Animal Welfare Professionals

Hello everyone,

We are Tracy Dog Girls Rescue, located in a rural area of California, and we are seeking advice and best practices for supporting our local houseless population, many of whom are pet owners. A significant number of individuals experiencing homelessness have pets, and some are hesitant about spaying and neutering due to various reasons, including lack of trust in available services and concerns about their pets' well-being.

In addition, we often encounter roaming dogs where we cannot locate the owners. These animals are sometimes left without care or medical attention, making it even more difficult to provide the help they need.

While we offer resources such as spay/neuter assistance and medical care, we face challenges with follow-up and maintaining engagement. We want to ensure that we are being as respectful and understanding as possible, while also providing access to the care that these animals need.

If anyone here has experience or insight working with houseless individuals and their pets, we'd appreciate guidance on:

• Approaches to build trust with pet owners who may be facing multiple barriers to accessing veterinary care.
• Strategies for handling roaming dogs where the owners are not easily identifiable or reachable.
• Effective strategies for conducting follow-ups in a compassionate and supportive way, recognizing the unique challenges faced by individuals in these situations.
• Resources, literature, or programs that have been effective in addressing pet care within underserved communities.

We are committed to serving the diverse needs of our community and ensuring that all pets, regardless of their owners' circumstances, receive the care they deserve. Your advice and experiences would be invaluable as we continue to grow and adapt our programs.

Thank you so much for your support and for any guidance you can offer.

#AccesstoCare
#CommunityPartnerships*
#PetSupportServices*

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Kaycee Olague
Administrative Officer
Tracy Dog Girls Rescue
CA
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Hi Kaycee,

I support a program at our shelter that is also trying to better help the houseless community and their pets. I share many of the same questions that you do, and we are at the beginning stages of building trust with those pet owners.

One thing that has helped us, is building partnerships with organizations that directly serve the houseless community. So, for instance, there is a local mutual aid group dedicated to supporting people and their pets, and they already have trust within the community we're looking to serve. We help the end clients through the mutual aid group. The mutual aid group serves as that trusted partner, which helps to build our credibility and trust within the houseless community. We also started working with a nonprofit that provides housing for the chronically unhoused and we work with them in a similar capacity. We support the nonprofit who then works with the end client. It has been working so far, albeit slow going, but we have had a few end clients work with us directly as a result of these partnerships, which is great! 

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Alicia Curley
Program Coordinator
Humane Society of Huron Valley
MI
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Hi Kaycee - I live in Eugene, Oregon where there is a group dedicated to helping homeless folks and their furry companions.  I have not worked with them but they have a great reputation and have been here for a long time.  Here are the links & some information -- I think looking at what they have online and even contacting them could give you a lot of insight.... 

1. proboneo.org

   https://www.proboneo.org

   Home - Pro-Bone-O

   Welcome to Pro-Bone-O, Lane County's only non-profit solely dedicated to providing free veterinary services, food, and supplies for the pets of people who are homeless in our community. We operate two free clinics per month in a space at the Eugene Mission, located at 1509 West 1st Avenue. Each volunteer-run clinic offers veterinary exams, vaccinations, flea treatments, food, and referrals ...

   • Address: P.O. Box 1823 Eugene, OR 97440 Phone: 541-799-0441 Please…

   • The following pet-related businesses are also acting as supply…

   • Pro-Bone-O is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides…

   • We operate two free clinics per month in a space at the Eugene…

   • Amazon Park Animal Clinic (541) 485-0161; Animal Health Associates…

   • proboneo.org

     https://www.proboneo.org › clinicdetails

     Clinic Details - Pro-Bone-O

     Dec 8, 2023We operate two free clinics per month in a space at the Eugene Mission. Each volunteer-run clinic offers no-cost veterinary exams, vaccinations, flea & deworming treatments, referrals for spay/neuter procedures, food, supplies and mo

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Jean Harman
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