Treating people and their pets with dignity

For many people, their pet is their lifeline and mental health support. We know from separation anxiety, cuddles, and protective behaviours that the feeling is mutual! Across Canada, people face difficult decisions as they struggle with poverty, and sometimes those decisions involve the well-being of themselves and their best friend. VHS received a two-year grant from the B.C. government to create a training program for animal services providers to ensure their programs provide trauma-informed care to people and their pets. We’ve recruited Celeste Morales as Lead Researcher to do this work. Celeste has a Master’s in Sociology and wrote her thesis on poverty reduction. (See full bio.) Welcome Celeste!