Fetch Pet Insurance Announces California Expansion of Nonprofit Partner Project Street Vet to Serve the Watsonville/Santa Cruz Area
Fetch the most comprehensive pet insurance provider in North America and Project Street Vet, today announced the launch of a new Street Vet team to support the Santa Cruz area with the addition of Dr. Vanessa Padilla as the lead veterinary volunteer.
Dr. Padilla will ensure the delivery of free veterinary care such as exams, vaccines and life-saving surgeries to the pets of people experiencing homelessness and/or housing vulnerability in the community. Dr. Padilla is currently a veterinarian at veterinary clinic in Watsonville and volunteers at local animal shelters in the Santa Cruz area. She joined the Project Street Vet team after witnessing the work of PSV co-founder Dr. Kwane Stewart in Southern California and has provided care to more than 30 pets during her Project Street Vet pilot training.
This marks the fifth city expansion and eighth lead vet volunteer launched with support of Fetch as the title sponsor and the second new community launched in 2023 following the successful fundraising efforts of the inaugural Fetch 101 Donations Campaign at the close of 2022.
“Project Street Vet, in collaboration with Fetch, is committed to providing free veterinary care to the pets of people experiencing homelessness. We believe that every pet deserves access to quality healthcare, regardless of their owner’s housing situation,” said Dr. Kwane Stewart, who established PSV in 2020. “Thanks to the outpouring of support we saw during the 101 Donations Campaign and the dedication of Dr. Vanessa Padilla, we can now extend our services to this community and make a positive impact on the lives of pets and their people.”
“Just over a year ago, we became the title sponsor for Project Street Vet, and we couldn’t be prouder to support their growth. From a one man mission to now serving five communities across the country, their team of dedicated volunteers continues to expand and they’ve already provided care to as many pets in the first six months of 2023 as they did all of last year,” said Hilary Palotay, Director of Corporate Responsibility at Fetch Pet Insurance.
Since January 2023 Project Street Vet has served more than 800 pets and has an active team of eight Street Vets and more than 120 volunteers across five communities in California, Georgia and Florida.
To learn more about Project Street Vet and how to volunteer or donate, visit: Fetch Pet.
To learn more about Fetch Pet Insurance, visit: Fetch Pet.