Getting involved with social organisations

With the support of the award, the winners can increase the positive input they make to their communities in the future and help to tackle some of the most urgent social issues. This includes initiatives such as free veterinary care for homeless pet owners, pet-assisted intervention and pet visits for people experiencing difficult life circumstances or with special needs.

The three organisations receiving this year’s Better with Pets Prize are:  

Pets As Therapy (PAT), a national charity supporting the health and wellbeing of thousands of people across the UK. The non-profit organisation offers therapeutic pet visits to establishments such as care homes, hospitals, hospices, schools and prisons. More than 400 000 people benefit from PAT visits every year, according to Purina.  

Center de Teràpies Assistides amb Cans (CTAC), the mission of which is to improve the quality of life of people through pet-assisted intervention and therapies. Since 2000, the CTAC method has utilised the advantages of the human-pet bond to help those facing difficult life situations (e.g. during a stay in hospital).  

StreetVet is a multi-award-winning British charity providing free veterinary care to the pets of people experiencing homelessness. The bond between many homeless people and their dogs is extremely close, and so the health and wellbeing of their canine companions is often especially important. Living on the streets makes it difficult to access the necessary care for pets, however. The StreetVet team, composed of veterinarians and animal keepers, has already provided support to over 2 000 homeless people and their pets in the UK.  

The Better with Pets Prize recognises the work of these organisations, which are committed to improving health and wellbeing through the power of the human-pet bond, with grants totalling 200 000 euros over two years. Purina aims to support the growth of the organisations honoured and help them to expand the reach of their projects while at the same time creating a European network of like-minded social organisations. This should enable knowledge to be accumulated and experiences exchanged with a view to making an even greater contribution to addressing the issues of interest. Purina emphasises its awareness of its corporate social responsibility and for this reason not only wants to offer financial support to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) committed to these initiatives, but also to raise awareness of the important work they do. Against this background, the company will publish a report summarising the data of more than 110 organisations in 23 countries that applied for the Better with Pets Prize. This is intended to provide an overview of the current ecosystem and identify the gaps that still have to be filled.  

In September 2022, Purina put forward six new initiatives for a more sustainable future. As part of its wider response, the company would like to improve the health and wellbeing of 1 000 000 people in need by 2030. The Better with Pets Prize is intended to help achieve this goal. With the relaunch of the Prize, Purina hopes to underpin the growth of organisations that are having an impact and help them to offer assistance, e.g. by way of an assistance or therapy dog, to more people.  

romoting our sustainability targets to respond to the needs of our planet, it is important not to forget the social element introduced by the United Nations. With this award and our input, Purina wishes to contribute by enabling effective organisations to grow and be able to help even more people across Europe,” explains Jeff Hamilton, CEO of Purina Europe.