We have been awarded a £240,000 grant to support the creation and delivery of our Pet Aid veterinary service. The service is being created in partnership with several other organisations in response to our inspectors seeing a rise in animals needing veterinary care during visits.
We saw calls to give up pets treble in 2022 and this has now quadrupled in 2023 with many owners citing financial challenges such as accessing affordable veterinary care. We have also seen a 16% rise in animals coming into our care needing some form of veterinary treatment.
The Pets at Home Foundation supports organisations who work to make a real difference to the welfare of UK pets, either by improving the care that rescues provide to these animals or by actively reducing the number of homeless pets. Their Rescue Centre Grants provide funding to organisations whose main activity is the rescue and rehoming of UK pets.
Director of innovation and strategic partnerships, Gilly Mendes Ferreira, said: “We are delighted to receive this award from the Pets at Home Foundation. Through our Pet Aid veterinary service, this funding will enable more animals to stay with their owners who may otherwise be forced into the Society’s care.
“We know from the work our frontline teams are doing in communities across Scotland that the cost-of-living crisis means people have less income to spend on pet food, vet bills or pet insurance. This can lead to situations where people feel forced into giving up their pet or even, in the worst case scenario, consider abandoning them.
“Funding has already been secured for a Community Veterinary Nurse Manager to go out with our inspectors and help with basic vet care in the home such as full body health checks, flea treatments, worming, and nail trimming.
“This award will allow us to recruit a dedicated Community Veterinary Surgeon to support delivery of the Pet Aid veterinary service and help us respond to issues in communities where the need is greatest.
“The human-animal bond is important, and through this service we can help to protect it when people and pets need our help most. We want to get ahead of problems before that animals’ welfare becomes compromised and having a dedicated Community Veterinary team that work alongside our inspectors is just one way we are tackling the growing demand for our services”
Amy Angus, Head of Charity at the Pets at Home Foundation, said: “It is an honour to be able to support Scottish SPCA. It is such an important organisation that works incredibly hard to help pets in need, and the grant will ensure the team can continue their great work.”
Pet Aid is currently supporting 51 food banks across 18 local authorities. A full list of food banks where Pet Aid is available can be found on the charity’s website here: https://www.scottishspca.org/pet-aid
Anyone struggling to care for their pet can call the Scottish SPCA’s animal helpline in strict confidence on 03000 999 999 for help and advice.
