What could be shorter and sweeter than summing up the success of our Shelter Intervention Program (SIP) for 2015 with a cool graphic? Last year 79% of the cases that came to our South LA Shelter intervention office needed financial assistance to pay for medical care, spay /neuter, a pet deposit, a dog run installed at their home, or fence repair done in their yard. All of our families were unable to afford these needs on their own.

With so many free spay/neuter resources out there now, that issue was the easiest problem to fix. But it was more challenging to figure out how to pay for a puppy dying of parvo, or a cat who would not eat, or a dog who was hit by a car or attacked by another dog. Furthermore, there were severe dentistry cases, wound care, tumor removal, ear and eye infections, blood work and so much more that required us to dig deep into our organization’s funds.

We were able to do it because of our major supporter, Found Animals Foundation. Without their grant, the SIP program would not exist and we could not have said yes to all of these people and all of these animals. We also want to thank LA Animal Services for being a great partner and for allowing us to be in the shelter, helping the families who need us. We were able to prevent 1272 pets from entering the South LA Shelter in 2015. That impacts not only those animals, but all the others who get to stay at the shelter longer, at less risk of running out of space and time, until their adopters are found.

Lastly, we must thank all of YOU who support this program and make it possible for us to keep pets in their first home, forever home. Because you know that we all need help sometimes, that the very fingers pointing blame can be used to extend a hand. Thank you for being our hand.

And now we’ll let these statistics speak for themselves. Feel free to share them!

You’ve heard us say it many times before: What’s happening in our shelters isn’t a “pet problem” — it’s a poverty problem. There were many days when we felt like we were shouting it to no one, telling it to the walls. It’s human nature to get stuck looking at things one way, and we understand that. But we knew the approach had to shift, to look deeper, and we always believed if we just kept up our work, kept seeing the truth and sharing the truth, that eventually someone would see it for themselves. We did not expect that the great, big ASPCA could be that someone.

The ASPCA is in our corner and conducting a formal research project about this very topic. The ASPCA’s findings show, like ours have and continue to, that because people living at or below the poverty level might not be able to afford medical care to treat a pet’s issue (however small or large – or even simply spay/neuter), they often see turning their animal into the shelter as the only option. It’s a choice made out of necessity and in some cases kindness; not often out of carelessness. Their research also proves that given the opportunity to receive assistance and keep their pets at home, most families gratefully accept.

“… the shelter was often the first and only solution they sought for their pet, and more than 80% of those we surveyed were unaware that there might be support for them to retain their pet,” the article points out. “When the relinquishment group was given the choice of proceeding to the shelter after completing the survey or pursuing information about services that could help them keep their dog, 88% of them chose to pursue services. Yes—88%.”

We hope that these are the kind of hard facts that will dissolve judgment, and turn the wasted energy of blaming into the productive energy of extending a helping hand. We hope that these are the kind of hard facts that will keep many more animals out of the shelter, as we seek to do, because there comes a time in everyone’s life when a helping hand is a lifeline. It only takes a walk through the shelter kennels to see the need.

Furthermore, the ASPCA’s article states, “What we did find was a pattern of increased perceived stress in the relinquisher’s home, as well as emotional attachment to the dog—but an inability to provide the necessary care due to financial reasons and a lack of awareness of potential available resources. In plain speak, relinquishers loved their pets and saw relinquishment as the only solution available to them.”

Can you imagine caring about your pet so much that you leave them at the animal shelter because you want more for them? Can you imagine having no other options, or thinking there is no other way, and what it must feel like to walk out the door with your dog barking goodbye? What if instead a person could be […]