Social Services

Cherished Pets' innovative veterinary social service brings together a compassionate team of veterinary social workers, dedicated veterinary professionals, and skilled volunteers dedicated to bridging the gap between human health and animal welfare to support pets and their people.

We offer crisis pet care, personalised home care assistance packages, and a volunteer program, all centered around preserving and strengthening the human-animal bond.

Through a person-centered approach, we provide immediate support to individuals whose already overwhelming challenges are further complicated by pet ownership. Our priority groups include:

Individuals experiencing homelessness

For someone experiencing homelessness, we often find that they delay seeking medical attention for themselves because they have no one to look after their beloved companion, who is often their closest friend and the only consistent presence in their life. Alternatively, they may delay seeking veterinary care for their cherished companions due to financial constraints meaning pet health declines. Our services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness mean devoted animal companions can get the care they need and deserve and can continue to uplift their owner's mental and emotional wellbeing, alleviate isolation, and inspire a sense of purpose even during life's challenging moments. 

Victims of family and domestic violence

It is estimated that companion animals are present in 70 per cent of cases where domestic and family violence occurs. Providing emergency accommodation for pets ensures that people and families can find refuge without delay, creating a haven of safety and support for all. Pets can then be reunited with their family preventing unnecessary rehoming, overwhelming pet shelters, and unnecessary euthanasia.

People Experiencing a Crisis, Mental Illness and Unexpected Hospitalisation

Through many years of supporting pets and their people experiencing tough times, we’ve learned that crises and unexpected challenges can happen to anyone. A sudden change in circumstances can drastically affect not just individuals and families, but their animal companions as well. Our cherished pets can sometimes complicate the process of accessing the right assistance when needed and it's often the people who need their pets the most who are forced to surrender them to shelters, where pets face an increased risk of euthanasia.

By providing services that include people and animals and removing barriers to accessing human care, we improve the overall health, safety and wellbeing of the community and prevent the unnecessary trauma caused by the surrender of pets. 

Aged Care and the Elderly

For older individuals, particularly those without family or social support, our veterinary services help preserve the invaluable human-animal bond, nurturing emotional wellbeing by keeping their pets healthy to foster rich social engagement through the profound bond between humans and their pets.

By addressing the needs of both pets and their owners, Cherished Pets support people's health and wellbeing and prevents loss of companionship, increased isolation, exacerbation of mental health conditions, or even the risk of harm to people or their pets. We also prevent the need for costly downstream interventions such as emergency veterinary surgeries, prolonged medical treatments, or surrendering pets to shelters, which can have significant financial and emotional costs for both individuals and society. 

Please support us and help create a fairer and hopeful future for all pets and people.

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