June 6th 2017: Houston PetSet, an umbrella organization which provides grants to animal welfare-related organizations in the Houston area, along with philanthropist Jan Duncan, donated a total of $743,541 to the Harris County Animal Shelter in support of the upcoming launch of a Pet Clinic and Transfer Program. Best4Pets has been fortunate enough to collaborate with this charitable organization. We were grateful to receive an invitation to this incredible event and be able to witness with our own eyes the impact Houston PetSet has had on its community. The press conference received coverage from major news outlets, such as KHOU 11 News , and had hundreds of animal advocates attendants who were looking to see the generous sum of money go to such a great cause.
Tena Lundquist Faust, Co-President and founding member of Houston PetSet, expressed her gratitude by stating, “We believe that the animal homelessness crisis that Harris County and Houston face is a solvable problem and we are proud to make this transformational investment in two critical programs at the Harris County Animal Shelter. We thank Jan Duncan for her continued support of Houston PetSet and the animals of our community.”
With such a great amount of money comes great responsibility. The new Pet Clinic will effectively make veterinary care affordable and accessible to the entire Houston community by providing things such as low-cost spay and neuter and wellness services. In offering these low-cost wellness services, the new Clinic will help reduce the number of animals turned over to shelters by owners who are unable to afford such costs. Additionally, the Clinic will also aid in decreasing the number of animals both on both the streets and in the shelter, due to the overpopulation of stray animals in Harris County.
In addition to the Pet Clinic, a Transfer Program is in the works to facilitate the adoption of cats and dogs in different states. Harris County is filled with many animals abandoned who need loving homes, whereas many northern states have very few animals that need rescuing. This program will assist in increasing the live release rates from shelters until a community-wide spay and neuter program becomes available. The remaining sum of the donation will be used to help Universal K9, a San-Antonio-based nonprofit which trains shelter and rescue dogs and transfers them to police departments across the state.
The Press Conference was a huge success and we could not have been more excited to be a part of such an incredible cause!
By Haley Sauer|Thu, Jun 15, 2017
