diagnostics, surgeries, post-mortems, or learning new protocols, participants spend downtime discovering local environments, checking out wildlife paths, sharing meals, or doing wine tastings. They may also visit partner organizations, such as sanctuaries that take in dingoes, koalas, platypuses, and kangaroos.

In Australia, volunteers—usually a total of eight to 10—all stay at a large farmhouse, which enhances the opportunities for friendships to develop. In just the three trips they have run so far, Bainbridge and Shen say they have made amazing friendships and built relationships.

"It's just really nice to go away with like-minded people and do things that feel good, and there's learning as well in that," says Shen.

Volunteers come from around the world: North America and Australia, of course, but also Norway, Chile, and other countries. Bainbridge believes part of the attraction is IVVO's "work hard, play hard" focus. The work is hard, but when the day is done, they enjoy each other's company.

"We sit up, open a bottle of wine, share stories, and laugh," says Bainbridge. "It's awesome."

Shen loves to watch people fall in love with her country. "[I hear them] say, 'Look at your clouds, your trees, your sky, your stars.' They're so amazed by our topography and animals."

Even the roadkill, which is common in Australia, is educational. If wildlife—usually a kangaroo—has been hit by a car, Shen stops, puts her flashers on, pulls on her gloves, and checks the pouch to make sure there's no baby inside. If there is, they bring it back to the clinic to be cared for. "It seems like we're stopping [on the road] every 10 minutes," Bainbridge says.

"But they love that," Shen adds. "They're like, 'We're about to save an animal!'"

One volunteer cried when she left Australia and said she's coming back for another go-round as she missed the work so much.

Doing the good work

Bainbridge discovered the appeal of this type of lifesaving to his colleagues when he and his wife were living part-time in coastal Ecuador. The population of stray dogs was booming.

"All the dogs had scabies," he says. "Tourists were getting bitten on the beach and there was dog poop throughout the town. It was sad and depressing. We met a few like-minded people, and they asked us to help them do a sterilization program."

Bainbridge brought some of the veterinarians and technicians from his practice to help with the program, thinking it would be a bonding opportunity. They loved the experience of working hard and then having five days to hang out at the beach and go horseback riding through the jungle. Since then, Bainbridge has done six more such trips. The volunteer trips not only helped with staff retention—no one wanted to miss a chance to go to Ecuador—but also with acquiring new employees—not always an easy task in these days of veterinary shortages.

"It was a win-win as a practice owner," he says. "It built culture, which to me is so important. And on the other end of it, you go to that town now and there are hardly any stray dogs. Even the ones who are strays look great because they're getting flea and tick control. Now there are 30 more towns on the coast that need our help. It has been a very interesting evolution."

Bainbridge hopes corporate groups will consider bringing staff on the trips, which can be customized for them. "It's a really good way to create culture and bond your staff. If one clinic wants to send eight people and make a trip exclusive to their clinic, we're happy to do that."

Taking the trip

Prices to attend the programs vary, depending on location and local partnerships. Visiting the Galapagos Islands, for instance, is typically an expensive venture, but volunteers who sign up for the spay/neuter programs can experience a much-discounted visit. Decreasing the number of roaming animals that can prey on Galapagos wildlife is important to tourism, a major source of income for Ecuador. The program is expected to take place once or twice a year.

"People want to spay and neuter their pets," Bainbridge says. "They understand it's the ethical thing to do. They just can't afford it."

On the other hand, the trip to Congo, scheduled for June 2026, is a unique opportunity to spend five days in the Congo at the Tchimpounga compound, observing and working with the Spanish veterinarian who runs it. The cost includes a sizeable donation to the Jane Goodall Institute, but participants will have behind-the-scenes access to the Centre and training in community-centered conservation.

"The price on the Congo trip is significantly more than any of our other trips because they're asking for a big donation, and it's such a unique opportunity, but I have a waiting list for that trip," Bainbridge says.

In American Samoa, described as Hawaii without the tourists, once the trip is confirmed, they expect to move from village to village, setting up mobile animal sterilization hospital (MASH)-style surgeries.

It also helps that veterinary pharmaceutical and other suppliers donate products, from antibiotics to parasiticides to sutures, to the programs.

"Everyone's really supportive," Shen says. "I think everyone wants to give back."

More than the feel-good effect, volunteer programs help make the world a better place and increase understanding. For Bainbridge, sterilization programs, wherever offered, are essential to One Health. They decrease suffering, decrease demand for resources, decrease diseases, and help prevent parasite spread.

Shen appreciates the chance to educate veterinarians and nurses about caring for wildlife. "They get to learn about the unique anatomy, which is so different from dogs and cats; get to learn about how to do imaging, how to do surgery, the different medical protocols for them, and how unique they are with everything. And you can see them get excited about learning again," she says.

She also introduces them to the realities of caring for wildlife. Not everyone thinks of kangaroos or cockatoos or bats as something to be cared for or saved. To some, they are just pests, and people may have no compunction about shooting, trapping or killing them in other ways.

"I think it makes the work more rewarding because you are saving something that doesn't have a voice," Shen says. "It's a complicated world. It's not for everybody, but it's a unique experience for the vets. It's really important that they understand the gray area that we work within."

But the best part, they both agree, is the reward of the work itself.

"It's a joy to see," Shen says.

Kim Campbell Thornton has been writing about dogs, cats, wildlife, and marine life since 1985, and is a recipient of multiple awards for her articles and books from the Cat Writers Association, Dog Writers Association of America, and American Society of Journalists and Authors.