Emergency Veterinary Care for Pets of the Homeless

David has been homeless for about a year now and has been living in his vehicle with his one-year-old chihuahua named Roxi. He does not receive much help from organizations but he does receive his mail at the Arcata House Partnership Administration office.

David heard of Feeding Pets of the Homeless through a friend we had previously helped. The pair live in a town called Arcata in California.   

They were taking a walk down a familiar path in the woods.  David had realized that this area had dry grass and many fox tails laying around, which he didn’t get too bothered with since he knew Roxi was smart enough to not go near foxtails.

Upon the intake interview it was discovered that Roxi did sniff something from the ground the day they went for a walk. Roxi had been showing symptoms such as sneezing dramatically and breathing as if she had asthma. David thinks that there is something in her right nostril that is making her sneeze uncontrollably and have difficulty breathing correctly.

Roxi’s case manager was able to get an exam approved and pre-authorized with one of our network hospitals in Eureka which is a neighboring city of Arcata.

Once the exam was performed, the doctor discovered that Roxi indeed had a foxtail in her nose which caused her to sneeze so much.  Roxi was given anesthesia and surgery was performed to remove the foxtail.  Roxi is doing so much better and is no longer sneezing or having troubles breathing.

David was so thankful for Feeding Pets of the Homeless and those who donate to help them with their pets care. Feeding Pets of the Homeless provided assistance in the amount of $304 (after a hospital discount) towards Roxi’s care.

This case illustrates that even something as small as a foxtail can be expensive.  When you are homeless and your pet is injured or ill and you not have resources to get the help for your pet it is stressful for both pet and owner.   

Many of our clients call with anguish in the voice or are sobbing because they can’t stop the suffering of their beloved pet.

Your donations help dogs like Roxi and homeless like David. 

Every day we get calls asking for help... during 2021 staff called or took over 11,700 calls.   Today we have over 135 cases that are pending.  Pending because we need to verify homelessness, or we are waiting for an appointment at a hospital.   Even with over 1,260 hospitals in our network we sometimes have to find new ones in cities that we have none. 

I am reaching out to you to ask that if you know or have a veterinary hospital for your own pet, please share our mission with your veterinarian.

Links:

• Feeding Pets of the Homeless

Feeding Pets of the Homeless^® teamed up with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development- VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) to provide the pets of verified veterans in the program veterinary care.  The program is “Veteran Pet Support.”

The HUD-VASH program combines the HUD housing vouchers with the supportive services provided by the VA to help Veterans who are homeless, and their families find and sustain permanent housing. The program targets the chronically homeless veterans who are most vulnerable and often have severe mental or physical health problems and limited access to other social supports.

“We need to work to better help those who have served our country and that includes their animal companions who provide them with much needed comfort and security.” Genevieve Frederick, founder and president of Feeding Pets of the Homeless, said. “We are proud that we can help our veterans and their pets in their time of need,” said Genevieve Frederick.  She went on the say that this program is personal because her immediate family has many veterans in it that served in WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam serving in the Army and Navy.   I am honored that our organization can work with HUD-VASH to provide resources to these veterans who need our help.”

“We understand the unconditional love, comfort and security pets can bring a homeless person and we do our best to keep these pets and their human companions together,” Frederick said. “We want to help these veterans maintain this bond with their animal companions as long as possible.” 

This year we have helped over 76 veterans.  Some were on the streets, some were in this special program for homeless veterans.

Randy called Feeding Pets of the Homeless® when his 11-year old unaltered female Spaniel, Kelly was not eating and having troubles getting up. He searched and found us through Google.   Randy is a Veteran participating in the HUD-VASH program, and stays in a motel that is paid for by the Volunteers of America.  He is on a list to get into housing assistance with HUD-VASH.  Randy is over 65, disabled, receives SSI benefits and has been homeless for the past 6 years.  He has a car.  We verified his homelessness with his HUD-VASH social worker.  We approved an exam at on of your 1,200 veterinary hospitals in California.

After Kelly’s exam, the veterinarian technician called our Case Manager and reported that Kelly had a 106 degree fever.  The vet recommended bloodwork, to get her fever under control with hospitalization, iv fluids, medications as well as x-rays.  Kelly had mammary masses all over and they feared it could be pyometra.  They recommended removal of the mammary masses.

Surgery was performed the next day and the charges came to $2,760.  This included: an emergency examination, in-house CBC/Chem panel, 4-view x-rays, iv catheter and fluids, and hospitalization.  Surgery included: pre-anesthesia medications, anesthesia, and monitoring, mammary gland tumor surgical removal, spay, injections, biopsy, hazardous waste, an e-collar and four medications. Feeding Pets of the Homeless provided $2,000 in financial assistance.  A client in the lobby contributed $200 and another organization pledged $100.  The hospital planned on writing off the difference of $460.   Kelly went home with Randy, is doing well and expected to make a full recovery.

It is my Holiday wish that you can support this vital program.

Links:

• Feeding Pets of the Homeless