Paws For A Purpose: DR MARK KELMAN

While we all appreciate our vets when they’re taking care of our beloved pets, outside of this, some vets are also busy making a difference in other ways. One example is Australian vet Dr Mark Kelman who, along with some colleagues, created a charity called Paws for a Purpose. This organisation is having a truly positive impact when it comes to assisting in-need people and their pets around the country. We spoke with Dr Kelman to learn more.

Dr Kelman, can you please introduce us to Paws for a Purpose?

Paws for A Purpose is a charity dedicated to helping pets and in-need people. While there are quite a few charities that focus on helping or rescuing animals, there was a gap when it came to help being offered to in-need people looking after their pets. Many people with pets are doing it tough but can’t afford to look after them or are finding it hard to cope.

Unfortunately, a lot of society believes if you don’t have money, or in some way aren’t physically capable, you shouldn’t have a pet. But pets are so important to people from all walks of life. We feel that everyone deserves the companionship and love that pets bring. So, why can’t society help those who are more vulnerable to look after their pets, instead of alienating them?

We’ve developed a range of Premium Beef Treats – containing 100 per cent Australian meat and no added preservatives, no colourings, no fillers, no starches and no artificial flavours – with 100 per cent of our profits channeled back into our organisation and projects.

Our first and major focus area right now is trying to stop Canine Parvovirus, known as ‘Parvo’. What’s so important about this is that around 20,0000 puppies and dogs catch Parvo every year in Australia, with half of these – mostly puppies – sadly dying. We’ve done four months of ‘vaccination clinics’ and so far helped vaccinate close to 400 puppies and dogs belonging to disadvantaged people in rural areas. We want to have vaccinated over 1000 by the end of the year, and then to accelerate our reach!

We’ve just launched a new Parvo monitoring system, too, after years of research. We also promote our partner charity, Pets in the Park – helping the homeless care for their pets. In addition, we’ve got our sights set on helping other areas of the community, such as the elderly and even those who suffer mental illness or through domestic violence.

Who are the people behind the organisation?

So many people help to run our charity, and every one of them (all volunteers) are passionate about pets and helping people. The charity started with an idea and a small team of directors – myself, Ms Tessa Biddles (a marketing and communications specialist who has just left the Board), and passionate pet-andpeople veterinarian, Dr Michael O’Donoghue. Plus, the team has grown as we’ve added more volunteers and a few more directors.

Two new Board Directors, Zoe Cobden-Jewitt and Victoria Hogg, recently joined the team and we are looking to welcome another soon. Zoe’s expertise lies with fundraising, philanthropy and charitable development while Victoria’s skill set is in strategic planning, risk assessment, leadership, organisational management and structuring.

As for me, I am a vet, as well as a scientific researcher, and I’ve done work with a number of organisations in the past, including working at RSPCA, and volunteering at Wayside Chapel in Sydney’s Kings Cross. I am also a Director of another vet charity, Pets in the Park – which focuses on helping people experiencing homelessness to care for their pets.

How does Paws for A Purpose differ from other pet-related social enterprises?

There are three big differences that I see. The first is, our focus is not just on pets, but helping pets and people. And more specifically trying to address the issues that are tearing apart people and their pets, or stopping them from having pets.

Our focus is not just on pets, but helping pets and people.”

The second difference I see between us and other pet-related social enterprises is that we are adamant that we don’t want to just raise money for a cause. We are 100% working actively on discovering where the real problems lie and then working on implementation of an holistic and permanent solution. At the end of the day, we want to see meaningful change, and once we fix one issue we will be moving on to the next one. We listen to our supporters and the community about where they feel the issues lie.

We are 100% working actively on discovering where the real problems lie and then working on implementation of an holistic and permanent solution.

The third difference is that 100% of the money we generate through our product sales goes back into the charitable work we do. There are a few social enterprises for pets that have started in the last few years that give a percentage of their profits to charities, but the rest goes back to their founders or directors. They aren’t a charity themselves. We are a charity, and this ensures that all the money we make goes to our purpose.

How can people support Paws for a Purpose?

Our treats are available from veterinary clinics across Australia, as well as pet stores, dog groomers and are also sold by some independent resellers – people who buy in bulk and sell to their friends. The best place to find out where to get the treats is to check out our website at https://www.pawsforapurpose.org/our-supporters.html where all our stockists are listed. But if your local vet clinic, pet store, etc, isn’t currently stocking our treats and you would like them to, then please do approach them and get them to contact us! You can also buy them from our website, especially if you wanted to buy in bulk.

Plus, we’re looking for sponsors and funding so that we can expand our organisation and our reach. If you know of any interested sponsors or if you wish to donate, you can email us at info@pawsforapurpose.org or donate at https://www.pawsforapurpose.org/donatenow.html. People who are skilled, self-motivated, who have time available to dedicate, and who want to join our volunteer team can also contact us as we’d love to hear from you.

Get your Paws for a Purpose Premium Dog Treats from Monty & Minx Vets, Calamvale.

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Here’s the link: www.pawsforapurpose.org/news