Desmond Tutu has been quoted as saying, “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.”

Downtown Dog Rescue in Los Angeles has done just that, opening a Pet Resource Center in a low income area to address the reasons why the poor surrender their dogs to shelters at such a high rate.

The ASPCA estimates that more than 25 million pets live in poverty in the United States, and one study has indicated that 40 percent of low-income pet owners surrendering an animal to a shelter said they would have kept their pet if they’d had access to affordable vet care, and 30 percent said the same if they could have gotten free or low-cost pet food.

From the Downtown Dog Rescue website:
This unique public-private partnership between DDR, Inner City Law Center and L.A. Animal Services provides the following services to people and pets:

In addition to services provided at the PRC, we offer income-based pet boarding for those who are experiencing financial hardship, homelessness, and for veterans who are in residential treatment facilities for help with substance dependency or PTSD.

Kudos to Downtown Dog Rescue for looking beyond the obvious to find and help correct the underlying problem!

Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!

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