A ‘safety net’ for Marin pet parents

I often say that I enjoy working in animal welfare because it’s an evolving field. For decades, animal shelters, like Marin Humane, would mostly operate as a place to accept stray animals and pets relinquished by their guardians. These guardians, some coming to the shelter in tears, often felt they had no choice but to make the gut-wrenching decision to give up their pet. The most common reason was financial difficulties. Some couldn’t afford veterinary treatment, some couldn’t afford a trainer for troublesome behavior and some couldn’t even afford pet food.

While we’ve always had some resources to help seniors and those with extremely low incomes, we were limited in who else we could help. We took in the animals and found homes for them, but were heartbroken to see so many people who loved their pets dearly giving them up. We also realized that the stress of being in a shelter, even one where the animals get plenty of care and love, can take a toll on the animals while they’re in our care. Even the nicest shelter is still a shelter and not a home.

So, a few years ago, we began raising funds to create a “pet safety net” for struggling pet parents. The idea was this program would provide free pet food and supplies, behavior consultations, vaccinations, money toward veterinary care and even help with pet deposits for rental properties. We used to measure our success by the number of animals we took in and found them new homes; now, as strange as this may sound, we began measuring it by how many animals we kept out of the shelter and in the homes of their families.

Having a strong program in place by the time the pandemic hit was key to being able to say yes to the exploding number of requests for help we received — an increase of more than 80% since the program’s inception. Thousands of struggling Marin residents received help for their pets, much of it delivered directly to their doors through the Pet Safety Net program.

Since then, the need has only increased, so, thanks to generous donations, a short time later, we added free mobile community clinics. Working with established community groups, we bring veterinarians from local animal hospitals who volunteer their time, along with our hardworking staff and volunteers, to provide free health exams, vaccinations, microchips and dog licenses, as well as pet food and supplies. Families are also given referrals for more help should they need it. These free clinics have the dubious distinction of being incredibly popular, with people lining up for hours to receive help. We regularly visit locations in San Rafael, Marin City, Novato and encampments for the unhoused throughout the county.

Marin Humane is not alone in recognizing the importance of keeping pets with the people who love them. Animal welfare organizations across the country are creating programs like ours, where possible. The key is the “where possible” part. These programs cannot happen without the financial support of the community.

As I’ve often written in this column, we’re so lucky to live and work in a county whose residents value animals and recognize the importance of the human-animal bond. We’re extremely grateful for the generosity of our community. It’s truly inspiring and makes a real difference in the lives of many families.

To contribute to our Pet Safety Net program, visit marinhumane.org/pet-safety-pet.

Lisa Bloch is the director of marketing and communications for Marin Humane, which contributes Tails of Marin articles and welcomes animal-related questions and stories about the people and animals in our community. Visit marinhumane.org, find us on social media @marinhumane, or email lbloch@marinhumane.org.