The Association Blog

Jim Tedford represented The Association and its members at HABRI’s Spring Policy Forum on pet inclusive housing. Here are highlights and next steps.

It is not news to you that the lack of affordable pet inclusive housing causes many challenges in our work.  Housing issues lead to owner relinquishment (or worse, abandonment), thus increasing the number of animals in need of shelter and care.  And, if families cannot find affordable housing that welcomes the whole family, including pets, they can’t adopt pets from shelters. 

 I had the great pleasure of representing The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement at the Spring Policy Forum hosted by the Human Animal Research Institute (HABRI) in Washington, DC, in early May.  The focus of this year’s event was Pet Inclusive Housing, and a diverse group of leaders in the pet industry and the animal welfare field were treated to a series of presentations and group discussions on this critically important topic.

To prepare for the Forum, I reached out to you for help. Earlier this year I asked you to participate in The Association’s survey of animal welfare professionals in an attempt to gather data around the impacts of equitable access to affordable, pet-inclusive housing on shelter operations.  Your responses were not particularly surprising, but were disturbing nonetheless. A significant percentage of surrendered animals were brought in for housing-related reasons. Housing instability directly impacts the numbers of relinquished pets.  In fact, 70 percent of respondents believe that housing-related relinquishments are on the rise.  Actual relinquishment numbers may be even higher than we realize, as owners leave pets with friends/family members or pets enter shelters as strays; reason for relinquishment may be listed as “moving,” with no additional details.

How do housing challenges manifest in the shelter setting? The burden is largely financial. Renters face high pet deposits, added monthly rent for pets, and high move-in costs.  There are also exclusionary barriers to pet ownership for renters. These come in the form of breed restrictions, weight limits and restrictive insurance policies.

In her keynote presentation, Lisa Rice, President of the National Fair Housing Alliance provided insights in to the legal rights pet owning renters may have. I was struck by a comment Ms. Rice made to highlight economic disparity: “Your zip code is more of a determinant of health outcomes than your DNA code.”  And since we all have read and quoted the many studies that prove the link between pet ownership and human health, we know better than most how important it is to keep families together.

Animal welfare organizations are already doing much to help pet owners keep their best friends.  From engaging with landlords to encourage pet inclusivity and funding pet deposits, we are using our signature creativity to help families stay together.  But, we must do more and we must collaborate across sectors with housing organizations and policy makers to address this complex problem.

As a result of this groundbreaking event, HABRI is working to build a new interdisciplinary Pets and Families Housing Coalition.  The Association has volunteered to participate in this, so our members and our entire profession will continue to have a voice in this important conversation.  Stay tuned for more information.  As a profession, we have changed the world for the better.  This is a BIG problem, but I know we have what it takes to work with others to solve it.

With respect and hope,

Jim

More on HABRI

Tip of the Week: Human-Animal Bond Talking Points
Tip of the Week: Pets & Housing Data Report
Tip of the Week: Getting $ to Assist Pet Owners Facing Housing Challenges