GivingTuesday NOW: Join the Global Movement of Good
One Monthly Pet Wellness Clinic: UPP’s clinic provides not only pet food and supplies to those experiencing homelessness, but a licensed vet is available for exams, flea&tick prevention, and referrals for follow-up treatments.
Giving Tuesday has announced May 5, 2020, as a global day of giving and unity as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19.
JOIN A GLOBAL MOVEMENT OF GOOD
This is your opportunity to make a difference. Let us all come together to show strength and power as we all unify for good. You will never know how grateful we are to have you as a part of our community. All funds raised will go towards where they are needed most.
BARK AVENUE FOUNDATION'S MISSION
In America today, 50-74% of people live paycheck to paycheck. This crisis has shown the spotlight on just how dire the situation is for so many in our community. So many people are only one missed paycheck away from homelessness. And if they end up sick, the cost of care may be too great to seek treatment. They may even have to decide between dinner for their children or an emergency room visit when their fever spikes.
Our society has some safety nets. Unemployment may pay a utility bill or part of the rent; medicare and medicaid may help with some health care; food stamps can provide the basic staples of nutrition. But that’s for the humans. What about their beloved pets?
Pets are family. For some, the only family they have. When they lose their housing because the medical bills sky-rocket, and they lose their job because they’re ill, they feel like they’ve lost everything.
But then they look down and see those puppy dog eyes who have never judged them for the money they make or the cut of their clothes. They feel the brush of fur from the cat rubbing up against their legs whose only gripe is that they slept in a little late. The purr of a cat; the swish of a dog tail; love in physical form makes the lacking in life disappear; they focus on what they have, not what they have lost. And they hold on as hard as they can, never ever letting that love go.
Their pet will never abandon them and they will not abandon their pets. But there are no unemployment checks for dogs. No food stamps for cats. No medicare for birds. There is no safety net for the family members who have no social security numbers.
That’s where Bark Avenue Foundation comes in. BAF’s Unsheltered People and Pets program is the safety net for the pets whose guardians are experiencing homelessness.
UPP’s monthly Pet Wellness Clinic provides a variety of food and supplies each month: cans of moist cat food, bags of dry dog food, blankets and beds; crates and strollers; there’s even special needs food for those whose animals have kidney disease or diabetes; there’s collars and leashes, and cat litter. But those we serve do not come just for the supplies. They come for peace of mind. Every person who comes in can bring their dog, cat, (or bird or any other pet!) to be seen by a licensed veterinarian for an exam. They can discuss concerns, get answers to questions and their pet can receive vaccinations, nail trims, ear cleanings, and be administered monthly heartworm and flea & tick prevention medicine. Referrals, which Bark Avenue Foundation covers the cost of when there is funding, are made for follow-up care in the cases of dental disease, cancer, and other issues found during the exam.
But UPP is more than just a monthly pet clinic. Like for any social worker who helps people, every day is unique. We take calls from people who may need something as simple as a flea treatment, or a bag of dog food just to make it until their social security check comes in. Or they may need to spay or neuter surgery for the pet they’ve inherited or found on the street. Or they may have an emergency, and we need to find a way to rush a kitten to a vet.
Or it could be like Jack who desperately needed surgery, but was going to forgo it if he couldn’t find someone to care for his 15 year old terrier Jiggs, his constant loyal companion. BAF found him boarding at a local veterinarian where he would be safe, cared for, and loved until Jack recovered. When Sylvia was rushed to the hospital one night, her two dogs had nowhere to go. Animal control kept them safe at the shelter. The first call she made when she got out was to BAF for help to pay the shelter boarding fees and find a way to get her beloved pups back by her side.
While we cannot solve homelessness, we can provide hope and services by helping those experiencing homeless stay with their pets. We will not abandon those who need us, as they would never abandon their pets. But we need your help to continue doing this work.
We realize everyone is struggling right now. We hope you will never need our services, but if you do, we want to still be here for you. Any amount you are able to give will allow us to continue to serve the community by helping to keep pets with the people they love. When you help pets, you help people, and when you help people, you build a stronger, healthier community.
Please consider making an investment in your community today.
[While clinics are postponed during this crisis, funds will be used for individualized vet care at other sites, prevention medicine, and ongoing treatment referrals as well as food and supplies.]