Last week at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen, Dr. Liz
Boggan generously donated her time and resources to treat the pets of our
homeless clients. Each of the dogs and
cats were updated on their vaccinations, de-wormed and examined for health
problems, as well as scheduled for spay and neuter at the owner’s request at
McKamey Animal Center free of charge. We
want to thank her so much for coming out!
There are an estimated 3.5 million individuals who
experience homelessness every year in the US, but that number is dwarfed by the
number of pets who are homeless. While
it is difficult to actually estimate how many strays are out there, 5 – 7
million animals enter shelters every year, indicating that the homeless pet
population must be much larger. Around
65% of the animals who enter shelters are euthanized: 3 – 4 million pets are
put down every year.
Pets can provide companionship and support sometimes beyond
what humans can give each other! Given
that homelessness can often be a lonely and isolating experience, it is no
wonder that those experiencing homelessness would want to have a pet. In fact, the Executive Director of the
National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates that 5% - 10% of homeless
individuals have pets, with those numbers reaching up to 25% in rural areas.
However, it is imperative for the sake of the owner and the
pet for each individual to approach the experience responsibly. Many homeless shelters will not allow individuals
to bring in an animal and owning a pet could also be a barrier to housing. More than that, properly caring for a pet can
be a significant financial burden, including not just food and shelter, but
also medical expenses to ensure the animal’s health.
We are constantly working to end the condition of
homelessness in Chattanooga and always innovating new ways to get our clients
back into a job, back into financial stability, and back in permanent
housing! We are all about the solutions
that are not just a band-aid on the problem, but a long-term fix. For pets, part of the solution to end the
terrible overpopulation problem is to spay and neuter both strays and our pets.
Both people and pets need stability and the resources for
necessary care. At the Community
Kitchen, we encourage our clients to put off pet ownership until they can get
back into steady housing and have the means and the comfort to care for
another.
