Helen Woodward’s Pets Without Walls Program and Project Street Vet partnered Thursday to provide free medical procedures and wellness services to homeless pets.
SAN DIEGO — Helen Woodward Animal Center’s Pets Without Walls Program and Project Street Vet partnered Thursday to provide free medical procedures and wellness services to homeless pets in San Diego, recognizing that winter presents particular challenges for unhoused individuals and their animal companions.
The organizations set up at Father Joe’s Neil Good Day Center on 17th Street from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on December 11, offering spay and neuter procedures through Helen Woodward Animal Center’s team, as well as wellness checks, examinations, and vaccines provided by Project Street Vet.
The effort addresses a significant need in California, where social workers estimate nearly 200,000 people are experiencing homelessness. Of that population, approximately one in four have pets as companions. Many of these pet owners lack reliable access to healthcare and financial resources to pay for veterinary services.
Both organizations are guided by a shared philosophy regarding the human-animal bond.
“Both Helen Woodward Animal Center and Project Street Vet hold firmly to the belief that the bond between animals and their owners should not be broken due to financial hardships,” according to information provided about the partnership.
Additionally, both groups are dedicated to ensuring that pets of those struggling with financial challenges do not suffer as a result.
The collaboration underscores the critical role that programs like Pets Without Walls and Project Street Vet play in supporting vulnerable populations during winter months, when unhoused individuals and their pets face heightened hardship.
