Phil & Smudge

Phil’s very special companion is Smudge, an elderly cat who he adopted when her former owner died.

Phil heard about our unique service at a Senior Citizens event and sought assistance. Smudge has been diagnosed with a chronic geriatric illness that requires close monitoring and care. The CP team comes to Phil’s house regularly to check in on both of them and to keep an eye on Smudge.

Smudge is a regular visitor at our pet hub where she receives treatment and Phil also likes to have a yarn about the latest footy scores. Phil now considers the team at Cherished Pets friends and feels he doesn’t need to worry if anything may happen to him or to Smudge as Cherished Pets is there to help, through it all.

Boom & Jaxon

Earlier this year we shared a special blog post about dear Boom, a very endearing Westie who we have been supporting for over 12 months now.

Due to the care we provide, Boom’s quality of life has improved immensely and he is a different dog completely and oh so happy!

His allergic skin disease is under control and his other health issues have mostly settled however he was recently diagnosed with a mass behind his left eye which is our current cause for concern. Boom is a regular visitor to our friends at PETstock Vet Waurn Ponds where he receives his allergy injections, and our team of community vet nurses walk and bath him regularly.

Life is better for Boom no doubt about it. Boom is a recipient of our highest level of care across all aspects of our unique services. He is pictured here with his bother from another mother, Jaxon who is well known to those who visit our Community Pet Hub.

Christine & Lily

Lily is a lovely 11 year old Kelpie Cross who first entered our Cherished Pets community when we launched our pilot project in 2015! Where do the years go?

Lily and her mum, Christine are much loved members of our community. Christine is a regular visitor at our hub and supports our Foundation by creating beautiful knitted and crocheted blankets which we sell to raise money for the Foundation. She has also been a regular contributor to our social activities and loves a good laugh. Lily is in good general health and enjoys her regular walks with her CPF Volunteer, Lilly!!

Norm & Millie

Norm and Millie are recent additions to the CP community. Norm was referred to us by his case manager who recognised his growing vulnerability with caring for his pets in his changing circumstances. Matters came to a head recently as Millie has become unwell with a nasty cough. We were able to arrange for Millie to attend the PETstock Vets at Waurn Ponds where we can access care through a grant from PETstock Assist.

Thankfully, Millie is responding to her treatment and we look forward to supporting them in the months and years ahead. We will be setting Norm and Millie up for regular visits by our Community Vet Nurse, as well as preparing an emergency care plan in the event of Norm himself becoming unwell.

Judith & Milo

Cherished Pets prides itself on being collaborative and community centred in our service delivery, and Judith and Milo are wonderful examples of this collaboration in action. A beautiful community effort is ensuring that Judith and Milo stay healthy and well, and together for as long as possible.

Judith is profoundly deaf, and lives alone in a residential village. Milo, her cheeky Maltese, provides companionship and alerts her to visitors and other events through her barking. Milo suffers chronic skin and ear disease and has been receiving care for a long time. Since we were engaged to provide assistance, the CP Team has worked with the teams at Bellarine Vets and PETstock Waurn Ponds to manage Milo’s conditions. We liaise with Judith’s Auslan interpreters and her case manager to ensure smooth communications.

More recently Milo underwent urgent ear surgery that was partly funded by our friends at Pet Medical Crisis Fund.

What a wonderful team effort, folks. This is community in action!

Milo’s problems are not fully resolved, and care will need to be ongoing. Our CP Veterinary Team continues to provide regular home visits for monitoring and ongoing care, transfers to the vet hospital and we will always be here for them both.