A special commitment is the SUST social work for animals:
Many people affected by poverty have an animal by their side as their only partner, but can hardly afford the upkeep or even veterinary care for their four-legged friend. This is a Swiss problem that hardly anyone talks about: untreated diseases, lack of parasite treatments and also unwanted offspring (due to lack of finances for neutering) are the sad consequences and affect the lives of both animal and pet owner. Many health problems could be solved in their early stages if these people had a contact person for the problems of their animals; however, often they and their animals do not get access to veterinary practices because they lack the financial means or the people are unwelcome as addicts. The result of this is: the animals suffer in silence for months or years until they eventually often have to be put down.
The Susy Utzinger Foundation for Animal Welfare cooperates with alley works, animal boards, social welfare offices and integration projects throughout Switzerland and supports these animal owners on various levels:
- Feed deliveries: SUST delivers animal feed to its partners for free distribution to pet owners affected by poverty.
- Veterinary care: SUST veterinarians are regularly at various locations in Switzerland. These missions provide first aid and treat, vaccinate, deworm animals.
- Neutering: SUST covers the costs for dog and cat neuterings at its partner veterinarians.
- Material donations: The SUST delivers animal utensils to its partners in Switzerland so that these materials can be given free of charge to marginal animal owners.
- Education and prevention: With its well-founded expertise, the SUST (or the SUST veterinary team on the occasion of consultation hours) educates animal owners about topics relevant to animal welfare by means of brochures or in personal conversations and thus helps to avoid dangerous situations for the animals.