Jeff Munson 06/30/2020, CarsonNow
A veterinary technician attends to a homeless woman’s pet during a veterinary care wellness clinic recently in Reno, Nev.
Feeding Pets of the Homeless, a national animal welfare nonprofit based in Carson City, Nev., received a $5,000 grant. The Humane Society of the United States grant helps to provide financial assistance towards fulfilling their mission.
Founded in 2008, Feeding Pets of the Homeless provides free pet food, supplies, emergency veterinary care and wellness clinics to companion animals of the homeless population across the nation. The organization also supplies sleeping crates for animals allowing homeless to bring their pets to shelters.
“Companion animals are often the only support, comfort, protection and warmth that a homeless person may have,” Genevieve Frederick, founder and president of Feeding Pets of the Homeless, said. “In 2019, we provided $287,000.00 towards emergency veterinary care and over 63 tons of food to animals nationwide.”
The Humane Society of the United States headquartered in Washington D.C. takes on the big fights to end suffering for all animals. Their COVID-19 Relief Fund is being distributed to nonprofits nationwide to help keep people and their pets together during the COVID-19 crisis.
The COVID-19 Relief Fund was launched to support organizations that are responding to the economic impact of the outbreak of COVID-19. The funds are being used to provide veterinary care, pet food, horse feed and animal care supplies, as well as other costs related to caring for animals during the outbreak.
“Every week on average, we provide emergency veterinary assistance to 23 pets of the human homeless population, which is up from last year’s average of 20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Frederick said. “We are grateful for this grant from the Humane Society of the United States which will allow us to continue to provide care to more pets that are ill or injured.”
In 2018, more than 552,000 Americans experienced homelessness on a single night, with as many as 25 percent of which have dogs, cats or both, Frederick said. The need for pet food and veterinary care is a continued concern for homeless people and pets that rely on them.
To find more information or to donate directly to Feeding Pets of the Homeless, visit www.petsofthehomeless.org. People who are homeless and in need of emergency veterinary care or food for their pets can visit the website, call (775) 841-7463, or have their social worker contact Feeding Pets of the Homeless.
To learn more about the Humane Society of the United States, please visit www.humanesociety.org.
About Feeding Pets of the Homeless:
Feeding Pets of the Homeless believes in the healing power of companion pets and of the human-animal bond, which is very important in the lives of many homeless. They find solace, protection and companionship through their pets. They care for their pets on limited resources so they themselves have less. The task, nationwide, is to feed and provide basic emergency veterinary care to their pets and thus relieve the anguish and anxiety of the homeless who cannot provide for their pets. For more information, please visit www.petsofthehomeless.org
