StreetVet has announced present, writer, broadcaster and animal-lover, Clare Balding as its latest ambassador.
She has offered her support to help promote the charity’s work providing free veterinary care to the pets of people experiencing homelessness in 16 areas across the UK. 
Clare will also help to raise awareness for the charity’s new mission: creating a pet-friendly hostel accreditation scheme, which will enable people experiencing homelessness to be housed with their pets.
Jade Statt, co-founder of StreetVet, explains their new mission, “Many people experiencing homelessness currently face an impossible choice: be housed but give up their pet or stay out in the elements and keep their companion.
We want to change this by creating pet-friendly, StreetVet-accredited hostels. This will mean people and pets can stay together and be given the chance to put their lives back together.”
Clare Balding said, “My book My animals and other family sums up how I feel about pets – they’re more than animals, they are our family and friends. No pet lover would want to be separated from their pet, especially when going through a very difficult time in their life.
Pets are our support. When I heard about the work StreetVet does I wanted to help spread the word about this amazing charity and help raise awareness and funds for their latest mission – pet-friendly, accredited hostels – as well as their wonderful work treating pets on the streets.”
Currently only around one in ten hostels accept pets – and often only one pet per property. StreetVet’s new scheme will help more hostels welcome more pets and their owners with policies, advice and support and by providing accreditation to hostels that meet the pet-friendly standard.
The first pilot hostel will be launched towards the end of this year in London. The charity’s ambition is to raise enough money to roll-out the scheme across the UK, which would mean thousands of homeless people and their pets can get off the streets.
Until recently, Clare and her wife Alice shared their home with their beloved Tibetan Terrier, Archie. His death, at the age of 15, has left a dog-shaped hole in their lives. Balding is currently involved in the Virtual Big Dog Walk (www.bigdogwalk/worldwalk) and has nominated StreetVet as her chosen charity.
She has also very kindly donated her fee from a recent filming project to StreetVet. When lockdown allows, Clare will also be joining StreetVet vets on their street treatment outreach to appreciate first-hand what is involved (currently StreetVet is observing social distancing and providing telemedicine to clients).
