Honoring a lifelong pledge

Like many other veterinary professionals, Kwane Stewart, DVM, knew from a young age he wanted to become a veterinarian. As a graduate of Colorado State University in 1997, he began his career as a shelter veterinarian. However, also like many other veterinary professionals, he began to experience burnout and was not sure if he wanted to stay in the profession. As it happens with superheroes in comic books, he had a moment in life that altered the course of his forever.

During his keynote address on day 2 of the 2024 Fetch dvm360 Conference in Long Beach, California, Stewart took attendees on the journey through his career from first patient he treated through his street medicine work. He also spoke about how an overheard moment that actor Brad Pitt was having with someone else reminded him how everyone, despite where you live or how much you have, is connected through pets.

Chance encounters

Kwane Stewart, DVM

For 5 years, Stewart served as a shelter veterinarian in Modesto, California, and did not realize the amount of euthanasia work would be included in his job. As he went through the years, he described feeling like a part of his soul was being stolen, so he began to consider leaving the position entirely. He explained that one day, about 3 years into the 5 years he spent there, he was outside of a 7-11 convenience store when he came across a man with a dog sitting outside that he had come across multiple times prior to that moment. Stewart noticed that the man's pet was suffering from a flea infestation and it was destroying his skin.

“I walked out to the gentleman, and I introduced myself. I said, 'my name is Dr Kwane Stewart. I see your dog has some sort of skin issue,' and he was exasperated, desperate. He said, ‘Yes, I don't know what's going on. I don't have any money. She's miserable. I'm miserable. She’s not eating. And I said, Well, if you're here tomorrow, I'll return with something that should help. That took me back to the shelter for 1 more day, and I returned as promised, and it was $3 out of my pocket and 5 minutes of my time. Sorry, $3 out of the shelter's pocket...I owe the shelter $3 to this day,” Stewart shared with the audience.

“I treated the dog, and then I saw the same man and the same dog about a week and a half later, the dog was transformed. The hair was coming back, the infection was gone. She jumped up on me and gave me a kiss, and the man was sitting the exact same spot with tears in his eyes just said, ‘Thank you for not ignoring me’”

Stewart shared that this is the moment that stopped him from leaving the veterinary profession and began his work as a street veterinarian. In that moment with the man outside of 7-11, Stewart made a pledge to never stop helping those in need like him, and 13 years later, her kept his promise.

He stayed at the shelter for 2 more years, helping it go from one of the worst in the country with a 35% live release rate to nearly 80%, with a brand-new facility, educational programs, and more. Stewart credits this to the being probably the proudest time of his career. He would also then pack a bag and head to Skid Row in Los Angeles, walking the streets looking for those experiencing homelessness with pets to help provide care.

There is no hard medicine on the street, Stewart explained to attendees. A lot of the time, he is treating fleas, allergies, and lameness, and providing prevention and wellness care.

Stewart then shared the story about meeting Richard. Although he was not unhoused at the time they met, Richard had been unhoused in the past, was a veteran who suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and night terrors from witnessing combat. Stewart explained that the only thing that Richard said would help him is his dog, Courtney. The 2 crossed paths because Richard brought Courtney into the clinic because she was not urinating, and Stewart found she had 300 bladder stones.

“I wasn't trying to judge him, but we got to talk, and told me he lived in the trailer, and he was on Social Security, and just came by and I went back to make the estimates, and I was going to present it to him. I said, 'well, let's just treat Courtney today, get her in tomorrow, and we'll figure out the surgery portion when you come back,'” said Stewart.

“I knew that if I presented an estimate of $3000 it'd probably be hard for him to see that through. I said, 'would you mind,' and I didn't have the biggest social media at the time, 'if I posted your story on social media? See what kind of response I got? Maybe I can raise some money.' He said 'sure,' and that he didn't expect much. I didn't expect much [either]. I posted the story, and within 2 days, we raised $13,000 for Courtney,” he shared.

When they came back to the clinic, Stewart told them what had happened and that her care was paid for, asking what they wanted to do with the rest of the money. Richard told Stewart to keep the rest to pay it forward to someone else in with a pet in need.

Stewart today

Fast forward 13 years later, Stewart has kept his original promise to that man outside of 7-11 and his pet by providing care to pets, and their owners. He has worked with Richard to build free pet food banks on Skid Row, is working on legislation to help keep pets and their owners together, and has brought Project Street Vet to cities all over the United States. In 2023, Stewart was one of the finalists for the CNN’s 2023 Hero of the Year Award and subsequently won.

To close his lecture, Stewart shared that he has served as a animal safety representative for Netflix the last 9 years. During his time in this position, he had the chance to work on site for the movie Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood. He shared with the Fetch audience that he would stand on the side monitoring the animals to make sure they were safe. During his time, he happened to overhear a conversation between Brad Pitt and another person on set, and he thought about what he had heard while he was walking on Skid Row later that day.

“I’m walking the streets, and meet a gentleman, and we get to talking about his dog. After while I was treating the dog. Now, earlier that same day, when I was on set with Brad, when he was stepping out [of the scene], I heard him for a little bit gushing about a dog. He [was saying] 'I come home, and she's there.' And I love hearing that he didn't sound like one of the most famous people in the world. He just sounded like a normal guy,” Stewart said.

“And when I was on the streets meeting this gentleman, whose name you will never know, he started talking about his dog. I swear, if I had closed my eyes for just a moment and thought about just 2 hours prior, again, this man, gushing about his dog and one of the most famous people in the world talking about their dog, they sounded like the exact same person. I thought that was so cool. It just reminded me how much animals, pets, their lives reduce us to just people, right? There's this really cool thread or connection that animals create between 2 human beings, and it was, it was one of my favorite experiences,” he concluded.

Stewart told the audience that this moment made him feel so lucky to be doing what he was doing and to have the career that he has. To close out his lecture, he wanted the audience to know that the people that are experiencing homelessness in their cities or the cities they visit for conferences. They just need help for something they love so deeply, their pets.

Reference

Stewart K. Why We Don’t Stop: The Unique Animal that is a Veterinarian. Presented at: Fetch dvm360 Conference; Long Beach, CA. December 6-8, 2024.