Nashville, TN
Our Nashville SDC team sets up at Gay street and 1st avenue north by the river from 5:30 to 7:30pm once a month on a Monday (usually the second Monday, but it can vary). Click here for details. To donate to their efforts to provide free veterinary care to pets of people experiencing homelessness in Nashville, click here.
Team Leads:
Sarah Spence, DVM
Dr. Sarah Spence grew up in Gallatin, TN and received her undergraduate degree in Biology at Belmont University. She then went on to attend veterinary school at Oklahoma State University. She has practiced small animal medicine in Nashville since graduation in May of 2020 and currently practices at Parkers Paws Animal Hospital. Dr. Spence is passionate about spay/neuter initiatives and serving the Nashville community. In her free time she enjoys hanging out with her Siamese cat Meeko, horseback riding and live music.
Mary Ergen, DVM
Dr. Mary Ergen always knew she wanted to be a veterinarian. Born in Oak Ridge, TN she grew up around horses, dogs and cats. She attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville for her undergraduate degree and her DVM. After graduation her first job was in a mixed animal , mosty equine practice. 5 years later she started her own small animal practice where she worked for 35 years. She is currently working in Urgent Care clinics in the Nashville area. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, traveling and gardening.
Remote Coordinator:
Alex Luschnath
Alex has been in the veterinary field since 2010 and with Street Dog since 2020. She is currently completing her degree in wildlife conservation biology and enjoys spending time with her fiancé and their animals on their farm in North Carolina.
Partners & Resources:
People Loving Nashville
Safety Net at the Nashville Humane Association
Volunteers:
In memoriam
Dr. Kristen Caslowe was a monthly volunteer with The Street Dog Coalition. Kristen had an infectious energy and she was always making us all laugh with jokes and stories about her life outside of veterinary medicine. It meant so much to us and to our unhoused community to have her smiling face around. We will never forget how excited she would get when she would lay eyes on a “spicy” chihuahua (her very favorite patient to work with). During her last clinic we were very stressed because we were short volunteers and it was very busy and Kristen said that what we were doing for the community was amazing and so important. That comment turned the energy of the entire clinic around for the better. We miss having Kristen with us so much and we can only hope to continue making her proud by helping our community and their pets in any way that we can! (Especially the spicy little Chihuahuas).
Photo Gallery:
