About
What is The ElleVet Project?
Learn about us and our mission
The ElleVet Project is dedicated to providing free veterinary care and supplies to pets of the homeless and street pets who need veterinary care.
Established in 2020
The ElleVet Project was founded in March of 2020 in response to the Covid19 pandemic and the resulting dire need of homeless pets and people.
Pets Treated
In the first two months of the project, over 1200 pets were given needed veterinary care. Those numbers will grow exponentially as the project continues and expands across the country.
Traveling to the Homeless
We are unique, in that we go to where the homeless and their pets congregate, to treat the invisible pets of people who have no transportation or means to seek care.
Our Story
The ElleVet Project was founded in 2020 by Amanda Howland and Christian Kjaer in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowing that the homeless and their pets had fewer resources than ever and that the suffering and death toll would be high for street pets, they rented a 38 foot RV, bought medical supplies, hired a few veterinarians willing to go out on the street during the pandemic and flew out to California.
Over the summer of 2020, from May through July, the ElleVan, as the RV was nicknamed, traveled from San Diego to Northern California, going to the poorest and most in need parts of the state. From Skid Row to the Tenderloin district to Stockton, the team went to where the homeless and their pets congregated and worked morning to night every day, providing free veterinary care.
Over two months, the ElleVet Project treated over 1200 pets and met thousands of homeless. People routinely waited in line for 6-7 hours to receive care for their pets. The need was overwhelming, and even with a team of just three people, we made a massive impact on so many pets and people. This is a largely invisible group of animals in desperate need of care, so Christian and Amanda made the ElleVet Project a permanent philanthropic organization.
We could not be prouder of The ElleVet Project and set our sights on helping as many pets in need as we can all over the country. We hope you will join us on this journey!
Meet the ElleVet Project Co-Founders
Christian Kjaer
Co-Founder
Christian Kjaer founded ElleVet Sciences with Amanda Howland in 2017. Kjaer is credited with developing the business strategy for ElleVet and positioning the company for its current success in a crowded hemp CBD (cannabidiol) market, focusing on research-based products that deliver the best support for dogs and cats affecting mood, appetite, the immune system, and more. Kjaer was formerly a senior executive at Westbrook, Maine-based IDEXX Laboratories, a leader in pet healthcare innovation, including his role as president of its subsidiary OPTI Medical Systems, as well as his stints as vice president and general manager of its Water Division and the South Asia/Middle East/Africa Region. Additionally, his background includes tenures as CEO of European tech companies Cantion and Chempaq.
With an on-going passion to help all animals, Kjaer and Howland established ElleVet’s charity outreach program “ElleVet Project” in 2020, a mobile pet-relief effort that has them traveling to homeless areas throughout California providing free veterinary care, food and supplies to homeless pets and street pets, who are vulnerable in reaction to COVID-19.
A native of Copenhagen, Denmark, Kjaer received a master’s degree in business from the Copenhagen Business School. He originally came to the United States as a high school foreign exchange student in Mississippi, and later returned as an employee of IDEXX. Kjaer is a dog-lover and horse-riding and kayak enthusiast, who currently resides in Portland, Maine, the headquarters of ElleVet Sciences. He has two daughters and many pet friends.
Amanda Howland
Co-Founder
Amanda Howland founded ElleVet Sciences with Christian Kjaer in 2017. With a background in science, Howland has been instrumental in developing ElleVet’s proprietary product formulation of cannabinoid and terpene oil blend solutions for animals, as well as the company’s supply chain.
Howland has more than 20 years of experience in public health research and marketing and was responsible for creating ElleVet’s first clinical trial with the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. The trial was the first of its kind using a specific formula of CBD on dogs with osteoarthritis. It resulted in more than 80 percent of participating dogs showing significant or dramatic improvement while using the company’s proprietary hemp CBD animal products.
Howland and Kjaer expanded on their enthusiasm to care for animals in 2020 by creating a charity outreach program for ElleVet Sciences under the “ElleVet Project” banner. The mobile pet-relief program has the co-founders driving a branded 38-foot vehicle to homeless areas throughout California and partnering with local veterinarians to provide free veterinary care, food and supplies to homeless pets and street pets vulnerable in reaction to COVID-19.
A native of Wenham, Mass., a small town north of Boston, Howland earned a bachelor’s degree from Colby College and a master’s degree in public health from the University of New England. An avid horse rider, skier and life-long animal lover, she currently resides in Portland, Maine. She has three adult daughters and one doted-on dog named Cassie, a 12 year old Havanese.
