On the reservation, Julie saw a lot of animals in need, so she started by making feeding stations. Soon she had founded her own animal rescue group, the Geronimo Animal Rescue Team.
A true lifeline for her community and valued volunteer for Rural Area Veterinary Services, Julie triages emergency cases, helps distribute pet food donations and supports the human-animal bond any way she can. “Don’t be afraid to take that step to feed community dogs, don’t be afraid to ask a neighbor how you can help,” she said. “It doesn’t take a lot to help an animal; it’s as simple as making water available or buying a bag of pet food. Animals are sacred, and we need to take care of them.”
Our More Than a Pet campaign rests on the bedrock premise that all who wish to do so should have the opportunity to experience the joys of having a companion animal, no matter their socio-economic status. It is a public awareness campaign that focuses on an overlooked national crisis: Approximately 20 million pets in the U.S. experience poverty with their families and 70% of those animals have never seen a veterinarian because people who love them cannot afford or don’t have access to veterinary services or pet resources. Many Americans are aware of how poverty and structural inequality create challenges and barriers to accessing healthy food, education, jobs, health care and housing for people, and we are now trying to make it common knowledge that pet resources are no different.
Only around one in four Americans (28%) is even aware of this national crisis, even though 43% of all pet owners have been unable to pay for their pets’ needs at some point due to financial reasons, according to a Harris Poll survey conducted on behalf of the Humane Society of the United States. The poll also shows that most Americans (89%) agree that all pet owners deserve to keep their pets as long as they care for them and love them, and that no one should have to give up their pet if they fall on financial hard times (81%). Three-quarters of Americans (75%) believe that overcrowded shelters need more people to adopt pets, regardless of their socio-economic status.
The More Than a Pet campaign mobilizes corporate support to increase access to pet resources and veterinary services and help keep people and pets together. This year, with the help of our partners—Smalls, Tractive, Motel 6 and TQL—we introduced the More Than a Pet Community Hero Award to honor three individuals for their exceptional efforts to ensure the well-being of people and their pets in communities lacking access to resources like pet food and veterinary care. We encouraged the public to read their stories and to vote for the hero whose story moved them most.
I’ve lived with animals since childhood, and I now realize how fortunate I was to grow up in a family that could meet the financial demands of keeping our pets healthy and happy. Every time I’ve participated in one of our access-to-care events or initiatives, I have been in awe of the sacrifices I learned other families were making to protect and keep their animals safe and healthy.
We have been honored to be able to lighten the load for many of these families. Since 2002, the Humane Society of the United States has served more than 500,000 pets and their families experiencing poverty with veterinary services such as spay/neuter and vaccinations at no cost to the pet’s family. We have also donated more than $40 million worth of pet supplies, including 14 million pounds of pet food. And we are determined to continue supporting companion animals and their families in any way that we can.
Expanding such initiatives will make it possible for so many more people to experience petkeeping without worry or fear that they can’t afford to provide their companion animals with the things that so many of us take for granted. I hope that learning about this year’s community heroes will inspire more people to make a difference. Every act of kindness helps to keep people and pets healthy and happy: Offering to pet sit or even foster a pet if someone is struggling through hard times is an immense help. Even picking up an extra bag of pet food or kitty litter at the pet store can go a long way for a neighbor who has animals to take care of. One thing is certain: The investments we make in the people and the institutions helping animals in our midst will pay off a thousandfold.
Congratulations, again, to Julie, and to all the people out there who are doing good for the members of their communities, human and animal alike.
Follow Kitty Block @HSUSKittyBlock.
