Access to Pet Care Shouldn’t Depend on Housing: New Program Launches in Canada

VETERINARY GROUP RECEIVES GRANT FROM PETSMART CHARITIES OF CANADA TO ADVANCE CARE FOR VULNERABLE PETS AND THEIR PEOPLE

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Veterinary clinics across Canada are about to get support to serve more pets owned by vulnerable people in their local communities.  Community Veterinary Outreach, a Canadian charity that has provided veterinary and human health care to pet owners experiencing homelessness for the past 22 years, has received a $200,000 grant from Petsmart Charities of Canada® to help expand access to care over the next two years.  The grant will provide critical training for the Community Leaders Program and support veterinary teams to help more pets in their communities. The Community Leaders Program was successfully piloted last year in Ottawa and Toronto and will now expand across Canada thanks to the grant. 

The organization offers over 68 Pop-up One Health clinic events across Canada annually, offering human health and social services alongside preventive veterinary care services to increase the health of people and pets in communities.  CVO has scaled to remote, northern, urban, and multi-province communities with at least one veterinary clinic partner in each region that provides care to clients between our Pop-up One Health clinics. 

"Veterinarians, vet techs, and vet teams are incredibly generous and offer support in their communities every day.  Veterinary practices reach out to us all the time to see how they can help.  At the same time, the number of requests from pet owners experiencing really hard times has also increased, and they may face unique challenges,” says Community Vet Outreach CEO Dr. Melanie Barham. “Thanks to grant funding from PetSmart Charities the Community Leaders program bridges that gap, providing a way for veterinary teams to learn best practices, receive referrals in an uncomplicated way, and make a tangible difference in the lives of the most vulnerable in their communities.  If we all do a little, we can actually accomplish a lot.”

“A simple procedure for a pet can mean both pet and person get housed,” says Dr. Susan Kilborn, Chief Operating Officer at Community Veterinary Outreach. “We often don't think about it, but spaying/neutering a pet and providing vaccines or dewormers can enable pet owners to leave domestic violence situations or to obtain housing with their best friends.  The pets we see are extremely well cared for, keep our clients safe, and they are so important to their owners’ health.” 

“Pets are family, and for people facing difficult times, the bond they share with their pets can be a vital source of comfort, safety and connection,” said Dr. Robyn Jaynes, Director of Veterinary Care at PetSmart Charities of Canada. “We’re proud to support Community Veterinary Outreach as it expands the Community Leaders Program, delivering further training to veterinary teams across Canada delivering compassionate, accessible care to more pets and the people who love them.”

The Community Leaders program provides a simple way for veterinary teams to help the most vulnerable pet owners in their communities by completing training for leaders, train the trainer programming for teams, and partnering with CVO, an organization that has successfully partnered with vet clinics across Canada for 22 years.

This program will be available to clinics that wish to partner with Community Veterinary Outreach to provide care to unhoused and vulnerable clients, using funds raised through CVO. It is CVO’s plan to utilize these materials for regulators, national organizations, and potential clinics to increase the impact of the program on changing systemic barriers related to access to care and the role of the human animal bond.

Dr. Melanie Barham, CEO of Community Veterinary Outreach
Melanie.barham@vetoutreach.org
info@vetoutreach.org

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