Women-Run Vet Clinic Spreads Empathy Toward Animals

Meet the Veterinarian

Dohuk, IRAQ – One of Dr. Sanaa Salim Muhammed’s earliest memories takes place in her family’s barn where she watched her mother affectionately care for the cows raised by her family. She remembers her mother sleeping beside the heifers each night, diligently washing them and giving them massages when they gave birth.

“My mother always cared for our cows with a lot of love. Other cows in our village were always getting sick but ours were healthy because of how she treated them. I learned from her that animals have a love language too,” she recalls.

When Dr. Sanaa entered her final year of high school, she knew she wanted to dedicate her career to helping animals. She enrolled in the agriculture department at her university and later changed to veterinary science school.

“I was very interested in this field, but it was very hard, as there was no one around with such experience.  I didn’t care how long it would take to complete the studies; I knew one day I would open my own clinic where people could bring their animals for special treatment,” adds Dr. Sanaa.

Six years after she graduated, that day came, and Dr. Sanaa opened her first establishment - a small shop in Dohuk that sold pet food and medicine. But the lack of veterinary services in the area meant that customers would ask her to treat their pets at her shop too.

Dr. Sanaa tried her best to treat the animals in the back of her shop in a small isolation space, but it quickly became overcrowded. Two years ago, Dr. Sanaa heard about an opportunity for business owners to receive seed funding from the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Enterprise Development Fund.

After securing the EDF grant and adding her savings, she moved her business out of the 30-meter square shop to a 300-meter square clinic. She purchased incubation machines, machines for washing pets and furniture, and she renovated the space to add more rooms for isolation and treatment.

“IOM supported me, but what I appreciated most was the motivation I received through mentorship, trainings and follow ups,” she shares.

Dr. Sanaa now employes 12 women to help her run the clinic. Her team includes four veterinary doctors who treat, vaccinate and rehabilitate animals; four staff who offer grooming services and sell medicine, food and other products; and four daily wage workers.

Since opening her clinic’s doors in October of 2023, Sanaa has seen demand for her services soar. In the first four months, her clinic treated 200 pets in total but since February of 2024, the clinic has treated approximately 200 pets monthly.

“Initially, I was only open four hours per day, but keeping up with the demand was challenging. Some days, when I arrived at the clinic, a line of people would wait at the door to see me. Eventually, I started to open earlier and hire more employees,” she said, adding that the clinic is now open from 10 AM till midnight.

“This clinic is not only providing a service. Dr. Sanna treats my animals with empathy, love and respect. Her staff provide guidance and advice on how to deal with our pets,” said Helan, a regular customer of the clinic.

For Dr. Sanaa, educating the community about how to care for their pets, or animals they see on the streets, is a crucial part of her work.

Her staff teach children and their parents how to care for their pets before they commit to adoption; work to dispel myths in the community that can lead to animals being harmed; and raise awareness about disease transmission prevention and vaccination.

“Many people are unaware about how to care for their pets. Sometimes they discard their pets on the streets when they were sick because they don’t know what to do, or they don’t know how often to bathe them or that they need time outdoors,” she says. “So we spend time with our customers to teach them how to treat their animals. More people are now coming to seek our advice.”

Dr. Sanaa’s success has surprised many people who were less than supportive when she first began her venture.

“Some people were skeptical that I could manage something this big. They told me it was wrong to open a clinic as a woman, or that there must be a man behind the business. Others told me I would never have any customers because no one cares about animals,” she recalls.

“But, I always knew I was going to succeed. Even if I didn’t, then I’d at least raise awareness in the community about animal treatment.”

Dr. Sanaa never listened too hard to her critics and leaned on the support of her immediate family members and mentors she met along the way.

“My brother took me to Erbil to buy the supplies to stock the clinic. There, I met my supplier who has given me advice and motivated me to start. Now, I own the first clinic in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq that has all these services in one place. People reach out to me now to ask for my advice.”

Dr. Sanaa and her all-women team are making ripple effects in their community, especially on animals who need the excellent care she provides and on young girls who share her dream.

“When I started, people told me I would need to hire men to make it, but I said, ‘No, I will make my business succeed with only women.’ I believe it’s in our blood to have empathy toward animals. I wanted to prove that women can become veterinarians and run their own clinics,” she said.

Dr. Sanna has received support through the IOM’s Enterprise Development Fund with the support of the Government of Finland.

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