Basildon celebrates 20 years of helping local pets

08 March 2023

Hip hip hooray, three cheers for the vets at Basildon’s PDSA Pet Hospital as it celebrates its 20th year of helping the town’s pets in need. 

The Coco Markus Centre on High Road in Vange first opened on 19 February 2003 - since then it has treated over half a million animals.

One of 49 PDSA Pet Hospitals in the UK, the talented team has treated sick and injured pets in need for two decades, providing a vital lifeline for local owners who are struggling to afford vet care.

Head Nurse Dawn Gould has worked at the hospital since it first opened in 2003. She said:  “Working at PDSA is always interesting and rewarding - no two days are the same!”

Dawn and her dedicated team saw 9,686 pets in 2022, with appointments ranging from major life-saving surgery and x-rays, to routine vaccinations and treatment of long-term illnesses.   

The idea of a veterinary service for the pets of those most in need first came to PDSA founder Maria Dickin when she visited some of London’s poorest communities over 100 years ago. She was shocked by the dire human poverty, but it was the sight of animals suffering in silence that she found unbearable.

The plight of these animals struck Maria again when her own beloved dog became seriously ill. She was lucky enough to be able to afford vet fees, but what about the pets of those who couldn’t?

After a long struggle for funding, Maria Dickin finally opened the doors to the first People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals in 1917.

100 years later and PDSA relies on donations to deliver life-saving treatment to hundreds of thousands of pets across its 48 Pet Hospitals in the UK. 

The hospital opened after incredible fundraising efforts from the Basildon PDSA Fundraising Group which was formed in 1995 as well as a £750,000 donation from The Margarete Markus Will Trust in memory of Mrs Markus, who was known as ‘Coco’.

To keep families together this winter, the charity is urgently calling on the public’s support more than ever to prevent vulnerable people having to make a truly heart-breaking decision. To find out more about PDSA’s vital work during the cost-of-living crisis, or to donate, visit www.pdsa.org.uk/costoflovingcrisis.