Pets for Life
Overview
Poverty can limit—and can completely remove—options for pet wellness in communities without access to affordable veterinary services. Our Pets for Life program offers free services and innovative solutions to these communities.
175,000
Pets served through the Pets for Life program.
Less than $20,000
The average household income in some impoverished communities our program hopes to serve.
Around 25%
Rates of unemployment in some of the communities that need this program.
The issue
People with pets in impoverished communities often struggle to provide basic care. The majority of the animals will never see a veterinarian, with spay/neuter rates a fraction of the national average.
Friends of HSI’s US affiliate, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), created the Pets for Life program in 2009 to address this issue and to help reduce the critical lack of veterinary care for pets in poverty. Friends of HSi is now conducting the Pets for Life program in Canda, offering an innovative alternative to traditional models of solving companion animal problems in impoverished communities. More specifically, we provide the following services:
- Spay/neuter, vaccinations and other medical care;
- behaviour consultations and dog training classes;
- crisis response, including emergency veterinary care; and
- supplies such as leashes, collars, crates and pet food.