Help for Your Pet When You Are in Crisis
Resources to help you feed and care for your pet.
Betty (not White) swaggered into the waiting area from the back room of the veterinary clinic. She halted at my feet, stood erect and scanned the room with sharp eyes and the confidence of a general.
The veterinarian knelt beside Betty, stroking her sleek black fur, shimmering like polished onyx. “She’s part Schipperke, bred for the role of watch dog on barges in Belgium. Her size may be small, but she’s mighty.” (Does that sound like a favorite TV star we knew and loved who has sadly passed?!)
The vet handed me Betty’s leash. The little black foster dog followed me out the door like she’d known me forever. But she hadn’t.
The week before I met Betty, she’d been surrendered to a local animal control unit when her family could no longer afford her care. It was noted in Betty’s file how a little boy and girl cried as they said goodbye, their mother pleading for help. She said she’d gladly care for Betty forever if the impound would help pay for Betty’s medical needs. She wanted her spayed to prevent unwanted pups.
There were no resources for that type of help a decade ago when we fostered Betty for Second Chance Animal Rescue but help for people with pets is expanding like rays of a rising sun.
Pets are Impacted by People in Crisis
The vast majority of animal control, impound facilities, shelters and rescue organizations, live and breathe animal care.
It’s all they can do to keep animals fed, clean kennels if time and resources exist, attend to medical needs when funds exist, and move out who they can when they can to make room for more in need.
Who Will Let the Dogs Out is a must follow for anyone interested or involved in animal rescue and welfare. It’s a mind-expanding study of rural shelters in the southern U.S.
In communities where awareness about animal overpopulation and welfare is growing, more hands on deck have led to more heads in the game and a willingness to share lessons learned. This has led to a clearer picture of why animals like Betty are surrendered.
It’s no surprise to learn that when the proverbial “shit hits the fan” animals are impacted. People without a safety net turn to animal surrender when faced with:
Unemployment and underemployment
Housing insecurity
Hospitalization or long-term rehabilitation
Relationship changes
Death of a family member or friend
Disasters like hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes
Family violence
Military deployment
Social Services for People with Pets are Growing
The response to this knowledge has been an increase in the number of organizations offering surrender prevention services.
Those services help two-fold. They keep loved pets out of shelters and in their homes. Fewer animals in shelters can translate to better care for animals in shelters.
While the numbers of organizations offering social services for people with pets is still small, the good news is there are too many to list here! I’ve included big names below as well as some that are near and dear to my heart.
Chuck ‘N Don's Pet Wellness Center run by SecondHand Hounds rescue includes the People and Pets Together program. Visitors can get free pet food and supplies, bring their dogs for behavioral training and access free wellness services provided by their partner The Street Dog Coalition.
Leech Lake Legacy has grown from a surrender-only program to a wellness clinic with spay and neuter services for animals from indigenous communities in northern Minnesota.
Second Chance Animal Rescue provides financial assistance through their Community Outreach Program. Many local shelters and rescues around the country offer similar programs.
The Humane Society of the United States “Pets for Life Program” reaches many areas of the country to help provide services to people with pets living in poverty.
The Street Dog Coalition provides free medical care and related services to pets of people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. They have volunteer teams in more than 50 cities in the U.S.
Maddie’s Fund is a large family foundation tirelessly working to keep pets and people together through direct support to shelters across the country. If you work or volunteer for a rescue or shelter, be sure to search this website. There are many ways to access their help and to learn from their research.
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University has a variety of community outreach programs to serve the pets of people in need. They offer free wellness clinics for preventative care, routine check-ups, and vouchers for spay/neuter.
These types of community outreach programs are offered by veterinary schools around the country, so check out the veterinary school near you. If you don't live "near" a vet school, call anyway. Many vet students travel to remote locations to deliver services!
The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and College of Social Work is the country’s first veterinary social work program, training students to attend to the human needs that arise with veterinary work and pet ownership.
In Crisis? No Judgment
Don’t hesitate to seek help. The tide is shifting from surrender as a means for animal welfare to surrender prevention as the path to improve the welfare of people and the pets they love.
Got a Few Dollars? Be a Hero
The #BettyWhiteChallenge may be over (her birthday continues to be celebrated on January 17), but the need to support shelters and rescues is not. You can still donate in Betty White’s name or donate in the name of a friend who volunteers their time. The animals and the people you’ve helped will be grateful.