Little Angels Project Help Program

Our helping homeless, seniors and under served communities has a direct impact on our shelter system intake and euthanasia and on that same population caring for themselves. For the elderly, they will often neglect their own care to provide for their pets. For homeless, many will not seek out assistance because it might require giving up their pets. Our program provides wellness for their pets but we have also teamed with Adult Protective Services to care for animals that then allows those people to seek out care they need. By keeping the animals healthy, we prevent owner surrender to our already overcrowded and under funded shelters. This takes the burden off of their having to find rescues to take in and pay for care, or for the agency to get care just to get that animal re-adopted. We have collaborated with numerous organizations to provide resources for food, litter, medicine and other necessities that allow the humans to have funds towards their own well being.

Prevention of surrender has a direct impact to the shelter euthanasia numbers. Taking care of animals for pet owners before they make that decision keep them with their families and removes the care impact from rescues that would then shoulder that financial burden to save the life. On average the cost is $70 per pet to keep them with their owner. The Covid-19 pandemic crisis has put significant strain on people’s finances and LAP Help has been providing financial aid to pet owners who may have fallen on hard times. We are handling this need both in providing payments for care directly to providers or in our own clinic, as we are doing monthly outreach events with a team of organizations who have partnered with us for mobile clinics to give care and prevent surrender. The medical intervention and care being given ranges from dental work and surgery to spay / neuter and vaccination. Our goal is do do more outreach in communities that are not getting these resources and it is beneficial to both the population and the city. For people who have pets as companionship or to protect them in challenging areas, they might not have the funds to properly care for those pets. They get ill and then they surrender them. They love them, but economics forces them to make decisions they don't want to make. Helping when problems are small prevent them from becoming huge. Our goal is to be a zero kill city, often the shelters take in animals in such bad shape they have no choice.

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• Of the dogs entering shelters, approximately 48% are adopted and 20% are euthanized • Of the cats entering shelters, approximately 50% are adopted and 27% are euthanized Returning a pet to a rescue or surrendering to a shelter can be devastating to the animal physically and emotionally. Many shut down, stop eating, become combative, and by not engaging people lose the opportunity to be adopted once there. Working together as a humane community we can reduce one aspect of the reason shelters have to kill for space. Your funds will fix health issues that are perfectly treatable and help drive down the euthanasia rates. By our providing surgery and hospitalization to medically needy animals at low to no cost to the owners , we estimate that in our area of Los Angeles County we can save more lives It will keep beloved pets with their owners where they are loved and wanted and that companionship has a positive impact on our population.

Patient is evaluated for medical need (dental, wound care, surgery), cost of care / surgery is estimated. Client completes a financial need form as to ability to pay and must consent to take the animal back rather than be surrendered to a rescue or shelter. We are also working with other area vets to provide supportive funds and care to owners who want to keep their animals. All statistics are kept on what care was given and approximate cost. Many organizations are offering low cost or free spay neuter, but presently only two organizations are offering other services. This leaves a very wide gap in the community. We measure our success by the number of animals we treat each year with advanced surgery and/or care that the rescue organization or pet owner cannot afford to provide. The result is the animals should be remaining with their owners once care is administered, versus being surrendered to a rescue or shelter.

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