Our social veterinary care approach enhances companion animal welfare, addresses financial barriers to foster responsible pet ownership, and supports social cohesion.
The people we help through our social veterinary services are facing immediate challenges. From victim survivors of domestic and family violence, people experiencing homelessness, and pet owners challenged by a range of difficulties such as acute hospitalisations and natural disasters, and older people who live independently and who may not have any support from family or friends to help care for their beloved pets.
Our Veterinary Social Work model fosters collaborative support for vulnerable clients. We provide crisis pet care, personalised home care assistance packages, and a volunteer program, all centered around preserving and strengthening the human-animal bond. Through partnerships with service providers, human health professionals, and veterinarians we minimise adverse outcomes and maximise benefits for both humans and animals.
The Cherished Pets Model of Care
Since 2015, Cherished Pets’ has been providing human-animal bond centred veterinary services to pets and people in the Geelong region. Our innovative social enterprise model prioritises inclusion and accessibility, and is propelled by our commitment to fostering social impact.
Our Ocean Grove based clinic, serving over 2000 clients (and growing by one to two new clients per day), operates a private GP veterinary service with fees set at the market's median. By choosing our veterinary services, every pet’s visit contributes to social responsibility and community wellbeing.
A percentage of veterinary fees fund our crisis care services, and via funding from the Cherished Pets Foundation, our innovative social veterinary service bridges the gap between animal welfare and human health and wellbeing, delivering accessible and equitable veterinary care to vulnerable and marginalised people and their pets.
The support we provide for their pets is a lifeline, and the linkage to human welfare services ensures people and pets in all areas of our society are supported.