While October 4th is recognized as World Animal Day, for those of us who work in the animal welfare field, the topic of how to help animals is always uppermost on our minds.

I was fortunate enough to secure a scholarship to attend the recent Animal Welfare Association of Colorado (AWAC) Conference in Black Hawk. Over 240 animal welfare professionals attended including veterinarians, rescue and shelter workers, animal control officers, and those of us who fit in the “other” category.

There were many interesting speakers, but the presentation that hit home with me was Access to Veterinary Care: A National Family Crisis, which was presented by Dr. Michael Blackwell. Dr. Blackwell spoke about pets being integral members of our families, then shared that one in four pet parents cannot afford veterinary care. Certainly this hits home with HHF since assisting with veterinary care is one of our core services. Those at the heart of problem are the working poor—people who have jobs but struggle to cover rent, food, and all of the other day-to-day expenses. And, the two groups hit the hardest? Millennials, the first generation to earn less than their parents’ generation, and Baby Boomers. In fact, local media recently reported that 35% of older Coloradans cannot afford their rent—many face eviction in the coming months. This is the highest percentage in the nation! 

As much as we would love to step up and assure struggling pet parents that HHF is here to help, the sad reality is we have fewer funding options than we did 11 years ago when we began! How can this be? We live in a nation that considers their animals to be family members! In fact, Dr. Blackwell shared a surprising statistic—66% of American households have companion animals compared to only 40% that have children. Today’s newspaper shared the happy news that a local human service charity broke their own record at a recent fundraiser. Yet, animal safety net groups continue to struggle to secure enough funding to support their mission and save precious lives. And, while it’s easy to say that people shouldn’t have an animal if they can’t afford it, do we really want to deny anyone the joy of having a pet or deny a pet the safety and warmth of a home? The reality is if you have a companion animal, you, too, may need the services of a safety net charity at some point. If nothing else, the pandemic has underscored how fragile and uncertain life can be and that we never know what tomorrow may bring—good or bad.