On Wednesday, September 30, 2026 at 11am Pacific / 1pm Central / 2pm Eastern we looked at services can help keep pets and families together. Our guest speakers were @TERRYL Daluz and @Andrea Carter of Loving Paws, Inc., a dedicated non-profit animal organization that assesses the needs of low-income pet owners and their beloved animals with a mission to provide essential support and care for pets in underserved communities.
For a certificate of attendance for continuing education credit, please please watch the recording on Maddie's University.
Access to affordable, comprehensive veterinary care remains a significant challenge for underserved populations, including low-income individuals, older adults, people experiencing housing instability, and communities with limited access to animal health resources. Financial hardship, transportation barriers, limited veterinary services, and competing social needs can result in delayed or forgone care, affecting the health and well-being of both people and their pets. This presentation examines pet care wrap-around services as an integrated, community-based approach to addressing these barriers.
Services may include low-cost or subsidized veterinary and preventive care, pet food and supplies, transportation assistance, temporary pet housing, behavioral support, and connections to human social-service resources. Coordinating these services can support pet retention, reduce preventable relinquishment, and promote household health and stability. Loving Paws Inc.’s framework emphasizes cross-sector collaboration among veterinary providers, animal welfare organizations, public health agencies, social-service organizations, community-based groups, and local governments. By recognizing pets as integral members of households, this approach seeks to advance equity in access to essential pet care while supporting outcomes for both people and animals.
This webcast has been approved for CAWA and NACA continuing education credit.
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Please note: Views expressed on these calls are not necessarily endorsed by Maddie's Fund.
About our speakers
Andrea grew up surrounded by animals on her grandparents’ farm, where her pets provided comfort and companionship. After losing her grandparents as a teenager, Andrea experienced homelessness and lived in her car at just 17. With the support of a high school counselor, she graduated and went on to earn a B.A. from Cal State Poly, followed by a Master of Science in Counseling with an emphasis in Marriage, Family Therapy, and Child Therapy.
Driven by her own experiences with trauma and loss, Andrea has dedicated more than 20 years to supporting foster youth, Transitional Age Youth, domestic violence survivors, individuals experiencing substance abuse and mental health challenges, veterans, and people experiencing homelessness. She also spent more than a decade as the director of one of Los Angeles’ largest homeless shelters, overseeing multiple interim housing and safe-site programs.
A Certified Groomer and co-owner of Wash My Dog Salon with Terryl Daluz, Andrea’s personal and professional experiences inspired her to found the nonprofit Loving Paws, Inc. She is passionate about providing resources that help people remain united with their pets, regardless of their housing situation.
#AccesstoCare
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Alison Gibson
Media Projects Manager
Maddie’s Fund
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