Portland startup will bring vital veterinary care to 'street pets' across US
Courtesy / ElleVet Sciences
The ElleVet Project delivers mobile care across the U.S. to pets who live on the street.
ElleVet Sciences, a Portland startup providing cannabis-based animal health products, is about to hit the road, providing free veterinary care, food and supplies across the country to pets who are abandoned or live on the streets.
The ElleVet Project, as the mobile aid is dubbed, will begin its tour June 2 and bring needed care to Boston, Chicago, New York City, and Orlando, Fla., as well as parts of California and Montana.
Collaborating with officials and municipalities, the project hosts a rotating team of veterinarians to provide free care to the most vulnerable animals. The ElleVet Project offer services that range from vaccines, flea and tick preventatives, deworming, general checkups and even emergency surgeries.
Traveling to communities of people who are homeless allows ElleVet to locate and treat pets who may never have had veterinary care.
ElleVet co-founder and COO Amanda Howland and co-founder and CEO Christian Kjaer developed the project in 2020 as a pilot in response to COVID-19, knowing that pets were at greater risk than usual.
Howland and Kjaer rented a 38-foot RV, bought medical supplies, hired a few veterinarians and flew to California. In the first two months of the project, more than 1,200 pets received vital care.
In April 2021, the ElleVet Project was formally established as the charitable arm of ElleVet Sciences.
Since the project started, the free service has treated about 5,000 to 6,000 pets, Howland told Mainebiz.
"We've grown every year and we've learned a lot. We've learned we have to the homeless communities and we know where they are and how best to serve them," she said.
This year, the project received permission to go to Native American reservations in Washington state and Montana to serve pets in need there.
"We go where it's not easy. We go where it's hard. That's where the greatest need is," Howland said. "We're always trying to see more people and more pets. On a personal note, it's so much more than I could have ever hoped for."
It takes about $150,000 a year to support the services provided by the ElleVet Project, Howland said. Some of the support comes donations, while other support comes from grants.
This year, ElleVet Sciences employees can sign up for a rotation with the project, adding to the care provided by local veterinarians in each city, as well as vet techs and veterinary students interested in a rotation in street or shelter medicine, Howland said.
"It takes an enormous amount of planning, financial support, veterinary professionals, and businesses to pull off such relief efforts and we are excited to see the impact we will make this year in helping thousands of pets," Kjaer said in a statement.
According to the ElleVet Project’s website, the group hopes to expand to two RVs or “Ellevans” soon and as many as four to five vans in different parts of the country by 2024.
The ElleVet Project has attracted supporters nationwide including animal-loving celebrities Demi Moore and Jane Lynch. "Dog influencers" such as Glee the Golden Retriever back the initiative too, the company said.
ElleVet Sciences, founded in 2017, says it is the first company to conduct clinical trials showing therapeutic benefits from a cannabinoid and terpene oil blend. The company has been growing rapidly and is now making inroads in Europe.
The attention ElleVet Sciences gets from its CBD products and celebrity connections puts it in the spotlight and the company frequently receives takeover offers, Howland said. But at least for now, it has no plans to accept.
"We like it the way it is now. We get offers all the time. But we're committed to the science and the research and still have work to do," Howland said.
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