WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO

Sixty-eight percent of all US households—82.5 million homes—include a cat and/or dog  (i.e.) Fur Family Members who are treasured sources of emotional support, unconditional love, and stability. According to estimated sources in 2019 (based in part on Shelter Animals Count and other known and estimated sources), approximately 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.1 million are dogs, and 3.2 million are cats. Although 4.1 million shelter animals are adopted each year (2 million dogs and 2.1 million cats). About 810,000 animals who enter shelters are identified as strays and are returned to their owners. Of those, 710,000 are dogs, and 100,000 are cats.

However, since the pandemic (COVID-19), there has been an increase in the return of adopted animals and cases of neglect and abandonment. Over 65% of cat and dog guardians in our region are now at or below poverty income levels due to high unemployment and cost of living. Families adopting cats and dogs at a time when they could afford the responsibility are now facing dire circumstances such as homelessness, foreclosure bankruptcy, etc. Consequently, we launched the NUTRITION ONE Pantry project to test the effectiveness of providing basic necessities to help cats and dogs stay with their families. We know that by providing this service, we can ease the stress of households facing life-altering decisions, and lessen the impact on already overrun shelters. The project was immediately successful and coupled with our Adopt A Pet network and SNIP! TAT!. Our one-year program objectives include: 1) continuing our partnership with the community Food Banks to set up space for product and pickup; 2) increasing our inventory of food, bedding, basic medical supplies, and grooming products; 3) recruiting more volunteers to staff the pantry; and 4) working closely with the Community Resource Center to refer families in need to other services available in the community.