Emergency Veterinary Care for Pets of the Homeless

These highlights illustrate pet ownership in the U.S.  Feeding Pets of the Homeless believes that 33% of people experiencing homelessness have a pet.  The unconditional love and companionship these pets give to their humans is beyond our imagination, and for many, the pets provide protection and security on the brutal streets where they survive.   

*Highlights:

• 66% of U.S. households (86.9 million homes) own a pet.
• Dogs are the most popular pet in the U.S. (65.1 million U.S. households own a dog), followed by cats (46.5 million households) 
• Millennials make up the largest percentage of current pet owners (33%), followed by Gen X (25%) and baby boomers (24%).
• In 2022, Americans spent $136.8 billion on their pets, up nearly 11% from 2021 ($123.6 billion).
• Essential dog expenses cost an average of $1,533 annually.
• 42% of dog owners and 43% of cat owners got their pets from a store, while 38% of dog owners and 40% of cat owners got their pets from an animal shelter or rescue.

*Forbes Advisor published a collection of pet ownership stats based on the American Pet Products Association and American Veterinary Medical Association sourcebooks and some of their surveys. 

When pets become ill or injured and they do not have the resources to seek veterinary help, they can call our headquarters. We have contacted social workers, the VA, and many other animal welfare organizations to list Feeding Pets of the Homeless as a resource. 

Last year, our case managers made and took over 25,000 calls. The generosity of our donors allowed us to treat 1,705 pets at one of our 1,811 veterinary hospital partners across the country. The average cost per pet was $770, a dollar amount that people experiencing homelessness do not have. 

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Hello, my name’s Angel, and I’m a 15-year-old dachshund mix. I live with my human in and around the Boston, MA, area where we’ve been experiencing homelessness and living in a women’s shelter for a little over 5 months.

One day, my human noticed I was losing my balance, falling over, and not eating like I normally do, and she became concerned. So, my human called Feeding Pets of the Homeless and spoke to a case manager there. They advised that we update our intake so that I could receive assistance! My human was so grateful for this news.

I was off to the vet once my case manager could secure an appointment after calling several places! Once at the vet, I received an exam and some pain meds. I was also told that I would need a full mouth dental extraction, which wasn’t the best news, but at least my human knew why I wasn’t eating or feeling good.

Unfortunately, I had a very bad heart murmur, and to get the dental, I would need an echocardiogram, which pushed our services over the budget.

I still felt bad after leaving the vet's office, so the doctor asked me to return for some bloodwork. There, it was discovered that my kidneys were failing. This was not the news my human wanted to hear. She told the doctor she would take me and spend some time going over our options. Over the next few days, I tried to tell my human that it was time.

A few days later, heading towards the vet's office, I sat in the front seat staring into my mom’s eyes, letting her know that it was okay for her to let me go and that she had given me 15 of the best years of our lives.

Thank you to Feeding Pets of the Homeless for contributing $787 toward my care. My human would like to thank everyone there for what they do for families like ours.

Until we meet again… at the Rainbow Bridge

Links:

• Feeding Pets of the Homeless
• Your Make a Difference - Video