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A veterinarian is helping homeless people care for their pets

This 'Street Vet' provides free vet care for people experiencing homelessness with their pets.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Keeping up with a dog's routine health care can be a challenge for those experiencing homelessness.

Having a pet is a lot of responsibility, but the benefits are many. Pets can help reduce stress levels and provide emotional support even if you don’t realize they’re doing it. It makes sense that many homeless people have pets that keep them company. Though pets can provide all sorts of psychological benefits, caring for them can be costly, even for the most financially stable pet owner.

Vet bills can range into the thousands, but routine care that many take for granted can catch these costly health issues before they reach the point of breaking the bank. When homeless people are seen hanging out with their pets, folks rarely stop to wonder if these pets are getting appropriate veterinary care. But Dr. Kwane Stewart took note. Stewart has been a veterinarian for 25 years, and currently works at Netflix as an animal consultant as well as sharing his skills with people experiencing homelessness to help with the health check-up their animals need.

In 2019, Stewart was the star of a reality show, Street Vet, where he took to the streets of California to provide vet care to animals of people without homes. He started a pop-up clinic where he would travel to different locations, after meeting a man and his dog on the street. This particular dog was suffering from a skin condition due to a flea infestation that caused a patch of the dog's hair to fall out and a rash. Stewart offered to treat the man's dog, and after a $3 pill, the dog was free of fleas and looking much healthier and happier when Stewart returned to check on it a few weeks later. The dog’s owner tearfully thanked the doctor, and that was when Stewart decided to provide vet care his way with pop-up clinics.

Vaccinations for our pets prevent illnesses, diseases, and keep them healthy. When we met Jessica and \u201cMinnie,\u201d they were both scared of shots, but @DrKwane was able to help educate them on their importance. Minnie was a champ and we are grateful to have been able to assist! pic.twitter.com/gq4mKuUplB
— Project Street Vet (@Project Street Vet) 1642867246

Stewart has been doing pop-up clinics and going in search of animals whose owners don’t have the capacity to come to him for more than a decade. He has had his fair share of challenging jobs, one of which was euthanizing a large number of animals during his first years out of vet school, which spurred his search for something more meaningful. He was the director of the No Animals Were Harmed program. And then Netflix came calling with an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Find your passion and go \n#thestreetvet #nojudgementjusthelppic.twitter.com/xJqoBhoIyD
— Dr. Kwane Stewart (@Dr. Kwane Stewart) 1644709814

His passion for helping the animals of homeless people was what led him to launch his nonprofit, Project Street Vet. He runs the nonprofit while also owning his own practice Papaya Pet Care, which opened in March 2022, and continuing to consult with Netflix. Project Street Vet allows Stewart to continue his work on the streets for people experiencing homelessness for free.

The care that he provides to the pets he encounters on the street is invaluable. He interacts with the owners with dignity and respect, while providing them with a judgment-free zone as he cares for their pets. Over the 10 years he’s been doing street vet clinics he has helped countless pets, and no doubt he'll continue to help countless more.

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Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

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“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

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Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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A veterinarian is helping homeless people care for their pets

This 'Street Vet' provides free vet care for people experiencing homelessness with their pets.

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?

92-year-old Norma had a strange and heartbreaking routine.

Confusion is common in Alzheimer's patients, but Makesh knew there had to be some way to minimize these conflicts.

Instead of rooms or units, each resident gets a "home" on a quiet little indoor street reminiscent of the neighborhoods many of them grew up in.

Instead of a boring panel ceiling, residents look up and see a digital sky, which grows dimmer late in the day to help keep their biological clocks in tune.

Throughout the day, nature sounds and fresh aromas like peppermint or citrus are piped in.

For Makesh, this isn't just about making patients comfortable, though. He wants to change how we think about the endgame of severe dementia.

Of course, we're a long way from a cure for Alzheimer's.

Here are 21 of the most relatable.

1. Lack of purpose

2. No bed time

3. Friendships

4. Bodily changes

5. People don't change

6. Money

7. Our parents age, too

8. Free time

9. No goals

10. Constant upkeep

11. Exhaustion

12. Loneliness

13. Dinner

14. Time changes

15. You're responsibile, even if you didn't mean it

16. Work is like high school

17. Nowhere to turn

18. The happiness question

19. Constant cleaning

20. Life costs money

21. Keeping above water

"You, white friend, need to speak up and say something when I can't."

1. You're going to have to get uncomfortable.

2. "Your black friend would like to say something to the racist lady, but doesn't want to appear to be that 'angry black man.'"

3. We are constantly monitoring our surroundings and adjusting our clothes, hair, speed, and speech to maintain white comfort.

4. "Your black friend wishes you'd play more than Beyoncé. There are more black performers than Beyoncé."

5. Speaking of which, performative blackness is really uncomfortable.

6. "Your black friend feels like a man without a country."

7. We would love it if we could stop talking about our anxiety and frustrations regarding racism. But right now, that's impossible.

The billionaire passed away on November 28 at the age of 99.

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.