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Could you be a Street Vet?
Jade Statt and Sam Joseph.

Project to help homeless people's pets seeks volunteers

StreetVet has helped more than 150 dogs belonging to homeless people in the past year, and it is soon to expand its work to Birmingham.

Veterinary professionals who are hoping to join their work attended a session at BSAVA Congress this morning (7 April) to find out more.

Jade Statt founded the project when she met a homeless man and his dog one night in 2016. Hearing him speak about his unconditional love for his dog and his fear of losing her, Jade felt frustrated that she couldn't help.

In October that year she started a pilot project, going out in London with a backpack of medication, a stethoscope and a nurse. Her work featured on ITV News, BBC Trending and in the veterinary press and numerous pet magazines.

She later met like-minded vet Sam Joseph and they officially formed StreetVet together. Now the project has 250 registered patients and 200 volunteer vets and nurses. The pair are looking to recruit more like-minded professionals to take part.

StreetVet has stations in six locations a week in London and has recently started outreach programmes in Brighton, Bristol and Cambridge. Outreach teams of two to five vets and nurses go out and proactively seek out homeless people with dogs to offer help.

Volunteer vets and nurses vaccinate and microchip pets, administer flea and worm treatments and provide pain relief, as well as helping to fight infections and perform surgeries.

The project works alongside trusted social care organisations and soup kitchens, including Streets Kitchen, which feeds around 1,000 people in London every week.

Vets who see a homeless person with a dog can notify StreetVet - with the owner's permission – providing as must information as possible, and a member of the team will reach out to them.

Professionals looking to get involved are asked to contribute a minimum of two hours per month, which can count towards CPD. For further information, and to find out how to get involved or notify StreetVet see streetvet.co.uk

Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history

Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

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News Shorts
BBC Radio 4 documentary addresses corporate fees

BBC Radio 4's File on 4 Investigates has released a documentary exploring how corporate-owned veterinary practices may be inflating bills to increase profit.

Released on 15 April, 'What's Happening To Your Vet Bills?' revealed the policies which many corporate groups have in place to increase their profits. This included targets and upgrades which veterinary teams are tasked with meeting on a regular basis.

It also features Anrich Vets, an independently-owned practice based in Wigan. Following the case of Staffordshire terrier Benjy, who is diagnosed with a tumour, the documentary shares how the team were able to offer contextualised care and advice to make the procedure as affordable as possible for his owners.

The documentary can be heard on demand on BBC iPlayer.