Joanna Page Becomes Ambassador for Animal Charity

Bubbly actress, Joanna Page, is all set to fly the flag for pets as she takes on her new role as an Ambassador for PDSA.

Animal lover, Joanna (34), jumped at the chance to support PDSA when she heard the charity needs to raise £6 million to build three new replacement pet hospitals (at a cost of £2 million each), one of which is in her home country of Wales. The charity is fundraising to replace its outdated sites in Plymouth, Birmingham (Quinton) and Cardiff within the next three years.

Speaking about the charity’s Pet Hospital Appeal, Swansea-born Joanna said: "Pets are such an important part of people’s lives; I love my dog Daisy to bits and could not bear to be without her. PDSA helps hundreds of thousands of sick and injured pets, saving lives every day of the week and this service is funded entirely by public support.

“Giving the gift of life to pets in need is no mean feat, so supporting them was a very easy decision for me.

“The charity desperately needs to build new hospitals and, as one of these will be in my home country, and because I am probably one of the biggest animal lovers in the world, I want to do all I can to support the charity’s amazing work.

“I am going to be a very hands-on ambassador and will soon be visiting PDSA’s existing pet hospital in Cardiff to live and breathe life there. I’ve always wanted to work with animals and am looking forward to sitting in on consultations, meeting the pets and even observing some operations.”

PDSA Director General, Jan McLoughlin, says: "Joanna’s first job for the charity will give her an opportunity to roll up her sleeves and spend a day volunteering at the current pet hospital in Cardiff, one of three sites which desperately needs replacing.

“In recent years demand for PDSA’s services has risen dramatically and we’ve seen even more significant increases in Birmingham, Cardiff and Plymouth. PDSA’s PetAid hospitals in these areas can each see well over 150 pets in just one day and these numbers are really stretching our already limited resources.”

Joanna adds: “Being an Ambassador for the UK’s biggest pet charity is a really great honour and I know I will enjoy working with PDSA enormously. I am also planning plenty of fundraising activities which will hopefully include a trek to Peru.”

Jan adds: “PDSA is hugely grateful to Joanna for her support. Her infectious enthusiasm and deep love of animals shines through in all she does.”

Birmingham, Cardiff and Plymouth PetAid hospitals are no longer fit for purpose; the outdated layouts and limited capacity in each simply cannot sustain the increasing need. The equipment also desperately needs replacing and the ability to accommodate patients and their owners in the waiting rooms and car parks is increasingly challenging.

PDSA has 50 pet hospitals across the UK. In 2011 the charity provided more than 2.4 million PDSA-funded treatments and more than 420,000 preventive treatments. In 2012 delivery of PDSA PetAid services will cost over £60 million. The charity’s veterinary work is funded entirely by public support; mainly through gifts in wills, donations and trading.

Find out more information about the PDSA Pet Hospital Appeal, or to donate £2 Text ‘BUILD’ to 70099.