Chesterfield Vet Devoted To Rescuing, Helping Pets

This week, Patch introduces you to Dr. Doug Pernikoff, Chesterfield veterinarian and founder of Dr. Doug's Vet-Pet Rescue, a volunteer, foster-home based, all-breed dog and cat rescue center.

Doug Pernikoff's fascination with animals has taken him all over the world. 

He started in Columbia, MO, where he graduated with honors from the University of Missouri School of Agriculture in 1975, and earned his doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1981. Then, he settled into a residency program in zoologic veterinary medicine at the Saint Louis Zoo. He also pursued graduate studies in anthropology at Washington University.

But, it wasn't long before he would heed the call of the wild. Pernikoff became a conservation veterinarian and worked with the Durrell Wildlife Preservation Trust and its related Jersey Wildlife Trust. His field research took him all over the world, where he lectured, published, taught and conducted field research specializing in primates, elephants, tapirs and other exotic animals.

Eventually, he landed in Chesterfield, where he founded the Clarkson-Wilson Vet Clinic. “I've always been interested in studying animals since I was a kid,” Pernikoff said. “I was always tramping in the woods like kids do, and that drove my interest.”

It was a natural progression for Pernikoff to found Dr. Doug's Vet-Pet Rescue in 2009.

“I've been involved in animal rescue for most of my professional life,” Pernikoff said. “I like trying to use all of biology. We're the only animal rescue organization registered in Missouri that are also vets, as far as I know. All others that I know are managed by individuals or groups,” Pernikoff said.

There's a great need for animal rescue, Pernikoff said. “There are 6 million animals each year who wind up in shelters,” Pernikoff said. “Forty to 50 percent get to someplace else and the rest are euthanized. Over the two years since our founding, we've rescued over 1,000 animals.”

Vet-Pet Rescue rescues most of its animals from government-run animal control facilities in the city of St. Louis, St. Louis County, Jefferson County and St. Charles County. After a stay in a foster home, the animal is put up for adoption. Pernikoff said finding funding, foster homes and adoptive familes is always a concern.

“The foster program is important but it's also difficult,” Pernikoff said. “Many people aren't educated about what it takes to do it. There are unknowns, like does the dog get along with the cat? Or does the animal need to be house-trained? , , and help us a lot with donating food and supplies.”

With so many animals rescued, there are many memorable stories. But one that remains with Pernikoff is the story of Bella the Pit Bull. “We had Bella for probably two years,” Pernikoff said. “She had a number of serious operations, cancer of the mammary glands and an eye removed...lots of things. We finally got her onto a retirement farm in Southern Missouri.”

Courtney Bussell, manager of Vet-Pet Rescue, also gets satisfaction from her job. “It's wonderful getting animals placed in homes,” Bussell said. “I get to go to rescue animals from shelters before they've been euthanized. Then get them fostered, then placed. I love knowing they don't have to worry anymore—that they've found their way home. That's just awesome.”

Pernikoff has several other notable achievements. He has published three children's books, all available on Amazon, and he holds patents on a portable anesthesiology machine and a container for anesthesia. But his primary focus will always be his veterinary practice and Vet-Pet Rescue.

“We're planning to expand our rescue and adoption, so of course, we need people,” Pernikoff said. “We're no-kill. We have our own facility so we keep the animal as long as it takes.”

If you're interested in donating funds, volunteering, providing a foster home or pet adoption, email courtney@vet-petrescue.org.