OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE

It’s an honour to welcome you to my first annual review as Chief Executive of this extraordinary charity. Thank you to our Board of Trustees, the senior management team and our army of wonderful staff and volunteers for putting their trust in me, and for the incredibly warm and supportive welcome I have received.

Mayhew is very unique. For nearly 140 years, we have been here, right at the heart of the communities in which we operate, providing a lifeline to thousands of animals and nurturing them according to their individual needs. What sets us apart is our physical presence in the communities we serve – understanding what we can do to relieve the pressure that dogs, cats and people face, and delivering our help free of charge and without judgement.

I’m so proud of the way our teams go above and beyond each day to give dogs and cats the care, support and love they deserve.

But this is not an easy time for animal welfare charities, here or abroad. The prevailing economic and social conditions in which we are all living affect our work daily. Like our peers in the sector, we are seeing soaring demand for our services, rising costs, and challenges in sourcing adopters and foster carers and retaining a full complement of staff and volunteers. At the same time, as a charity relying significantly on the generosity of the public to fund our work, we are not immune to pressures on income as scores of people feel less able to give to the causes they love in these challenging times.

The surge in demand for our services is palpable. Our community vet clinic in London routinely operates waiting lists for pet owners seeking preventative treatments for their dogs and cats, which we offer free of charge to those who otherwise could not afford it.

There is also a very worrying increase in people turning to us for support support to rehome their pet dogs and cats. In UK Pet Food’s recent Cost of Living survey of nearly 9,000 households, the results were sobering: 13% relinquished their pet during 2022, with that figure rising to 20% amongst younger owners aged 16-24. Dogs were the most commonly relinquished pet at 47% and cats followed at 36%. In our own annual survey of Londoners, we found that the percentage of people who believe pets have a positive impact on wellbeing has more than halved since 2021, a worrying viewpoint when we know people are increasingly weighing up their ability to keep or take on pet dogs and cats. At the same time as having to operate waiting lists to manage our capacity, we are having to work very hard to find new ways to reach more prospective adopters and foster carers, as they too struggle to make ends meet within their households.

But there is a way through this. Whether in London or abroad, we are unwavering in our commitment to reach many more dogs and cats through our expert care and support so that dogs and cats are healthy, and loved for life, by communities who care for them and respect them.

Our veterinary work here and abroad helps thousands of dogs, cats and people avoid disease and makes a lasting difference to their health and wellbeing. This work also makes it possible for those animals living in low welfare environments to find improved living conditions or loving homes. Mayhew’s knowledge and expertise in the veterinary profession, here and abroad, is a huge source of pride.

We speak to people in our communities every day and know our work can be the difference between life and death; between hope and despair. People like Colin (page 14) who stopped buying himself essential items so that he could continue to provide for his cats; or Alisa (page 13) who would have cancelled her life-altering surgery if she couldn’t find temporary care for her beloved dog, Major.

We will continue to do whatever it takes to be there for dogs, cats and people like Colin and Alisa and families who would be facing heart-breaking choices without Mayhew.

Watch out for Mayhew in 2023 and beyond – we are ambitious and full of energy to provide even more preventative care and support to dogs, cats, pet owners and communities who need us. We are improving how we work, being even more intentional and impact-led in our approaches. The opportunities for us to broaden our reach and deepen our impact are clear – read more about our plan for the year ahead on page 18.

This concept of being ‘here’ is so important to us: being here when and where we’re most needed, understanding our communities and working hard to get dogs and cats the care, support and love they deserve.

We can only achieve our goals by growing our family of supporters, organisations and partners, those who are as committed to being here for dogs and cats as we are. We really wouldn’t be here at all without our fantastic volunteers, our dedicated staff, our incredible funders and partners, our amazing supporters, donors and our friends across the communities in which we work.

Without you, we are powerless to do our work. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all.

Sherine Wheeler Chief Executive