We are happy to report that in the first six months of 2022, our Pet Support Space program provides services for 2,808 pets (1829 dogs and 979 cats) Here is how the services ranked:
Veterinary Care – DDR provided a percentage up to 100% of the cost of care to prevent suffering, improve the lives of pets, and in some cases, provide life saving care. 1,658 pets received a wide range of care, including wellness exams, vaccinations, surgeries and treatment for chronic infections/pain.
Spay + Neuter surgeries – A total of 824 were paid for by DDR. For these surgeries, DDR usually pays the costs, making it free to the pet guardian, or they have a small co-pay of $20-$40, and we take advantage of the LA City free spay and neuter voucher program.
282 pets received a monthly supply of pet food and for some, supplies such as a new dog bed, a crate, leash + collar thanks to all of your donations and a special thank you to The Urban Pet stores for their product donations.
We paid for some or all of the cost of a shelter redemption, which is when a pet gets lost, is picked up and brought to a shelter, but the low income family cannot afford the fees to get their pet out of the shelter, or if we didn’t pay, their pet would remain in the shelter until they could save up the money to pay the fees, taking up kennel space.
We paid for 19 senior pets to be humanely euthanized so that their families could hold them, stay with them in the room until their last breath. Paying for humane euthanasia for a terminally ill, suffering pet can be expensive, especially when someone lives on a fixed income of less than $1,000 per month.
We referred 4 legal cases and 2 dogs received new dog houses in order to comply with a notice from the Department of Animal Services.
Dogs like Lacy, a three month old puppy who was diagnosed with parvo, is alive today because one of our counselors was able to listen to Lacy’s symptoms, identify potential parvo, get a same day appointment at a partner hospital, and assist Lacy’s guardian in getting a variety of resources, including DDR to cover the cost of saving this sweet pup’s life. Without the support of our counselor, this Spanish speaking client would have been overwhelmed and it would have been unlikely that Lacy would have received the quality care that she did.
All of this work does not include the veterinary care, spay/neuter and many other resources provided to homeless people with pets called our “Alameda Project” where we have a full time outreach worker visiting people with pets in tents, in their vehicles, collaborating with other agencies such as LAHSA to offer people and pets a way to move into permanent housing.
Some of the dogs that we meet on the street, who appear neglected /abused or abandoned and in poor shape, we have rescued. Dogs like our big boy “Pudge” are extremely grateful for a bed, two meals every day, clean water, and lots of love from our kennel staff and volunteers. Pudge has been hit by a car, and was left in the sun, chained to an RV where he didn’t have access to water when we first met him. He could barely walk, dragging his legs. Months later, he is now walking and wiggling, ready to be adopted
The day Pudge left the street
Look at Pudge now!
All of our work is possible because of your support. Please consider making a donation to help us expand the numbers of community pets that we can keep out of shelters and with the people who love them #becauseweallneedhelpsometimes
