Pets are essential to our lives. Yet, sadly, millions of families across the U.S. struggle to access care for their beloved companion animals, which leads to suffering and shelter overcrowding.
This is where C.A.R.E.4Paws steps in! Since 2009, we have provided critical resources to low-income, senior, disabled and unhoused pet families on the Central Coast, ensuring pets stay healthy and with the people love them. In 2024 alone, our Mobile Community Medicine & Spay/Neuter Outreach program has provides low-cost and free vaccines, spay/neuter surgeries and other types of medical services to 20,000 animals in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo (SLO) counties.
“The costs of veterinary services are beyond what most low-income families can pay, and it’s only getting more expensive,” says Dr. Alex Gomes, a C.A.R.E.4Paws clinic veterinarian and board member and a full-time doctor at Main Street Small Animal Hospital in Templeton. “Here on the Central Coast, C.A.R.E.4Paws is the only group that works directly in the community to care for animals who would otherwise never see a vet, whether they’re six months or 12 years old.”
Beyond financial difficulties to pay for pet services, lack of transportation, distance to care and language barriers are among other challenges families face when it comes to seeking out and receiving veterinary treatment. This is especially true for families experiencing homelessness.
Without access to care, many pets don’t get vaccinated or altered, explains Gomes, who heads up the Central Coast chapter of Street Dog Coalition, C.A.R.E.4Paws partner that provides free veterinary services to unsheltered community members. As a result, Gomes says, shelters remain overcrowded, disease runs rampant through pet populations and you see more zoonotic diseases, which are caused by germs spread between animals and people.
“With our mobile clinics, affordable services and bilingual, compassionate clinic team, C.A.R.E.4Paws works at the root of the problem, removing barriers and saving lives every single day!
C.A.R.E.4Paws also offers critical resources through other programs, such as distribution of pet food and supplies, dog training, grooming for dogs of the unhoused and support for pet families exposed to domestic violence. It co-operates several Pet Resource Centers alongside animal- and human-welfare partners, where people in need can access dog and cat food and supplies and sign up for wellness services for their companion animals as well as for themselves. Overall, C.A.R.E.4Paws’ partnerships with dozens of animal nonprofits and shelters, vet clinics, pet service providers, businesses, social-welfare groups, community groups and youth organizations help ensure that pets don’t go without care due to financial constraints or accessibility challenges
Taken together, C.A.R.E.4Paws’ partnerships and programs provide a lifeline for many pet families, like Lucia and her beloved service dog, Luckie, a 14-year-old labrador. “C.A.R.E.4Paws is a very strong support system for us,” says Lucia, who struggles with progressing disabilities. Over the last few years, Luckie has received help with pet food, vaccines, exams and dental surgery as well as temporary foster care while Lucia underwent surgery in the spring of 2024. “Luckie is my trusted companion and, for us, C.A.R.E.4Paws is family.”