Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
SPECIAL PRICE: Just £9.99 for your next 8 magazines
Subscribe today
Housing

The student vets keeping dogs of the street fit and healthy

Vet schools across the country are running student-run projects to offer homeless people the chance to give their beloved pets free veterinary check-ups, food, training advice and grooming.

A four-legged friend for someone living on the street, or who has experienced homelessness, offers so much than just companionship. This is often a bond that offers a level of love and dependence that, for so many, might have been absent throughout a fractured life.

For many of our vendors – and countless homeless men and women across the country – their dog is a lifeline.

However, while veterinary care and advice could prove impossibly for someone with no steady income to afford, recent years have witnessed a significant rise in the number of charities and veterinary school projects that offer outreach and drop-in schemes free of charge.

Here, we shine a light on two paws-itively inspiring student-led projects in Nottingham and Edinburgh.

VETS IN THE COMMUNITY, NOTTINGHAM

Vets in the Community was set up in 2012 by the University of Nottingham to provide free veterinary care to pets belonging to homeless and vulnerably housed people.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Vets in the Community, Nottingham

Based out of our Big Issue distribution office in the city centre under the supervision of qualified staff, veterinary students provide health checks, vaccinations, micro-chipping and treatment for fleas, worms and minor ailments. The students also offer advice on pet healthcare, for example nutrition and neutering.

To date, the clinic – which was initially funded by the Dogs Trust and the university’s Cascade Fund – has treated more than 1,000 dogs, cats and rabbits.

Vets in the Community, Nottingham

Holly O’Connor, The Big Issue’s Midlands regional manager, says: “For people who are rough sleeping, the sense of protection and companionship they get from their animals is irreplaceable. But Big Issue vendors often worry that they will be judged if their animal has something wrong with it, or hasn’t been treated properly for fleas or worms.

“When people come down to the clinic they will see friendly faces and know that they will not be judged, which is why I think in recent months we have seen a big take-up at the clinics.”

vetsinthecommunity.weebly.com

ALL4PAWS, EDINBURGH

Every Monday night, a community centre in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle is transformed into a makeshift drop-in vet clinic for the city’s homeless and vulnerably housed.

All4Paws, Edinburgh

All4Paws offers free vaccines, flea, tick and worm medications, advice to owners on how to manage their pet’s behaviour, diet and nutrition, and provides vital supplies such as winter coats, collars, leads and food.

The charity is run by students from the University of Edinburgh’s Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies, under the close supervision of qualified vets.

All4Paws, Edinburgh

“We’ve offered a limited veterinary service for companion animals within several Edinburgh hostels since 2008, but the students’ initiative is more ambitious and allows the opportunity to give more in-depth care and advice when it is needed,” explains Dr Andrew Gardiner, senior clinical lecturer at the Royal Dick.

all4pawsedinburgh.org

Read more inspiring canine tales in week’s Big Issue, pictured below.

The Big Issue 1284 cover
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

READER-SUPPORTED SINCE 1991

Reader-supported journalism that doesn’t just report problems, it helps solve them.

Recommended for you

View all
Cost of housing homeless people in temporary accommodation soars to £2.8bn
Tina who lives in temporary accommodation
Homelessness

Cost of housing homeless people in temporary accommodation soars to £2.8bn

Homelessness facts and statistics: The numbers you need to know in 2025
Homelessness

Homelessness facts and statistics: The numbers you need to know in 2025

Rents in UK are at record highs. Will they keep going up?
rents uk
Renting

Rents in UK are at record highs. Will they keep going up?

Giving homeless people stable housing could save taxpayer £200m a year – if Labour wants to
a homeless person sleeping rough in a doorway
ROUGH SLEEPING

Giving homeless people stable housing could save taxpayer £200m a year – if Labour wants to

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payments: Where to get help in 2025 now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payments: Where to get help in 2025 now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue

Reader-supported journalism that doesn’t just report problems, it helps solve them.

Every day, Big Issue digs deeper – speaking up for those society overlooks. Will you help us keep doing this work?