Paws for Hope Animal Foundation’s Post

Excited to share a great news feature from Brooklyn Paper about the pet overpopulation crisis in New York City and how we solve it (link in comments). It's a must read if you want to know why animal shelters are always overcrowded and why we can't simply adopt our way out. Here are three important highlights: 1. Intakes are up, adoptions are down. Things are getting worse for shelters in NYC and around the country: “Animal Care Centers of New York, the city’s largest animal shelter, took in 7,440 animals between January and May 2024 — a 33% increase from the same period in 2021…While intakes are up at ACC, adoptions are down or stagnant.” In a recent update, ACC said "The same financial pressures that lead people to surrender their pets are the same ones preventing potential adopters from adding a pet into their home.” We simply cannot adopt our way out of this. But we CAN make veterinary care more affordable, which makes pet ownership more accessible. 2. Spay neuter is surrender prevention. "Of people who had been forced to surrender their pets, 25% said access to free or affordable vet care would have allowed them to keep their animals. Another 20% said they would have benefited from financial support for health issues." You already knew this — you helped us build Flatbush Vet for this very reason. But it's a big deal to make this connection so clearly, particularly ahead of a City Council hearing next Friday on this very topic (more on that soon). 3. This is a solvable problem. It’s right there in the headline: "To scale this model … the city needs to start chipping in on these upstream efforts,” Zweigart said. “With participation and leadership, we could build and open and operate several different facilities across Brooklyn, for example, that provide more New Yorkers with veterinary care. This is all doable. We see all this doom and gloom, and all these challenging things – the thing that keeps me motivated is that this is absolutely a solvable problem. We just have to direct our resources in a more efficient way.”  --- I hope you're able to dig through the entire piece and share with other animal lovers in your life. More on this soon.

We need to harness the power of animal companionship and a ‘One Welfare’ approach means that both human and animal health and welfare needs can be met….and if applicable, the environment too…. At Our Special Friends we find we can access people at risk and by nurturing a trusting nonjudgmental relationship, can help them get their and their pet’s needs met. Looking at cases holistically, taking a thorough history and completing a full assessment can result in profound and enhanced outcomes.

Meet our current and exceptional Veterinary Social Workers who work at the heart of our mission, bridging the gap between veterinary care and human social services 🐾 Leesa 🐾 Alyce 🐾 Jessica We’ve had 14 social work students on placement of which we have gone on to employ six. In 2023, we delivered over 2000 veterinary social work services! 🙌 But what do this amazing team do exactly? Working on-site, our Veterinary Social Workers collaborate with our veterinary teams to support people while pets are cared for. This enables our vet teams to focus on animal care, while our social workers support vulnerable clients and connect with social service agencies. With this support, individuals avoid more severe outcomes - such as increased isolation, worsening mental health conditions, or potential harm to themselves or their pets. And by providing accessible and timely support, our services preempt the need for costly downstream interventions such as emergency veterinary surgeries, prolonged medical treatments, or surrendering pets to shelters or worse, which have significant financial and emotional costs for individuals and society. With our social service agency partners reporting an 83% improvement in clients’ access to veterinary care and a remarkable 94% stating positive outcomes from the support provided, it is evident that vulnerable people with pets need to be appropriately supported to help meet their companion animal’s needs as well as their own. Our Veterinary Social Workers are a huge part of this solution. Together with the generous donations that make this possible, we're creating a more hopeful future for many people in our community. To learn more about what we do, check out our website: https://lnkd.in/e7UEFr_c  #veterinarysocialservices #veterinarysocialwork #humananimalbond #cherishedpets #fearfreevetvisit #socialwork Alicia Kennedy

Have you heard of Veterinary Social Workers? I hadn’t until I started working with Cherished Pets. These incredible professionals are transforming the veterinary field, supporting vet teams and the social sector. These stats reflect just some of the outcomes measurement we do at Cherished Pets, providing data-driven insights which complement the team’s daily firsthand experiences and feedback to determine if programs are on track. Impact measurement is fundamental for driving social change. #impactmeasurement #socialchange #veterinarysocialwork #systemschange #veterinarysocialservices

A few key directions the Vetcation team is currently working on: 1. Collaborating with U.S. cities: We are reaching out to partner with every city across the country to offer our platform to pet owners adopting from local shelters. (We recently sent a proposal to Los Angeles Animal Services.) 2. Partnering with nonprofits: We’re building partnerships to extend our platform to underserved families. (Our collaboration proposal was just sent to the AlignCare team.) 3. Expanding through conferences: We plan to attend as many conferences as possible—such as those hosted by the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association—to share our mission with more vets. A few upcoming features: 1. Question Triage System: We’re developing a system to categorize submitted questions as Green (general inquiries), Orange (needs scheduling with a vet soon), and Red (emergencies). 2. Interest-Based Question Distribution: A system to tag questions into different categories based on topics and match them with veterinarians according to their interests and expertise, optimizing response rate and efficiency. We are aiming to build the world's largest veterinary educational forum and help vets impact millions of pet owners. 

And considering that the number of animals entering shelters each year is a tiny fraction of what it was 50 years ago (and an all time low excluding the COVID years) and that’s only a fairly small fraction of the annual “replacement rate” of pets just assuming a long life and natural death let alone pet acquisition growth, why does the animal sheltering community still insist on the trope of “overflowing shelters”? If you want a forest, you plant trees. If you want a community to have access to vet care, you build hospitals (like Flatbush Cats has!). And if you want people to have the benefit of animal companionship regardless of their economic situation, you give them pets for free and then give them the supports they need to care for them. Free food costs mere pennies, basic vaccines and preventative care cost mere dollars. Maintaining an outmoded sheltering system solving last century’s problems costs BILLIONS. Will and Flatbush Cats get it. We’ve got to change if we expect change.

According to the American Animal Hospital Association, no-shows occur in nearly one out of every ten appointments scheduled each day, potentially amounting to a total of 225 appointments in just one year. More than lost revenue—pets are losing out on the quality care they need. Our blog dives deep into the true cost of missed appointments so you can stay ahead of the friction: https://hubs.la/Q02L3Tdj0

Today, on #WorldSpayDay, we're thrilled to announce a transformative grant to COMMUNITY ANIMAL MEDICINE PROJECT, INC. (CAMP)! Since their launch in 2007, Michelson Found Animals has been an integral partner to CAMP Clinics, in which time CAMP has spayed and neutered over 300,000 dogs and cats. The $1 million grant will be used to: - Expand access to affordable veterinary care: Fund a portion of the purchase of a new property in South Los Angeles, transforming it into a low-cost veterinary clinic and high-volume training center. This expansion will significantly increase the number of pets served annually by CAMP Clinics. - Increase spay/neuter surgeries: Support CAMP’s spay/neuter program, offering affordable surgeries to pet owners in historically excluded communities. This will help control pet overpopulation, reduce the number of animals entering shelters, and ultimately save lives. - Enhance veterinary training: Fund training programs for veterinarians in HQHVSN surgeries, a proven method for increasing access to affordable spay/neuter services while maintaining high standards of care. This grant is a giant leap forward for animal welfare in SoCal!  Together with CAMP Clinics, we're building a future where every pet receives the care they deserve. Read more about this monumental collaboration here: https://lnkd.in/gf9_gUjF

PSA: If you've ever thought to yourself, "Man, I really hate people. I'll go into veterinary medicine instead!" Do yourself a favor and DON'T DO IT. Veterinary professionals take an oath to preserve the human-animal bond. Notice the first word there is HUMAN. Vet Med is 80%... -dealing with angry, sad, or scared people. -teaching them about pet care -listening to their lies about how their dog definitely did NOT get into their marijuana even though they reek of it -comforting a pet parents when it's time to let their baby go -taking frantic phone calls during emergencies and staying calm -calling people back to check on your patients -convincing people you're not here to take all their money and you just want what's best for their pet -a vast myriad of other people-centric tasks that take a toll on your mental AND physical health. And 20% caring for animals. I spend most of my 8 to 10 hour days talking to PEOPLE. If you'd rather not deal with people... become a zoologist. Work as a volunteer at a shelter. Donate money to help animals and pick a career that doesn't involve such an intricate balance of emotional and mental stability. You'll thank me later. #vedmedisntforeveryone #humananimalbond

I’m beyond excited to introduce you to GLOBAL INSTRUCTION FOR VETERINARY EMPOWERMENT or GIVE, a project that’s incredibly close to my heart. As a veterinarian, I’ve always been passionate about providing the best possible care for animals. During my career, I’ve witnessed the disparity in access to specialized veterinary services, especially in underserved communities. I am aware of the cases that don’t even make it to the door of a specified to financial concerns. As a foreign veterinarian I did not have the privilege to be trained by veterinary specialists and in my time traveling the world as a speaker, I’ve seen first hand the hunger for knowledge that veterinary professionals have to provide specialty-level care to their patients. That’s why I founded GIVE—to bridge this gap and ensure that every pet, regardless of where they live or their owner’s financial situation, receives top-tier veterinary care. It’s about more than just treating animals; it’s about empowering local veterinarians with advanced training and resources so they can continue providing this level of care long after we’ve left. How can YOU get involved? We need VOLUNTEERS (board-certified veterinary specialists, VTS, nurses - students, interns and residents!) We need SPONSORS and PARTNERSHIPS to donate supplies, equipment, and to sponsors mission trips. We need COMMUNITIES to help! If you or a veterinary community you know needs us,let us know! Join me on this journey to make a global impact, Empowering veterinarians, Transforming communities! Follow us in Instagram @give_vet and check out our website www.GIVE.vet GIVE is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law. #GIVE #VeterinaryEmpowerment #GlobalImpact #vetmedicine #vetvolunteer