Holly and Grace's story:

Hi! We are two fourth year vet students who’ve had a personal goal of walking a marathon since the New Year. We suddenly realised (while training) we could raise money for a charity in the process!

We have decided to raise money for Vets in the Community as this is a charity that is very close to both of us and we think it’s a fabulous cause. We are also very proud to attend the vet school that set it up.

Vets in the Community is a charity that has been set up to provide veterinary care for homeless people and their pets in and around the Nottingham area.

We will be walking the marathon on Wednesday 17th March, but in the meantime we will continue to update you with our training!

Vic's story:

With the announcement of lockdown due to Covid-19, we have been unable to run our bi-monthly clinics, in the hopes to promote social distancing, stop the spread of the disease and protect the NHS! The needs of our students, staff and clients remain at the heart of our aims as a project! We are gutted we are unable to get out in our new purpose built trailer but we are so grateful to all the support given to us from kind donations already during these difficult times! Sadly our clients are relying on us more than ever to provide food, and support for their pets during this pandemic. We have set up this page to allow donations to continue so that within the guidelines set out by the government we have been able to distribute supplies to those clients in need during this difficult time! Any help is greatly appreciated and we cant thank everyone enough for thinking of us during hard times for everyone!

Since 2012, Vets in the Community has been providing free veterinary care to the pets of homeless and vulnerably housed people in Nottingham. We work with a number of local and national organisations to ensure we reach as many people as possible, including hostels, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programmes, a rape crisis service and services for those escaping domestic violence. Eligible people are referred by one of our partner services (such as Emmanuel House, Framework or The Big Issue) and can attend our fortnightly clinics where they will receive free consultations and treatment for their pets from veterinary students, under the supervision of qualified vets. Our services are two-fold- educating students as well as providing vital care for pets of the homeless in Nottingham.

The mobile clinic has been a long-term investment that will be a brilliant asset for Vets in the Community; it has solved our ongoing problems with finding a suitable space to accommodate our clinics and enable us to reach more people and pets in need than ever before. For those who rely on Big Issue sales or begging as their source of income, making the walk to visit the clinic equates to a loss of income - this is particularly relevant in the light of the recent police crackdown on begging in the city which has left a lot of vulnerable people struggling. Our trailer will allow us to set up shop in a variety of convenient and public locations, both in the Nottingham city centre and the surrounding suburbs, with the goal of making our services accessible to everyone. This will improve our clinic turnout and caseload, and thus enhance the student learning experience. Additionally, at present, we are unable to respond to interest in our services from towns and cities further afield, including Mansfield, Newark and Loughborough. Once our trailer is up and running, we plan to run outreach events and vaccine drives in all of these locations and more!

Students from years 1-5 lead consultations which generally focus on preventative healthcare, for example routine vaccinations, flea and worm prevention, microchipping, nail trimming, expression of anal glands and general husbandry advice. While most of our patients are dogs, we also see some cats and even the occasional rabbit, hamster or ferret!

Our clinics provide both a fantastic opportunity for vet students to hone their clinical skills and a valuable service which has a huge positive impact on the wellbeing of our clients. Vets in the Community was one of the first projects of its kind in this country, but as research has emerged on the huge significance of the human-animal bond to homeless and vulnerably housed people, similar initiatives have appeared in other cities; these include StreetVet, Streetpaws, Trusty Paws and All4Paws.

Funds are vital to keep the trailer in pristine condition & ensure we have a full equipment & medical supplies for each clinic. As well as pet food, pet toys, leads, collars, bedding water bowls, harnesses and warm animal jackets.

Thank you so much for your support, we couldn't do it without you! Any donation your are able to make will bring us a step closer to securing a bright future for Vets in the Community.