PDSA vet goes extra mile in London Marathon

09 March 2023

A PDSA vet is set to go the extra mile for the pets in her care after signing up to this year’s TCS London Marathon.

Laura Scowen, who lives in Greenwich, is a graduate vet at Thamesmead PDSA Pet Hospital but is swapping her scrubs for her running kit on Sunday 23 April to take on the 26.2 mile challenge.

The 26-year-old said she’s seen first-hand the impact PDSA has on families and wanted to do something to give back.

“I not only work at PDSA, but I have been a client too,” she explained. “My cat Macy had to have her eye removed when I was younger and I remember how helpful PDSA staff were with me and my family.

“I’ve always wanted to work for them since then really, I knew I wanted to work with animals and so trained to be a vet. It’s my dream job!”

Laura added that working inside the hospital and seeing how many pets and families need PDSA’s help inspired her to run for the charity in the marathon.

“I wouldn’t say I was a keen runner, but I like to run, this is certainly the biggest challenge I’ve taken on though. I’ve never run a long distance event like this but I’m enjoying my training and think it’s going well.”

Laura is already half way towards her fundraising target of £2,000 thanks to the help of her friends and family.

“My friends and family have been very generous with donations,” she explained. “I’ve also done bake sales and my nan has knitted some lovely dog coats which we’ve been selling to raise money, too.”

Thamesmead Pet Hospital is one of 48 PDSA Pet Hospitals across the country which delivers free and low cost veterinary care to poorly pets in need. In 2022, the hospital on Eynsham Drive saw almost 10,000 pets.

Lucy Povall, Fundraising Manager at PDSA, said: “We’re all so thankful to Laura for supporting PDSA at this year’s London Marathon. Her generous fundraising efforts will enable us to continue our life-saving work, treating pets whose owners have nowhere else to turn, which is more vital than ever in the current Cost of Living crisis. It is thanks to the incredible support of kind-hearted people like Laura that we are able to provide vital treatment for poorly animals and make a real difference to their owners.”

PDSA relies on donations to deliver life-saving treatment to hundreds of thousands of pets across its 48 Pet Hospitals in the UK. To keep families together, 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.