A Bellarine veterinarian was one of 103 Australians awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2024.
Dr Alicia Kennedy will travel to Amsterdam, England, Scotland, Canada and the US next year to explore the best practices of organisations operating at the intersection of veterinary and social services thanks to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.
Dr Kennedy is the founder of compassionate veterinary service Cherished Pets in Ocean Grove, which provides social services alongside regular veterinary care.
“We’re a social-hearted veterinary service, meaning our focus is not just pets but also people,” Dr Kennedy said.
“My expertise as a vet is the human-animal bond and so in developing that lens of care over 30 years of being in practice, I recognise how important the human-animal bond is.
“But there are people in our community who are experiencing vulnerability, whether that’s short-term or long-term, that impacts their capacity to keep their pets healthy and together with them, which can lead to great distress.”
The charity arm of Dr Kennedy’s service, Cherished Pets Foundation, allows Cherished Pets to provide volunteers and community vet nurses to support people with their pet care, as well as social workers to coordinate the care of the pets of people experiencing crisis.
Cherished Pets’ multidisciplinary care model is unique in Australia, meaning Dr Kennedy has few sources of expertise to draw on.
“When you’re doing something no one else is doing, it can be a bit lonely,” she said.
“The Churchill Fellowship is an extension of our learning journey, to see what’s working, what’s not working, and the way things are done overseas.”
Visit cherishedpetcare.com.au to see the impact of Dr Kennedy’s work and support the Cherished Pets Foundation.
