As shelter and rescue organizations continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, we thought now would be a good time to revisit this important post from September 2018. Investing in preventive programming keeps animals in loving homes and also makes financial sense.

If we want to save the lives of more pets, it’s important to understand why animals are brought to the shelter in the first place. In our latest Maddie Talk, you will learn about LifeLine Animal Project’s initiative Pets for Life, and how the program tackled this issue head-on.

The Atlanta area program wanted to support the community and animals. With just one veterinarian in a 40-mile radius, there was a critical need for community-based and owner support programs.

“Bridging the gap in services prevents thousands of animals from unnecessarily entering the shelter system,” said Heather Friedman, LifeLine Animal Project’s chief marketing officer.

Pets for Life provides free spay and neutering, microchipping, veterinarian care appointments, supplies and free transport.

Investing in preventive programming keeps animals in loving homes and also makes financial sense. The average cost per pet in the Pets for Life program is less than $100. The average cost of sheltering an animal is around $500.

Ninety percent of Pets for Life pets were unaltered due to affordable care access. By making it easy to spay and neuter their pets, 93 percent of clients followed through on surgery.

Learn more about how Pets for Life is supporting their community in this 9-minute Maddie Talk.