Los Angeles 'Street Vet' treats the pets of the homeless

LOS ANGELES — Kilo, a muscular gray pit bull, stood staunchly by his homeless owner on L.A.'s skid row. His tongue lolled out, and his wide, square jaw was open as if he was grinning ear to ear.

"Is this your boy?" Dr. Kwane Stewart asked as he walked toward the pair.

Hector Abadin yanked on Kilo's leash and turned to walk away without saying a word.

"I'm a veterinarian," Stewart said. "I walk the area and find pets like yours and give free medical care."

Abadin stopped. He'd been living on the street for the previous year, and this was the first time he'd had a chance to get medical care for Kilo. He looked down at the dog, then up at Stewart.

"I have his girlfriend at home," he said in Spanish, pointing to Kilo. "She had puppies today. Come!"

For 12 years, exchanges like this have made up much of Stewart's free time. About twice a month, the San Diego veterinarian makes his way to homeless encampments in San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties, looking to provide free care to the pets of the homeless. He comes ready with medicines, vaccines, syringes and treats, offering to see the dogs and cats there on the street.

"These people out here who own pets, they're looking for a normal life, they're trying to get on their feet, they value companionship, and they need it," Stewart said. "There are some people out here who can educate you about being a pet parent."

It's a challenging task, Stewart admits, but a rewarding one. Pet ownership has been associated with decreased loneliness and improved mental health among homeless owners.

Studies estimate that, across the country, from 5 to 10% of the homeless population own pets and that close to half of those owners were denied shelter services because they refused to give up their pets.

Stewart had dreamed of being a veterinarian since he was 7, but that dream clashed with reality when he started to work at an animal shelter. He remembers owner after owner dropping off their dog or cat, keeping the shelter constantly overcrowded with unwanted pets. On some days, Stewart found himself euthanizing as many as 60 to 70 animals.

The job, Stewart said, left him depressed and questioning his choice of career.

Stewart stopped and asked if he could check out the animal, whose hair was falling out, his skin covered with bumps. He returned the next day with medication to treat an acute flea infestation.

"It was five minutes of my time and $3 out of my pocket," he said. "I helped that guy, and then all of a sudden I started taking notice of all the homeless people with pets."

He also started venturing out during his free time, looking for street pets.

"I started packing a bag and said, 'I'm just going to take the care to them,'" he said. "I did this in secrecy for seven years," he said.

He doesn't know why he kept it to himself, Stewart said. Perhaps he was worried that friends and family would question why he was donating his time and money so freely, or that they'd try to persuade him to stop or slow down, or that he'd be faced with unwanted opinions.

In 2012, Stewart became director of American Humane Society's No Animals Were Harmed program, monitoring that animals in films and TV shows were being safely handled. Then in 2017, while talking off-set with a producer, Stewart mentioned his work with the pets of homeless people.

The producer told Stewart his work could be the basis of a reality-TV show. The timing was perfect, Stewart said. He'd found that he wasn't recommending the expensive medical care that pets sometimes needed. Paying out of pocket was becoming a burden.

"It was starting to get exorbitant," he said. "If I wanted to keep doing this, and care for all the pets I come across, I had to do something different."

In 2019, 11 episodes of "Dr. Kwane: The Street Vet" aired on Canada's Cottage TV. The series showed Stewart visiting homeless encampments, offering free medical care, training and medicine for pets. Production of the show ended after one season, but episodes are still available online.

As a result of the show, Stewart's social media following rocketed, and pet product companies reached out, looking to partner with him.

"It's been humbling and eye-opening," Ian said. "These pets are loved as much or more as [those of] housed folks. I've seen it firsthand, that some of them will go [without food] for a night so their pet can eat, or travel long distances so their pet can get care."

On a January afternoon, Stewart followed Abadin past dozens of tents on skid row in Los Angeles. He pulled back the blue tarp of Abadin's tent.

Inside was another gray pit bull, Movie, nursing six newborn pups. Abadin took her in a couple of months back, he said, from a young guy who was addicted to drugs and told him he couldn't care for her anymore.

He also took in another pit bull, a month-old white-and-brown pup, after her owner told him he couldn't care for her.

The mother and her pups were healthy, Stewart said, but the white-and-brown pup seemed to have worms. Stewart gave the pup a vaccine and promised he'd be back in two weeks with a second vaccine dose and medicine.