How the StreetVet accredited hostel scheme is helping to keep veterans and their pets together

Across the UK, thousands of people experiencing homelessness share their lives with pets. For many, that bond is a lifeline – but too often, it becomes a barrier. Only around one in five homelessness services accept animals, and 84% of providers have met someone who refused housing rather than give up their pet.

StreetVet, the national charity providing free veterinary care to pets of people experiencing homelessness, is changing that. Through its Accredited Pet-Inclusive Hostel and Day Centre Scheme, StreetVet helps accommodation and homelessness service providers welcome pets, so no one has to choose between a roof and their best friend.

Launched in 2020, the scheme currently has 79 accredited sites, has supported more than 405 pets, and trained 276 members of staff on its e-learning platform. It’s part of a movement that recognises the human–animal bond as central to recovery, health and hope.

“People experiencing homelessness often say they’d be nothing without their dog,” says Monique, StreetVet’s clinical case team lead and a volunteer veterinary nurse. “It’s their support, their family.”

Monique understands that bond better than most. Before joining StreetVet three years ago, she served 16 years in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, caring for military working dogs. “When I left the military, I had my two dogs,” she says. “Without them I’d have struggled. You get so used to the structure in army life. My dogs gave me a routine and focus.”

That routine is what she sees helping the people she now supports – many of them veterans, too.

In one of StreetVet’s accredited hostels that supports veterans, Monique meets Rocky, a black-and-white dog who barely leaves his owner’s side.

“He got me from 11 medications down to five in the first year,” his owner admits. “What dogs do for people with complex PTSD, bipolar, combat stress – they get you in a routine and they get you out. Otherwise I’ll just lock myself away all day. My mum said Rocky’s the best medication I’ve ever had.”

The support goes both ways. When Rocky developed a cyst on his leg, StreetVet arranged treatment within hours. “I woke up in the morning, felt the cyst, rang StreetVet at 12 o’clock,” his owner recalls. “By four o’clock, I had an appointment, and it was done. Amazing. StreetVet are the business, honestly.”

In another conversation, Winston sits near his owner’s chair, nibbling treats from Monique’s hand but, like Rocky, always glancing back for reassurance. “He saved my life,” his owner says. “He exists with the doctors as part of my treatment. He has kept me going.”

Before finding the hostel, Winston and his owner were sleeping rough because they couldn’t find anywhere else to live. “No one was interested,” he says. “If they were interested in taking the dog, they wouldn’t take me, because I’m on disability benefits. We ended up in a tent. He was pretty cold, to be honest. Then we bumped into the Arc outreach guys, and it’s all gone from there.”

Now, Winston gives his owner a reason to get up each day.

There are an estimated 320,000 people currently experiencing homelessness in the UK, and research shows that between 10% and 25% of them have pets. For many, those animals are their only source of companionship, safety and purpose.

Studies show that pets can ease loneliness, improve mental health and encourage physical activity – especially for people living with PTSD or depression. “When you’re having a bad day, you look at your dog,” Monique says. “They don’t judge. They’re just there. That kind of support is second to none.”

Yet only 21% of accommodation services are currently pet-inclusive, locking many out of vital housing. “If I had to separate from Winston, I’d still be in a tent,” his owner says. “Because no way would I have lasted five minutes.”

StreetVet’s accreditation programme aims to change that – offering hostels and day centres staff training, behaviour advice, 24-hour veterinary support and emergency kennelling options to help keep people and pets safely together.

StreetVet’s work doesn’t stop when people move on. Through its Move On programme, the charity provides six months of free pet food and a further year of veterinary care to help owners and animals settle into independent accommodation.

Winston and his owner are among the success stories. Since their interview, they’ve moved into their own pet-friendly home, supported by StreetVet and their long-term partner Purina UK & Ireland, who are providing six months of food deliveries.

For Monique, it’s moments like this that make everything worthwhile. “Sometimes we can be the only person that they speak to that day,” she says. “We’ll always give them that time, have that conversation. That’s huge for me.”

Across the country, StreetVet’s accredited hostels and day centres are proving that compassion and practicality can coexist. “Having that conversation, saying hello, raising awareness about the human–animal bond – it’s massive,” Monique says.

“Nobody should have to choose between a home and their pet.”

Now, Rocky is safe in a hostel with his owner, Winston has a home of his own, and both are still right where they belong – beside the people who love them.

To find out more visit streetvet.org.uk

StreetVet is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 1181527, Scotland no. SC052940