For the homeless, medical care for their pets is a struggle. Here’s how this group helps.
A Nevada nonprofit will help the homeless get medical care for their pets as part of a partnership with Lighthouse Mission Ministries.
Hans Erchinger-Davis, executive director for Lighthouse Mission Ministries, said the veterinary care would be “incredibly helpful to our folks.”
“We’re excited about that,” Erchinger-Davis said during a telephone interview in December.
Lighthouse Mission offers a number of services for the homeless and operates the Drop-In Center, an emergency shelter for the homeless at 1013 W. Holly St. in Bellingham.
The group, called Pets of the Homeless, said that an estimated 5 percent to 25 percent of those who are homeless have a pet, which can make it challenging for them to find shelter. As a result, many will stay on the streets with their pets, the nonprofit said.
Lighthouse Mission Ministries is among the few shelters in the country that allows pets, said Genevieve Frederick, founder and president of Pets of the Homeless, in a telephone interview in December.
Lighthouse Mission Ministries recognizes the bond between people who are homeless and their pets, according to Erchinger-Davis said.
“One of their only friends, in a sense, that cares about them unconditionally is their pets,” he said.
Two years ago, Lighthouse Mission decided to allow people who had pets to access its programs for the homeless. Before that, it allowed only service animals to come in with their homeless owners.
But it changed that policy to reduce barriers to people getting through its doors.
“For some people, they don’t come in the door if their pets can’t come with them,” Erchinger-Davis said. “They love their animals.”
In Washington state, Pets of the Homeless has treated a total of 127 pets through its emergency care program — spending about $46,000, according to Frederick.
The average cost per pet was about $366, Frederick said.
