'Street Vet' helping pets living on the streets in LA
LOS ANGELES - In Los Angeles County, there are more than 66,000 people living on the streets.
It’s estimated that 10% of them have pets; dogs and cats that rarely get any medical attention. That’s where The Street Vet comes in.
Veterinarian Kwane Stewart has been hitting the streets of Los Angeles with nurse Genesis Rendon every week. They offer free medical services for homeless pets.
"A lot of the work is preventative care like deworming, vaccines, flea and tick prevention, sometimes, I’ll do nail trims," Stewart said.
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On the day we met Stewart, he came across three young pups in Skid Row that needed rabies and parvo vaccines.
"The most important one that we deliver to any dog, especially a puppy is the parvo vaccine because parvo is prevalent out here on the streets and it’s a killer. Parvovirus is deadly to puppies," Stewart said.
Stewart is going on more than 10 years providing free medical care for homeless animals. He’s on a mission that can be costly.
That’s why Stewart has established Project Street Vet, a nonprofit that accepts donations and volunteers.
"I’m just at the stage of developing the nonprofit where I’m going to start training other veterinarians to do the same work which is exciting," Stewart said.
He adds it is all exciting and extremely rewarding.
"There was a time in my career when I felt like leaving the profession and I started doing this work, and it revitalized me," says Stewart.
His message to the world is simple: Kindness heals the world.
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