Free veterinary care program kicks off summer tour

June 6, 2023

Homeless and street pets in America's most vulnerable communities will continue to have increased access to care, food, and supplies, thanks to ElleVet Sciences.

The animal-focused CBD and CBDA company's nonprofit organization, ElleVet Project, has kicked off its summer veterinary relief tour. The mission will travel across the country in the 32-foot "ElleVan" RV to provide free veterinary care to communities in California, Washington, and Montana, making more than 30 stops to treat thousands of pets with services including vaccines, flea and tick preventatives, deworming, general checkups, and emergency surgeries.

"Pet ownership within the unhoused and low-income communities provides mental and physical health benefits to their owners—especially women safety benefits," says Amanda Howland, co-founder of The ElleVet Project. "By treating the pets, we are helping the owners in numerous ways."

"I only have so much money to live off, and, for a vet to treat Gaucho, it would have taken me 10 months to save up," says unhoused resident, Jonathan. "ElleVet's services gave us a great gift by treating him."

Collaborating with local city officials and municipalities, the project hosts a rotating team of compassionate and professional veterinarians to provide 100 percent free veterinary care. Additionally, ElleVans provide donated pet supplies to owners.

"Pets are an anchor for someone living in these vulnerable communities," says co-founder and CEO, Christian Kjaer. "When you speak with people experiencing hard times about their pets, it's incredibly helpful to break down conversation barriers and give them extra comfort knowing their pet is being given proper medical services."

"About 93 percent of the people disintegrated by homelessness have no connection whatsoever to family, so having a pet means everything to people devastated by homelessness," adds Rev. Andy Bales, CEO of Union Rescue Mission. "It was overwhelming to see the amount of people with their pets come to The ElleVet Project's ‘ElleVan’ to get their pets taken care of."

For a schedule of the van's summer dates and locations, click here.