San Diego, CA
How You Can Help Our San Diego Team:
Donate supplies to our SoCal Teams through Amazon and Chewy!
Donate to Project Street Vet to Support Our Teams
In addition to Dr. Kwane, Dr. Frank Merrill, Dr. Jane Koepcke, and Dr. Becky Nostrand help to lead our San Diego outreach efforts.
Dr. Frank Merrill
Dr. Merrill discovered his passion for veterinary medicine as a young boy growing up with birds of all kinds to include: chickens, ducks, geese, pheasants, and peacocks. Quite the menagerie of feathered friends! In High School and beyond he worked for veterinarians, starting as a kennel worker and later as a veterinary technician before getting his doctorate degree in veterinary medicine.
Dr. Merrill is retired now, but during his decades of practice he treated many different animals including dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and more. According to Dr. Merrill, "The rewards in the cases of Project Street Vet are the gratitude that the owners have that someone cares enough to help them with their deserving animals. And in my short involvement, I am impressed by the level of care the owners can find for their animals. It is truly amazing." We look forward to having Dr. Merrill join us in our work!
Dr. Jane Koepcke
Dr. Jane was born with a deep sensitivity to suffering, particularly animal suffering. When she was a child, she found herself rescuing earthworms washed onto the street as well as any creature in distress; snails the neighbor threw in the driveway, ladybugs in the pool, and spiders trapped in bathtubs. This led her to pursuing long a career as a veterinarian, which she loved dearly until her recent retirement. While in her retirement, Dr. Jane co-founded a nonprofit called AnimalKind to help people and animals in need. This organization works with vulnerable populations such as feral cat colonies and underserved people who care deeply for their animals. PSV is a natural extension of the work she does with AnimalKind, and she has been volunteering with our San Diego Team for over a year. Dr. Jane finds that the best experiences in working with PSV are when she can assure pet parents that their fur-babies are in good health. "People really worry, and it's nice to put their minds at ease." She loves sharing her knowledge and experience to ease distress.
Dr. Jane's philosophy is simple: "Love is the answer. Always has been, always will be." Thank you, Dr. Jane, for all your time and dedication to these causes!
Dr. Becky Nostrand
Dr. Becky didn't know she was destined to become a veterinarian until her second year of college. In fact, she was getting close to graduation as an anthropology major before deciding to pursue veterinary medicine to help animals, and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2001 as a DVM. She now lives and practices in San Diego, California. In the spring of 2023, she saw a video about Project Street Vet online and wanted to get involved. Since then, she has been volunteering monthly in the North County region of San Diego and has really helped spearhead “Street Vet Work” efforts in those communities. Her biggest reward in volunteering is the gratitude from pet parents and connecting with people about the shared love of animals she wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to speak with.
She believes these pet parents would do anything for their pets and is grateful to be able to assist them through Project Street Vet. Thank you, Dr. Becky, for supporting the cause!
