Animal Welfare Professionals

Looking for anyone willing to share a policy concerning allowing rescues to pull for emergency medical care.  Dealing with a municipal shelter who has rescues willing to pull during stray hold to treat (and return to owner if one shows up), but are being denied and animals euthanized.  They have no veterinarian on board nor do they contract with one.  Would like to send some options to city council for consideration in adopting a new policy.  Your input is greatly appreciated.

We have a program call "Good Samaritan" which is for medical fostering.  It allows an individual or group to take an animal in our shelter to a private veterinarian for treatment understanding that they do not own the animal and the owner may reclaim it.  It also requires that the veterinary hospital understands that the good sam is not the owner but is willing to pay for the animals treatment.  All sign a contract.  We put out please on social media asking people to step up when we have a difficult medical case.

Attachment(s)

Good Samaritan Program_LA Animal Services.pdf   167 KB 1 version

So helpful. Thank you very much.

Ingrid

How do you keep people from taking advantage of this program? We would like to offer help with spay/neuter but are afraid people who can afford to pay on their own will apply.

There really isn't a way for anyone to take advantage of this particular program.  The good sam pays for all of the medical care for our animal at a private hospital knowing that the owner may claim the animal and is not required to reimburse them.  We use this program for animals that are beyond our ability to medically sustain in the shelter environment - hit by car with internal or head trauma, parvo, etc.

For s/n services, that is completely different.  We have a program to provide s/n vouchers to be redeemed at participating private veterinarians.  The first is a voucher for $30 off the cost which is available to all City residents with proof of residency and the second is a voucher for a free s/n with proof of residency and proof of low income.