Chuck Darwin<p>Opinion: What the typical <a href="https://c.im/tags/animal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>animal</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/rescue" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>rescue</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/narratives" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>narratives</span></a> leave out </p><p>It’s clear that <a href="https://c.im/tags/human" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>human</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/poverty" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>poverty</span></a> is a major driver of pet loss and surrender. </p><p>During the 2008 recession, shelters across the nation reported being overrun with “a tide of displaced dogs and cats.” </p><p>Similarly, in 2022, as COVID-19-era child tax credits and some eviction protections expired 🔸while inflation grew, <br>surrender numbers exploded. 🔸</p><p>Even in good times, 🔸relinquishment rates are consistently higher in disadvantaged neighborhoods. 🔸</p><p>Adoption alone cannot address this.</p><p>In Los Angeles Weise and <a href="https://c.im/tags/Downtown" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Downtown</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Dog" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Dog</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Rescue" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Rescue</span></a> radically flipped the equation. </p><p>At a time when no one else did it, ♦️they helped the unhoused treat, feed, sterilize and keep their pets. ♦️</p><p>Downtown Dog Rescue offered an array of services to low-income pet owners, <br>such as community clinics that provided flea treatments, microchips and vaccinations. </p><p>They handed out collars and leashes; <br>they paid to redeem and license impounded animals; <br>they provided access to spay and neuter surgery and vital veterinary care, <br>including humane euthanasia. </p><p>Those senior and terminally ill pets “dumped” at shelters <br>often belong to a family that didn’t know of <br>-- or couldn’t afford <br>a better way to end the suffering.</p><p>A counselor Downtown Dog Rescue stationed at a high-intake shelter asked families considering surrender, <br>❓“What can I do to help you keep your pet?” ❓<br>— and then did it. ❗️</p><p>Through compassion, understanding and tangible assistance, <br>tens of thousands of at-risk animals stayed out of crowded shelters and with the people that loved them</p><p>The kind of programs Weise pioneered are more mainstream these days, <br>but the old narrative has never lost its hold. </p><p>It’s time to let it go. </p><p>Powerful human-animal bonds exist across neighborhoods, races, ages, genders and classes. </p><p>We can condemn abusers while understanding that <br>those whose only “crime” is being poor deserve help, <br>not blame. </p><p>💥The endless flow into shelters, Weise said almost a decade ago, “isn’t a pet problem or a people problem, <br>💥it’s a poverty problem.”</p><p><a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-08-12/animal-rescue-shelters-adoption-pets-dogs-cats-homeless" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">latimes.com/opinion/story/2024</span><span class="invisible">-08-12/animal-rescue-shelters-adoption-pets-dogs-cats-homeless</span></a></p>