Veterinary Social Work with guest Alicia Kennedy
What is veterinary social work?
This episode’s guest, Alicia Kennedy, is a social-hearted veterinarian who provides care to animals but also the people who love them. Through the use of social workers, she has created a practice that centers around the human-animal bond. It is an amazing service, one that we hope others will learn from and perhaps bring into their own practices.
Mentioned in this episode:
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Transcript
Hi and welcome to the Animal Welfare Junction.
DrG:This is your host, Dr.
DrG:G, and our music is written and produced by Mike Sullivan.
DrG:Today's special guest is Alicia Kennedy, a veterinarian coming all
DrG:the way from Australia to talk to us about a very important topic,
DrG:which is veterinary social work.
DrG:So thank you for joining us.
DrG:I'm so excited to have you here with us.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:You are welcome.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It's good to be here.
DrG:So can you first let people know about your background, your
DrG:education, and kind of what led you to where you, where you are today?
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Absolutely.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:That's a good question.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:A big question.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So, yeah, I'm much older than you.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I've been around, I've been a vet for, I think it's o over 35 years now.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So I've grown up in, um, Australia and graduated from Murdoch University in 1986.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, and stepped straight into, uh, I was actually in mixed
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:practice for a while, but primarily companion animals over the years.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And it was, even in those early days, I identified that, um, my great love
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:as a vet was less about cutting things.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I never sort of was drawn to surgery and dentistry and that side of, um, practice.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I really enjoyed the connections that I was creating with my clients,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:particularly elderly clients.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I carved out a, uh, It.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:My, my interest was around the human animal bond.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So it was even back in the early days that I recognized that people
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:share a, this magic relationship with their pets and the difference that
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:animals can make in humans' lives.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And, formed special connections with some of my elderly clients and started to see
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the challenges that they face as life goes through its phases to keep their, uh, pets
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:healthy and well and together with them.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Uh, so that was a long time ago, and in the decades since
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I've done a lot of other things.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Apart from being a vet, so big chapter of my life has been motherhood and rearing
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:three beautiful girls who are now in their twenties and roaming the world somewhere.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, I have one daughter still at home, but the other two are in the uk.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, and then I've also had a very significant part of my life working
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:with the Jane Goodall Institute.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So I met Jane Goodall, uh, in the early two thousands, uh, when we
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:were actually living in China.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:That's a whole other story, uh, but I, I had a big chapter of being a
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:volunteer with the Jane Goodell Institute and establishing a chapter of the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Jane Goodell Institute in Australia.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I think everything, every experience that we has leads
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:us to where we are today.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Uh, but I started to understand, The challenges in the not-for-profit
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:world, um, in, in the charity world.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, and started to really think and consider about how we could
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:do vet practice differently that was, um, community centered
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and accessible to all people.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:. The, the original intention with cherished pets was to create a
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:veterinary service that was dedicated to supporting pets of older people,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:because that's where I'd found my
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:passion in practice was, uh, supporting elderly people with their pets.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I recognized that in order for elderly people to keep their pets
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:healthy and well, and together with them, we would need a more
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:community-focused approach to care.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:There was a gap in the system.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, a good Who are, who are your listeners for your podcast?
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Is it broad community?
DrG:Yeah, it's a broad community.
DrG:So we reach out to both the community in general, but then animal control
DrG:officers, rescue individuals, rescuers, shelters, uh, veterinarians,
DrG:people in the veterinary community.
DrG:So we try to make our content so that it can reach as many people involved in
DrG:animal care and human care as possible.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Yeah.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Great.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So, um, that's good.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:'cause I spent.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Like, I see the community as a whole and we all have a role to play in there.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And that's definitely one of the teachings from my experience with the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Jane Goodall Institute is the role that we all play in, in the bigger picture.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I'm a very curious person.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I'm a great one to ask questions about how can we do things better?
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So I started to ask the question to myself, and then more broadly, what
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:do we need to do as a community to support the companion animals of our
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:elderly people who are often going through life transitions and are often
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:isolated to help them keep their pets healthy and well and together with them.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And you'll find I repeat that.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Those words a lot because that's, that's kind of the objective of our
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:service, is to keep pets healthy and well and together with their humans.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I knew from the beginning that, to provide the, the service
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:that I was envisioning, that it wouldn't be, people wouldn't be
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:able to pay for the whole service.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And so that's when the idea of having vol, a volunteer program came into it.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So imagining if you had a veterinary service that supports pets of elderly
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:people and then you bring volunteers in there to provide some additional
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:assistance, it becomes accessible.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So my, my thinking back in those days were the seed of cherished pets.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And over the years we've evolved with the how we deliver our service,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:which is something that we'll talk more about in this, um, podcast.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:The purpose has actually remained the same from the beginning.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So my purpose is very clear and that's to enable the benefits of healthy
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:companion pets and a thriving human animal bond to be accessible to all people.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, my focus as a vet, as it evolved through my career has been
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the role of the human animal bond in human health and wellbeing.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And then the way it impacts on animal welfare, which we'll be able to
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:explore more in this, uh, interview.
DrG:That's great what you have brought up because.
DrG:Over time, I've always heard individuals in veterinary field, animal rescue field
DrG:that say I'm into veterinary medicine, I'm into animals because I don't like people.
DrG:And people are an extremely important part of the equation.
DrG:So we cannot have the animals without the people or the people without the animals.
DrG:So it doesn't matter which way you, you fall, you kind of have to understand
DrG:that bond, the, the importance of it.
DrG:Uh, and especially in underserved , communities and individuals at risk.
DrG:Like the, like you just mentioned the elderly.
DrG:Also, we think about people with disabilities or individuals
DrG:with mental health problems.
DrG:And I know that I saw research recently about how the ownership of a pet can
DrG:decrease health and mental health risks.
DrG:Like people with animals have, uh, lower risk of obesity, lower risk of
DrG:heart disease, lower risk of depression.
DrG:So how does the work that you do revolve around that one health
DrG:approach to veterinary care.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:it revolves around the human animal bond and how
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:we support the human animal bond.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So exactly what you were just saying, like I feel like we are peas in a pod.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It's just, um, yeah.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It's incredible the way your view of the world is very, uh, similar to mine.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And, you know, I was talking earlier about our origin was to create a
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:service supporting pets of the elderly.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It very rapidly evolved into much more than that.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And everything that I've done has been with community at heart and very much
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:integrating a multidisciplinary approach.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So, um, I.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Through the human animal bond.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So I describe myself as a social hearted vet, and what I mean by being a social
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:hearted vet is that I care as much about the people as I do the animal.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So my, it's essentially, I'm a human animal bond vet.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And when I approach my work as a vet in the consulting room scenario, I'm
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:not just thinking about the pet, I'm thinking about the human behind the pet.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Now, the, the pet is center of everything.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We are all there together.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I, and you'll hear me talk more about the team around the pet.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So say the pet is called Sparky.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We talk about team Sparky and we talk about the human.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So you've got the animal is, is the, for the veterinary healthcare and then
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the human is, uh, The other part of this, they're one unit and I'm, I've
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:still yet to find a, a sexier word than unit because it's not a very sexy word.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:But essentially I, I treat them as one.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And so in building a plan and making recommendations as a veterinarian
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:to maintain the health and wellbeing of that pet, we need to consider
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the capability of the human.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So this is going somewhere, so stick with me.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So w I started to think about capacity and capability of that
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:human to deliver on the plan.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So a very simple example of that is prescribing ear medication to an elderly
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:person who's quite frail, who's not got the capacity or the capability
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:to administer that medication.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So you're not gonna have compliance with your recommendations for that pet.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, and.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Once I started recognizing the capability, um, piece, that's what
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:led us into supporting pets of people who are experiencing vulnerability.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So in, in our work at Cherished Pets, we, through our social
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:service, we support five key groups.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, so it is the elderly, which was our sort of where we started.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We very rapidly progressed into supporting people living with
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:a disability through creating a home pet care assistance service.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And we have our volunteer program who we match with our, um, participants.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So the home care assistance program is exactly what it sounds like.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It's giving people assistance to keep their pets healthy and well.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And it, it can be matching volunteers for dog walking, for, uh, trans
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:transfer and transport of pets.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:One of the big ones is respite care of pets.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Now, deliberately used, we've defined our own terms.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We don't talk about foster care of pets.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We talk about respite, pet care, because we're actually, if you think about foster
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:care, you're talking about looking after pets, animals that don't have a human.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Whereas respite pet care is, um, Looking after someone else's pet, while they're
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:not able to look after their pet.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And it's got a whole, it's a whole new sort of set of complexity
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:looking after other people's pets.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, our home care assistance program, we also have a community vet nurse, so
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:we introduced that role eight years ago.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So Glenda was our original community vet nurse who's, uh,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:transitioning to retirement.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So she's in her sixties.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It's a beautiful role because she does monthly visits at a minimum,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:sometimes more often, sometimes not that often to check in that the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:maintenance of the pet is, um, in hand.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So things like, you know, nail trims and checking.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Uh, bottoms that they're not getting daggy and, and, you know, cleaning
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:up around the face, uh, helping with application of administering
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:medication, , monitoring weight.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So that's one of our big areas is supporting, uh, nutrition
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and weight management programs.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We all know that a lot of these animals that are sort of housebound
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:in lots of ways have, uh, get over fed and can get o obese.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We see that a lot.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:, and yeah, so it, it was designed to be a community centered
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:wraparound service to keep everyone healthy and happy and together.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Once we started, we then we, we are in a regional community in, uh,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Victoria, in Australia, so about an hour and a half out of Melbourne.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And we found that we started getting requests for crisis care of pets
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:through domestic violence agencies and homelessness and mental health.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And how we've evolved from seven years ago to where we are today is we are a
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:regular private veterinary practice.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We run a GP clinic in our local town.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We run a dedicated end of life home service, which was actually the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:original private service that I started.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, because my thinking back then was the private service will enable me
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:to support the social service, and we established our charity Cherish Pets
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Foundation as an independent charity.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It's got tax deductibility status so that we could run a volunteer program
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and raise money for what we call subsidy funding when, when there's a gap.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:, as we've evolved and we've, uh, had requests in the crisis care space, I
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:started to lead that conversation in, in the community because I recognized
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:that in our region there wasn't a formal response plan for what do we do
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:with pets when people are in crisis.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I'm a great connector and I love getting out there and talking to
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:people and, and I, um, was asking the question and nobody was giving me the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:answer that I felt was satisfactory.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So in 2017, we actually, and again in 2018, we hosted a community
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:conversation and we brought together people in the domestic violence sector.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So, uh, the domestic violence agencies, the local shelter, local vets, the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:police, the animal management team from the local, uh, council, uh, cherished
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:pets, a couple of the foster groups.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I gathered them all together into this room and we got a lovely,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:uh, lady to facilitate it, just to start to look at how a pets in Crisis
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:program might look in our region.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Fast forward to.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:22, 23.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It is now our second social service stream as a, um, funded, uh, dedicated
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:service, which is to provide care of pets when people are in crisis.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And that's not just domestic violence.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We provide our service to, we get referrals from domestic violence agencies,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:um, but also mental health crisis.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And at the moment, we were talking about this yesterday, that that's kind of the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:biggest area of referrals at the moment.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So when we think about the human animal bond, it is such a powerful
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:force in our community and it is a key driver of human health and wellbeing.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And it is a key driver of animal welfare.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And this is why I've loved connecting with you.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:To deepen this conversation because by having a human animal bond lens to my
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:work as a vet, it's opened up my sort of thinking, but my, my connections to
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the broader community and, and other, um, you know, we'll talk about social
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:work, but the health professionals, you know, I spend a lot of time talking
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:to health professionals and people in aged care mental health saying if you
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:have a client with a pet and you are not factoring that animal into your
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:care plans for that client, you're not serving the best interest of your client.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Because we know in vet practice, and particularly with the work that you
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:do, that people will put their animals first sometimes to the detriment.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Of themselves.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And what we've tried to, what we're trying to do with our services is
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:build that bridge to, , support both.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So it's animal welfare and animal health and wellbeing, and it's
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:human health and wellbeing.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Does that make sense?
DrG:Yeah, absolutely.
DrG:And that is, that is exactly.
DrG:How I see it is that we have to, we're here to take care of the animals as
DrG:veterinarians, but we have to take care of the people taking care of those animals
DrG:so that they can take care of them better.
DrG:Right.
DrG:Uh, I really like the idea that you just said as far as having the
DrG:volunteers, helping people with things that we don't even think about,
DrG:like medicating a, a dog or a cat, like just taking them for a walk.
DrG:Because a big error that a lot of us make is making assumptions about what
DrG:the clients can do or cannot do, and then we become judgmental about the
DrG:care that they're willing to offer or not without really taking it into
DrG:consideration, their ability to do it.
DrG:One example that I could say would be like a diabetic cat where you have
DrG:somebody bringing in the cat, perhaps an elderly couple brings in their cat,
DrG:the cat is diabetic, and then, yeah, we can do all this blood work, we can
DrG:do insulin, we can do all these things.
DrG:And then the person says, I'm unable to inject the cat.
DrG:I'm unable to provide the care that they need.
DrG:And in some cases, unfortunately, the cat ends up being euthanized
DrG:and there's a judgment and a feeling of being judged by the owner.
DrG:I'm not a good owner because I'm unable to offer what my cat needs.
DrG:And we have to be very conscious about what, how we can meet the owner,
DrG:where they're at to provide that care.
DrG:And then also the expense of it all because maybe it is somebody that is able,
DrG:capable physically to inject this cat, but they cannot spend the money in doing
DrG:the testing, in doing the, uh, in doing the injections and getting the insulin.
DrG:So we have to be very careful about what, how we present.
DrG:Treatment options and, uh, diagnostics options so that we're not looking
DrG:down at people, so we're not making them feel alienated or judged.
DrG:Um, and that way also I think it would bring a trust so that they're more likely
DrG:to tell you when there's a problem rather than hide it because they're concerned
DrG:about how you're going to react to it.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Yeah.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Like, it's like, wow, you are so beautiful and you are so
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:naturally a social hearted vet.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And you know, I have, we'll, we'll start talking about social work very soon.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:, and people have said to me, I'm more of a social worker in some,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I've got that social heart.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, I've, you know, as a vet I've.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I often will say I'm not a real vet because I don't cut things and do
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:all that fancy tech stuff, but I've, as I'm getting older, it's like, no.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Well, I actually play a valuable role in the veterinary industry because
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:exactly what you were just saying.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, and I just wanna pick up a couple of pieces of that.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:You talked about being judgemental and so one of the beauties of social
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:hearted vet practice and having vet social workers that lens of care
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:is that you do meet people where they're at and it's not judgmental.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And you approach things, you approach your, uh, care and, and your work
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:with, , kindness and compassion.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And if we are not considering the capability of humans to deliver on
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the care, we are failing everyone.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:When we talk about capability, we talk about physical capability,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:financial capability, and that psychological emotional capability.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And it plays out differently in, in different scenarios.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:But you've reminded me of a, a very recent case when you were talking about the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:diabetic patient and also because I do end of life, um, the capability of people
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:impacts decisions around end of life too.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So this was a, um, diabetic dog who I euthanize just yesterday.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So it's really fresh in my mind, but It was a very old dog.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I think she was 14 and they were struggling to, so the, the she'd been
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:diagnosed with diabetes and they were just in the early first month of managing it.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, but the, it's an elderly couple.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:They're an elderly couple and he's just recently had, uh, back surgery
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and the stress in this household around managing and looking after this dog,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:plus the cost of it, led to a, a very honest and open conversation about what
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:was gonna be best in the long term.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And we made the decision to euthanize the dog.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:She had other issues too, so it wasn't just diabetes.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, and she was also very anxious herself.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So this concept of best.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We, we have a saying in our practice that sometimes best practice and gold
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:standard care are not the same thing.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I think the skill in, uh, for vet, for veterinary teams is to be thinking
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:about through a human animal bond lens, what is the best for all parties.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Because if people don't have the commitment and the capacity to provide
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:that level of care that's required to, I mean, managing a diabetic patient is
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:very challenging for a lot of people, let alone people that are facing
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:other issues, including financial ones that, um, everyone ends up
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:suffering in primarily the patient too.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Does that make sense?
DrG:Yeah, absolutely.
DrG:And in, and in the suffering, we also have to think about how our inability
DrG:to take care of our pets properly, especially for the younger veterinarians.
DrG:How all of that, and not just to the veterinarians for, but for the
DrG:staff in general, how that inability to provide proper care leads to
DrG:compassion fatigue and leads to depression, uh, for the veterinary team.
DrG:Uh, because we go into, into this field to help and then somebody brings us a pet
DrG:that has a problem that is potentially treatable, but we are unable to treat it.
DrG:And we see patients that have to be euthanized or that do not
DrG:receive proper care because the owner is unable to provide it.
DrG:And I think that all of those hardships, uh, a lot of, a lot of
DrG:veterinarians and a lot of veterinary staff take that very personally.
DrG:And that leads to, to depression and, and problems within the veterinary staff.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Absolutely.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And, and you know, they, there a big, um, so the Australian Veterinary
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Association has committed a lot of resources to the mental health crisis
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:in the veterinary profession and.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I think it was in 21.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Now they did a, a national survey and a lot of vets participated.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, and when you, when you look at the, the statistics of what is driving
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the burnout and the compassion fatigue and people not wanting to stay in the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:profession, a lot of the time it is around the human element of practice.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So we talk about complex human elements.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So you know, your regular, most of our clients are, wonderful
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and easy to work with.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:But once we start talking about people experiencing vol vulnerability,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:particularly around mental health, um, you as a veterinarian or, and actually
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I talk about veterinary teams because a lot of this, um, lands in the lap of
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the receptionists and the nurses too.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So, , When you're dealing with complex human elements, it really adds to
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the moral stress and the emotional burden of the work that we do.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And this is where the veterinary social worker role fits so beautifully in the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:veterinary industry and in our community.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:By having, and we'll talk more about veterinary social workers,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:but, but that their professional people who are skilled and trained
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:in managing the human elements.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:You mentioned that earlier in our conversation.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It's by having that holistic approach to the human animal bond and considering,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:uh, multidisciplinary integrated care that you can build support for veterinary
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:teams and better our out outcomes in delivering the care to the patient.
. DrG:Yeah.
. DrG:Our.
. DrG:I am really super lucky that most of my staff has been with me for many years.
. DrG:So my managers have been with me for over 10 years.
. DrG:My technicians have been, the majority of my technicians have
. DrG:been with me for over 10 years.
. DrG:And I would love to say that it's because I'm just this awesome boss, but I am very
. DrG:difficult to work with or to work for.
. DrG:But I think that what it comes down to is that they don't have that problem
. DrG:with dealing with individuals that are constantly saying no, that are
. DrG:constantly saying, I cannot, that the, the animals that come to see us, Need
. DrG:our need, our service, need our help.
. DrG:And then they're able to provide that help and they're able to help the patient.
. DrG:And in some cases, when the individual is not able to afford
. DrG:something, we try to figure out ways for them to be able to do it.
. DrG:And again, non-judgmental way.
. DrG:So I like to think that my staff has been with me for so long,
. DrG:first, because they're all extremely , kind-hearted people that wanna help
. DrG:the community and wanna help animals.
. DrG:But at the end of the day, they can go home after a really long, hard day
. DrG:of work knowing that what they, did had meaning and it was appreciated.
. DrG:So they have the, the physical tiredness, but they don't have as much of that mental
. DrG:tiredness that comes with not being able to provide proper care for the animals and
. DrG:for the people that are caring for them.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We have a very similar, um, approach to
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:care here through our model.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So I think what you just said, then I wanna talk about accessible,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:affordable care and the role of, um, our care team in that process.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Because I often, I mean, I, I admire greatly, uh, real vets who I've said
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:that in inverted commas, uhhuh, you know, real vets who work in emergency
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:centers and, you know, the, the very intense side of veterinary practice,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I, I honestly dunno how they do it.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It's incredible work that they do.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And coming through the pandemic, just so stressful.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So I salute all the vets that work in that space and I often think about,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I've witnessed it myself actually.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:'cause I was, I was at our local emergency with my own, uh, animal at one point
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and witnessed some scenarios unfold, you know, while I was in the waiting room.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And the, the pressure and the stress that's playing out in those moments when
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:people are in crisis 'cause their pets are in some sort of crisis, is pretty intense.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And the average veterinarian is not prepared to deal with the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:humans in, in that scenario.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I think that's where veterinary social workers play such a vital
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:role in being, providing a buffer.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So, you know, if, if you're a, if you're a veterinarian and, and you've got an
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:intense situation and the human elements are, exacerbating the, the stress you
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:can bring in the vet social worker and it becomes a, an internal and then an
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:external referral pathway and a resource for support to you and support to that
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:human to navigate what their options are.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So we've created our own, I mean, I I call it like our own little ecosystem
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:of care because when I started cherished pets, we started a private service.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We wanted to build this social service.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We set up our charity so that we could have an independent stream
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:of funding to, which has evolved into bridging the gap when people
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:can't afford, um, full service.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And, I'll mention here too, I mean, cherish Pets is a,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:a certified B corporation.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I don't, have you heard of B Corp?
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I have not.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:What is that?
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So B Corporation is a global accreditation for ethical business practice.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So it's not in the vet community, it's in the broader business community.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And so B stands for benefit and the movement started in, in the United States,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:um, to become B Corp certified, your business undergoes a rigorous assessment
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:across five pillars of business.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So it is not just about profit, it's the accreditation that ticks
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the profit planet and people box.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So you have to demonstrate that you are being environmentally conscious and
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:looking at sustainability, but you're being socially conscious and you've
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:got that, um, social responsibility happening and your people and
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:culture internally with, uh, how you look after your own people, which.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Sounds like you should look at B Corp from what you were just telling me, because I
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:reckon Yeah, you are a natural and, , we are the world's first certified B Corp
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:vet practice, which is something that we take, we very proud of and as part
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:of demonstrating our social commitment.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:'cause it's a, it's an assessment process that you get scored,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:you literally get points.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, is the fact that we dedicate a lot of our resources and in our start, you know,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:in the first few years personally, I, I didn't take a salary so that we could do
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:more in developing this social service while we built up the charity, , to
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:create this self-sustaining funding model.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Because everyone always says, well, where does the funding come from?
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Now we.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Provide the social service at the not-for-profit rate to eligible people.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So our organization structure is, the private practice is a regular vet
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:practice, so regular fees, um, our end of life service is our signature service.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And so we, we, you know, that's a really beautiful service that we
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:charge what we should for through the, from the beginning with the quality
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:of life assessment, through the euthanasia phase and also the aftercare.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:But the social service is our social commitment.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And when we, it's designed that nobody profits from that because
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I don't believe that we should.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, but even with the discount, you would probably appreciate that a
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:lot of people I know what, how bad it is in Australia at the moment.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:A lot of people are still struggling to access affordable vet care.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And so the, the.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Concept of having funding packages through the charity developed.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:The role of the charity is to fill that bucket of money,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:which is easier said than done.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It all sounds very lovely on a podcast, but it's actually really, really
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:hard work and making this service, uh, sustainable and scalable is,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:is where I spend a lot of my time.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, because we know that the model is working on a very small scale, but to.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:The, the, it's a very complex model, our model, and there's lots of pieces to it.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And so to replicate that is not easy and will 100% require
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:a whole of community response.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So people hear me talking about you gotta put into the bucket.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And the people that put into the funding bucket are our state government.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So we got a very exciting grant from the state government in 22 to support
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the development of our vet social work service and to support, um,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:specifically our crisis care service.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So that's allowed us to get a lot of, uh, traction and development
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:in our vet social work program, but we can't depend on government.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So we also, through our private practice support, you know, we, we
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:provide support into the charity, but.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It's the majority of private donors into the charity are our private clients.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So I mentioned earlier about community engagement is key.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:The human animal bond is one of the most popular things on the planet.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I think you only have to look at how social media gifs of dogs
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and cats go through the roof.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:People love animals.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It's, it's one of the few constants in our community.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, you know, I go into people's homes through our end of life
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:service and our social service, but our end of life service, we offer
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:to everyone, to all pet owners.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So it's not just the social service.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I go into the wealthiest homes and homes in, you know,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the poorest areas and I.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:The full spectrum, very clean, white, tidy houses.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:They're always wash to the hoarders homes.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And one of the things that's consistent in our community is the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:love that we feel for our pets.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I, I think it's one of the few things that is across sectors.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:You know, we live in, we live in a siloed society where it's either aged
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:care or mental health or disability, or domestic violence or homelessness.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:, a very typical client profile for cherished pets is an older woman with
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:a background of domestic violence, who's facing housing insecurity
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:because of her financial situation.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Very often with mental health issues, and more often than not, with some
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:chronic illness or a disability.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So, so many people.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Tick all those boxes, and you can't just approach care depending
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:on which silo that you fit in.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And in the middle of that human's life, in that woman's life is her
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:cherished pet, who is the reason that she gets outta bed every day.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And when that pet becomes unwell, it's a very stressful scenario.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So that takes me back to talking about life in emergency and these stressful
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:scenarios that are playing out because if, if my child couldn't access the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:care that it needed and I was turned away because I couldn't afford to
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:pay, stress can escalate very quickly.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And that's where abuse can happen.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:The client abuse and you know, wouldn't.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Don't for a minute endorse any level of abuse.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:But I think having an understanding of what is driving some of those scenarios is
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:what we need to start paying attention to as a profession, but also as a community.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:, you know, we, imagine a society without vets think about, well, we talk a lot
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:more now here about the social value of vets and why vets play an intrinsic
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:part in healthy, thriving communities.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So, I know I'm jumping around because this is what I do because it's complex,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:but I'm gonna go back to my bucket now.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Okay.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So we, we've had some funding from the government.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Our private clients love our social mission and our purpose and
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:what we are doing in community.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So they're our best donors into our charity.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Then there's philanthropy, um, and high net worth individuals
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and bequests and things like that.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:, we haven't had a bequest yet because we're still quite young, but that's
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:certainly potentially how we can contribute to our funding bucket.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And then it's the, the industry, so the vet industry and companies and,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:um, you know, I, I have this dream of everyone pitching in and creating
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:this funding scheme where people can, um, access funding packages,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:but, Through an eligibility process.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Uh, I think, I think we can't go any further in this conversation, g,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:without talking about vet social work.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Let's talk about that.
DrG:Yes, please.
DrG:Uh, because I, I had the opportunity to visit, , an organization called,
DrG:, Inter Faith Housing, Housing Network.
DrG:And, , part of the sponsor that was at that facility is a
DrG:group called My Dog Is My Home.
DrG:And it's a really nice idea because it's basically saying kind of like
DrG:people say, home is where the heart is, it's home is where my pet is.
DrG:And they, they provide primarily housing assistance for families that
DrG:are experiencing housing difficulties.
DrG:Uh, a lot of work with victims of domestic violence, , individuals
DrG:that are experiencing homelessness.
DrG:, there was a really sad case that this lady came in to tell us her story
DrG:about how she has three young boys.
DrG:And she had a dog and she had a job and all of a sudden she lost her
DrG:job, could not secure another job.
DrG:One of her children, her youngest son, was only two years old, and
DrG:she all of a sudden found herself homeless and she is living out of a
DrG:vehicle with her kids and her dog.
DrG:And then finally secures a place to be able to go in and they
DrG:tell her she cannot have her dog.
DrG:And at that point she has to make the decision of, do I have a shelter
DrG:for my children, especially my two year old, or do I keep my dog?
DrG:And she had to make the heartbreaking decision to put her dog up for adoption.
DrG:And thankfully she was able to follow up and her dog was adopted to a good family.
DrG:So she at least has that knowledge, but she's always gonna have that
DrG:heartbreak that basically in her eyes, she had to give up her, one
DrG:of her kids to help the other three.
DrG:Uh, this is where this, uh, interfaith group came in and helped
DrG:her secure affordable housing in a place that is pet friendly.
DrG:So she is able, she still, she has to pay for her rent, but she has a
DrG:safe place for her and her family.
DrG:. She was able to get a dog, which is very important for her family
DrG:to have that, that companionship, especially for her, for her own
DrG:mental health, to have that dog to, uh, provide that emotional support.
DrG:And then they provide social work to help her navigate through all of
DrG:the difficulties from taking care of the kids to housing, to work.
DrG:So, uh, as veterinaries going through veterinary school, they don't
DrG:teach us how to be social workers.
DrG:They barely teach us about how to deal with clients, uh, other
DrG:than to explain to them diagnosis and, and testing that we wanna do.
DrG:So how does the social work piece work into your practice?
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Yeah, it's such a, oh, I, I love this question.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So, I first heard the term veterinary social work used at an international
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:conference before the pandemic.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So it is the International Association of Human Animal Interaction Organizations.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I don't know if you're familiar with that organization i o we call it for short.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And they had a conference and Phil Arkow spoke at it.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Now you're nodding your head yes because anyone with, yeah, anyone with an interest
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:in pets and domestic violence and the link knows Phil's name 'cause he's the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:global guru and I'm on his mailing list.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And yeah, incredible work and I've learned so much by connecting into that network.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And in his presentation at this conference, he talked about
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the University of Tennessee's Veterinary social Work program.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I didn't even really at that point, Understand what social work
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:was, although I was connecting with social workers already at that
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:point through our local service.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So I knew that they were out there, but I didn't really understand
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the worldview of a social worker.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I went, I remember going back to my hotel room and, and googling it and
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:looking up the University of Tennessee program, which is an incredible program.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And, um, and thinking, oh wow, that's what we're doing.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We are kind of doing a form of veterinary social work.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:, and up until that point, I think people here just thought we were
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:kind and soft hearted and over generous and perhaps a bit silly
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:with the work that we were doing.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I re it really started to sort of, uh, crystallize the role.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Of the veterinary social worker, but we weren't social workers.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We were social hearted vets and nurses trying to, that when naturally leaning
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:into that work, like you do very well, like I can tell you now, you just, the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:language that you use and some of the things that you've said, you, you've
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:already got that social worker leaning.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, and so then it was complete serendipity.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:This is the best story because our organization has our charity
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Cherish Pets Foundation and the chair of the charity, Judy Wokie is
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:a social worker by background and she also happens to, so she got it.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I mean, the reason that she got involved with cherished pets was she appreciated
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the role of the human animal bond , in.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Human health and wellbeing because she'd worked with
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:families, um, and with children.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And that separation that you were talking about before where people
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:can't keep their pets with them, it's absolutely heartbreaking.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And the system is filing people when that happens.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And the same thing happens here.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, so Judy came, so Judy also, uh, supervises social work
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:students from Deakin University, which is a, in our region.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So she came to me in 2020 and she said, why don't we, um, how would
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:you feel about having a couple of social work students, some placement?
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I'm like, yeah, I think I said something else before the yeah.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I'm like, yeah, that sounds, that sounds like a heap of fun and really cool.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Let's do it.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So this was just when the pandemic was happening too.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So the first placement was interesting 'cause it was pretty
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:much everyone was in lockdown here.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, But we are now up to our 13th social work student coming through on placement.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And of the 13, 5, 5 of them have ended up getting some form of employment with
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:us either, um, permanent or casual.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So our original two social workers, Elise and Esther, came to us for one semester.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And in that time we really focused on our vet social work
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:service as, as an independent service and as a, as a key role.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So by the time they got to the end of their placement,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:we couldn't do without them.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So they were our first two employees and Elise is still with us.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Esther's moved on.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So we created an internship for them and then brought them onto
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the, , staff, onto the team and.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:One of the sayings we have in cherished pets is that, uh, we're building the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:plane while we're flying it, so it's, maybe you relate to that, but we run by
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the seat of our pants because the, the demand for our service has grown while
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:we've still been tr organizing the way we deliver it, which I think is the only
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:way you can start something like this, because if you wait for it to be perfect
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and organized, it's not gonna happen.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Mm-hmm.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:You've just gotta get in there and you've gotta start it.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And the best thing that we do is learn by our mistakes.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We are constantly reviewing and reflecting, and I love this exchange
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:of wisdom between the social view of the world and, and vet's view of the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:world, because there's no right or wrong here, it's just different perspectives.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, but when you bring the two together, you are creating a human animal bond
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:centered service that has so much to offer the society, the community.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And so, , the.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Veterinary social worker role at Cherished Pets is different to
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the University of Tennessee model.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And they, they all have different but similar.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Similar but different.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I think it's because of the way the services have evolved.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, so the University of Tennessee model, um, I don't fully understand it 'cause I
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:haven't done the program, but it, it is centered around social workers within the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:vet industry, which is where we need them.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We need them supporting vets in busy emergency centers and, and um, in the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:larger practices, there's definitely scope to, you know, if you had a social
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:worker on your team for a year, you would think, I can never offer my.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Veterinary service without a social worker on my team.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I do not know how people run practices without that vet social worker resource.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, another big part of what the vet social worker does is address that
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:compassion fatigue, um, and moral stress piece within the team through
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:debriefing and supervision and, and that intrinsic internal support.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:The cherished pets model, its origin was in the community, and it's very much the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:role of the veterinary social worker in community health and community outreach.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And a good example of that is sometimes through the human
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:animal bond and through pets.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Our service becomes a touch point for people who are not
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:already accessing services.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So I think you were talking about that before.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:In the homeless community, this has application across all of
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the, uh, sectors, aged care, disability, mental health, domestic
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:violence, and homelessness.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:But sometimes it is the human animal bond and the animal that connects
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:people into broader services.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And the veterinary social work can facilitate that.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So a good example of that is our work in the community, in our home care
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:assistance program with the elderly.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So we have a reputation now as a veterinary practice that loves
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and supports elderly people.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So I don't actually have the statistic 'cause I haven't worked it out, but.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:A lot of our clients are over 60 because they come to us 'cause they know that
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:we give them special care and they're thriving and they're independent and
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:they're out there and they're just, they're your regular private clients.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:As life goes through its phases and things start to happen, such as a health event
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:or general aging and health decline, people start to lose their independence.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And our practice can refer an elderly client to our care team when we start to
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:think they might need extra assistance.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So we refer to the care team and then um, they can access the volunteer
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:program and the community vet nurse.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Many, there have been multiple times when we've started to connect to
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:people in their home through the home service and we've recognized that.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:They're losing their independence, but they're not yet accessing other supports.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:They don't even know that they exist yet.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And so our vet social workers play that really critical.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:There, there's a word for it and I can't remember what it is, but it, it's, um,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:they play that role in connecting them to the other resources in a kind and
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:compassionate and nonjudgmental way.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So it is a gateway service.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So the, you know, Ima imagine the bigger picture where the human animal bond is a
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and a service like ours and like yours.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:'cause you are already doing this.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:You just don't yet have a social worker on your team.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:But I can tell you now, you're like me five years ago with what you're doing.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And, and I think your vision is very, your heart and your intention
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and your purpose is very aligned and your vision is very similar.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, that.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:The human animal bond is critical in a healthy, thriving community because
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:it is how people feel comfortable to come and they'll come to the vet
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:to get care for their animal before they'll go to the doctor to get care
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:for themselves or before they'll access other services that are out there.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Is that kind of resonating?
DrG:Yeah, absolutely.
DrG:Because we have clients that experience hunger because they wanna make sure
DrG:that their cats or their dogs are fed and they don't feed themselves or they
DrG:don't eat as much as they could, or they don't go to the doctor because
DrG:it's expensive to go to the doctor and they have things to do or, or bills to
DrG:pay, or even they won't go to the doctor because they don't have anybody to take
DrG:care of their dog or cat while they're at the doctor if they get hospitalized.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:That is absolutely one of the.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Driving experiences for me, setting up cherished pets was I had more than
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:one client who, you know, I mentioned earlier, I loved my older clients.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I would build that connection and that relationship with
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:them and get to know them.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And they would tell me as their vet that they were healthy, unwell and
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:unwell and they weren't gonna tell their doctor, and they weren't gonna tell
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:their family because they were worried about what's gonna happen to the dog.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I'm like, oh, okay.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:That's not okay.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:What do we need to do as a community to provide a service that looks
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:after the pet while they go and get themselves healthy and well
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and bring them back together again?
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And of course life happens.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And we have cases like a, a recent crisis care case.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I, I like bringing it back to a story every now and then.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:But we had this, this is a really good story to share actually, 'cause
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:we are probably running outta time.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:But, um, her name was Dolly and she.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Came through the crisis service that's been funded by the government
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:for this year, , because her elderly owner had a health event
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and got whisked off to hospital.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So it was a crisis admission into hospital.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So the social worker at the hospital contacted us and we were
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:able to bring Dolly into our care.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:But when she arrived, it was very confronting.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So this is the animal welfare piece that she had a huge ulcerated tumor.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Uh, it was a mammary tumor, I think in her groin, like in on her abdomen.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:That was ulcerated.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:She was, hadn't been groomed.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:She was all matted and knotted.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And you look at a photo of her and I share this photo in our
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:presentations, and you can very easily jump to the conclusion that she's
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:been, um, that it's cruel cruelty.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And she's been neglected.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I often, I often say that,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:it's not intentional cruelty, it's unintentional neglect
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:from a lack of capacity.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And often these pets are loved more than anything in the world, as was Dolly by
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:her human who had been quoted $2,000 to have the surgery done and he was putting
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:aside $40 a fortnight or something.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So he had $400 in his bank account reserved for Dolly's surgery.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Well, she was gonna die before he could afford to pay for it.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And so in a way, it was a blessing for Dolly that she
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:came in for the crisis care.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:But with the package funding that we had, we were able to get her health sorted.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, and then long story short, he actually never went home again.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:His health declined and he was terminally ill.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:, and so we also do a re-homing when these pets come into our care, when,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:when people have permanent loss of capacity to care for their pets.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And as it turns out, our community vet nurse Glenda, bonded
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:greatly with this little dog.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So this little dog is still living with her today, but he got to see Dolly a week
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:before he died and she'd been clipped and groomed and was as pretty as anything.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And she'd had her surgery and the wound had healed.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So the peace of mind that he had, um, on his journey was that Dolly was gonna
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:be loved and looked after beyond him.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, and that's really powerful stuff.
DrG:That is, yeah, that is an amazing story because it.
DrG:I mean, it brings everything together, right?
DrG:Like the dog is, is experiencing a better quality of life.
DrG:The owner is able to rest peacefully knowing that, not having that
DrG:worry that the pet is suffering or that is not taken care of.
DrG:Uh, and yeah, I think that there is, uh, veterinary social work is of great use,
DrG:not just for affordable accessible care, like what we do, but just in general.
DrG:I think this is an important tool that all veterinarians should be
DrG:utilizing, especially the emergency practices, especially the, the
DrG:places, the referral practices.
DrG:Because most of my clients, I'm gonna be able to work with them,
DrG:uh, within our means to help 'em.
DrG:But when they have that, , Emergency, whether it be bladder stones or a traffic
DrG:accident, something happens and then all of a sudden they find themselves in
DrG:that emergency room with thousands of dollars of expense that was not expected.
DrG:That is an amazing place for a social worker to come in , and
DrG:help that individual along.
DrG:And even if the end result is that the pet needs to be euthanized, just
DrG:helping them throughout that process because it's just so important.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Exactly.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And it is, it, it's, um, it just allows everyone to catch in that scenario, it
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:allows everyone to catch their breath, be seen and heard and understood for
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:where I'm at today, and then to navigate what, where the solutions might be.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And as you said, even if it does go down the euthanasia path, It's a
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:much gentler kind of process to take people to that point, and it takes
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:that pressure off the veterinary team.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So the vet, I haven't clarified what the veterinary social worker is.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So a veterinary social worker is a, is a social worker who's professionally
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:trained and skilled and has, has that, um, training to manage humans, people.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:, and they've undertaken additional training around the human animal bond.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So it's, it's like a social worker that's stepping into this emerging
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:space of the human animal bond and.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:You can best.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:The way I see a vet social worker in our community is very much
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the bridge between human health and wellbeing and animal welfare.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:'cause at the end of the day, by supporting and upholding and addressing
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the human animal bond, the animal welfare outcomes are significant.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:As in the case of Dolly.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I've got hundreds of examples where by working with the humans, we're able
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:to improve welfare of the animals.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So through our crisis care service, a good majority of them, I wouldn't say the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:majority, it's probably about 50% of them, , come to us in a less than ideal state.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And then through our service, we can improve their health and welfare.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Support the bond and then look at ongoing support for that human to
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:maintain the welfare of the animal.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:, and we haven't tackled some of the curly stuff.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So when I talk about our service, it sounds really nice.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It's actually really hard work, and too often now we've had to address cases
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:with, you know, an ethical, moral, , conversation around sometimes what is
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:best for the pet and the human is for them to not stay together when long-term
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:capacity to keep that pet healthy and well is not able to be sustained.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Then surrender is sometimes, or euthanasia is the best option for
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the animal, for the animal's welfare.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:They are the really, really hard cases.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And if I didn't have social workers around us to support us through some
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:of those cases, I dunno where we'd be.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:But, um, you know, I was talking about our student placement program
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and our, our social work team.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:We, we have our Monday morning meeting every week, which is
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:where a lot of these conversations and case discussions play out.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And we, it's not a one size fits all solution.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:You, you've got to have that interdisciplinary approach to care.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, just last week we had a meeting with, , the care team of a client
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:who, um, is a hoarder and a.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Lives in squalor and has got cats and we, her cats are everything to her and
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:we're trying to help them by working with her support workers and our team
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:to create a plan where we can keep them together, keep an eye on the cats for
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:their and, and put boundaries in place.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Absolutely need boundaries in place in this case.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, but yeah, keep preserve the bond so that this lady can keep her cats.
DrG:And that is so, so important in hoarding because here in the US, and
DrG:I don't know if it is the same in Australia, we have a huge problem in that.
DrG:Hoarding is not managed properly as a mental health disease.
DrG:So when there is a hoarding case, the animals are taken away, the individual
DrG:is told you cannot have any more animals, but nothing is really done to help the
DrG:mental health portion of that person.
DrG:And I feel that, especially in the, in the case of overwhelmed caregiver hoarders,
DrG:it is so important to have somebody like a social worker, somebody that can work
DrG:with this person to understand why the animals need to move away like the excess
DrG:so that they can keep a manageable amount.
DrG:And then what the resources are to properly care for those animals.
DrG:Because some of these hoarders love those animals way more than
DrG:some other pet owners that we would consider good pet owners do.
DrG:So we have to take that into consideration.
DrG:And again, in the.
DrG:Understand if it is truly, uh, unintentional or if it is intentional,
DrG:if it is a hoarder that is exploiting or abusing these animals, absolutely.
DrG:Then we need to legally approach that.
DrG:But these individuals that are really just out resourced, we need
DrG:to do so much better as a society.
DrG:It doesn't matter if you don't like animals, like you care about the person.
DrG:So then you're taking care of the animals to take care about the person.
DrG:Also, most people that don't necessarily like animals, I don't feel that they want
DrG:them harmed or they want 'em to suffer.
DrG:They may just not wanna live with them or in interact with
DrG:them, but I think in general, we understand the, the importance.
DrG:We just have to kinda act on it and be and be better about it.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Yeah.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I think we've run outta time, and this is a, that's a good note to
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:end on in a way, is that the role of animals and the human animal bond.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So my vision.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Is a society where the human animal bond is valued and recognized for the role, the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:significant role that it plays in healthy and connected individuals and communities.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And I think this, the siloed approach is not gonna work in the future system.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:That, um, it's this interdisciplinary bringing, you know, we talked about the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:team approach to pets, but that case that I just shared around the hoarder,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:we're all sitting around the table together trying to navigate the solutions
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:rather than saying this is gonna.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Fail, you know, like it, it's, and, and you know, having this conversation with
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:the her support workers, who, one of them was a social worker was so from the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:heart of recognizing just how important these animals are to her future recovery.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:'cause she's already in a program for support.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Um, and if we ignore the role of those animals, we, I, I can't remember the
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:words that she used, but we will set her progress back if we separate them.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So how can we look at community-based solutions to keep them together without
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:risking so it's so complex without risking the welfare of the animals.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So yes, we are putting restrictions on numbers.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And so when I said she was a hoarder, she wasn't an animal
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:hoarder, she's got four cats.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I wouldn't say that's hoarding.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:It's not like she's got 40, but she was a hoarder in her home Object hoarder.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Yeah.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:But definitely could see the pattern of, she could get, she would
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:get more cats if she wanted to.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So she's got that very clear line now that, uh, you know, in her support plan
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:will be monitoring that and she'll be getting the community vet nurse visits
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:and working with her caseworkers.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And it, it, to me, it's the only way forward is these, these collaborative
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:care plans and sharing of resources and sharing of heads, hearts, and hands, you
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:know, in, in community level support.
DrG:I'm hopeful that people listening to this episode, this have gained a lot
DrG:of information, uh, perhaps even things that they have never, concepts that
DrG:they have never been exposed to, and understand the importance of the human
DrG:animal bond and the usefulness of the social workers with the veterinary team.
DrG:And I know that, you know, I, I am looking forward to.
DrG:Looking into ways to incorporate social work students into our veterinary student
DrG:program so that everybody can learn at a, at a young age while still babies
DrG:in vet school, how to work together to offer better services to the community.
DrG:And I, again, I hope that the veterinarians and veterinary teams
DrG:that may be listening to this episode, , think at least think about
DrG:it or consider the way that they can involve veterinary social work into
DrG:the service that they're providing.
DrG:I think that ultimately it's not just gonna help their patient who's
DrG:gonna help their staff, and it's gonna help them work better and feel
DrG:better about what they're doing.
DrG:So I really appreciate you taking this time to join us and
DrG:to discuss your experiences.
DrG:Uh, the work that you're doing is amazing, and I hope to, uh, have more
DrG:conversations in the future with you to.
DrG:Develop more ways to, to help the community by helping the animals and
DrG:the individuals that take care of them.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So beautiful.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Yeah.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I feel like we've just started our conversation.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Yes.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And you know, we can talk until the cows come home.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So I would love to stay connected with you and your community, you know, um,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:cherished pets and on social media.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:I'm social hearted vet and you know, as we build this community globally, um,
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:connecting and, and follow each other.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:But I think it is an exciting shift in the vet industry to see recognition of the vet
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:social worker role as being an upstream solution to the mental health crisis.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:And then in the local community, the vet social worker role.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:Brings relief and support to the service providers.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:You know, we, we get referrals from people who are the, the health providers
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:who are just like, we dunno what we would do if cherished pets wasn't there.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So, you know, it is, it's an emerging field and definitely
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:will be part of the landscape of thriving communities into the future.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:So thank you.
Dr. Alicia Kennedy:You well,
DrG:uh, thank you so much.
DrG:And yes, we'll definitely keep in touch.
DrG:Uh, I follow you very closely on LinkedIn and everything that you do.
DrG:So thank you for, again, for the work that you're doing.
DrG:Thank you for taking this time and to everybody that's listening, hope that
DrG:you have learned something and thank you for listening and thank you for caring.
