Our work keeps pets in loving homes with their families
So that pets not only survive, they thrive.
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Learn more about The Inner Pup:
The Inner Pup provides grassroots programs that keep dogs in loving homes and out of our overflowing shelters. We assist low-income owners with affordable veterinary care and dog training and behavior, along with responsible pet parenting education. The Inner Pup’s flagship Heartworm Prevention Clinics aim to eradicate heartworm disease and build trust within communities by offering heartworm testing, prevention medication and treatment, each month in the neighborhoods of greatest need. The Inner Pup works to bridge the gap between pet owners and city shelters, creating a safety net for all pets. Our community engagement and outreach projects are aimed at both education and reaching those in most need of our services.
It’s because of your gifts, we are able to continue to make an impact in the community, as well as expand our reach to more pets that need the most help. Our programs are blazing a trail in animal welfare and our successes are long overdue in the south. We cannot thank you enough for your support and participation. If you’d like to discuss a bigger gift or planned giving, please reach out: lindsay@theinnerpup.org
(A) Heartworm Prevention Clinics & KadieBear Treatment Fund
TIP offers monthly neighborhood-based, pop-up heartworm prevention clinics. These clinics are designated as either drive-thru clinics (existing clients only) and curbside clinics (open to all). Our drive-thru clinics are only for clients receiving monthly topical prevention, while our curbside clinics offer heartworm testing, Proheart6 or 12, and the opportunity for a dog to be seen by the vet. To date, we have held 88 clinics, have helped over 7500 dogs, administered over 30,0000 months of prevention medication and continue to expand our reach into the Lower 9th, Upper 9th and the East.
The treatment option with The Inner Pup is a soft kill process for low-income owners whose dogs have heartworm disease. This requires a year-long commitment from owners. As of March 2023, the cost for clients is $125 over the course of treatment and it costs The Inner Pup roughly $400 per dog.
Pet owners whose pets are in need of non-routine and non-emergency care are eligible for veterinary assistance. These grants of up to $500 allow a pet (dogs and cats) to be seen at a partner vet with an owner co-pay of $20. These funds are intended as a one-time benefit for families struggling to afford veterinary care for their pets. To date, we have helped hundreds of pets get to a vet for much needed services. To assist all pet owners that reach out for the year 2023, our goal is $20K. Special note: this fund will also include spays and neuters once our 10K goal is reached.
(C ) Community Outreach, Engagement and Education Projects
One of the most vital facets of animal welfare that we are proud to keep up with is a community engagement, inside-out approach. The Inner Pup works to engage the community, extends ambassadorship opportunities to current clients, and continues to build a “safety net” within our highest needs neighborhoods in the city, to help all pets and owners who may live in under-resourced areas. We have a team of volunteers that canvass and spread the mission of The Inner Pup and with a growing client base, we will continue to build a bigger and bigger safety net. We have networked thousands of educational brochures into the community as well as responsible pet ownership information and plan to expand into more canvassing, advertising and marketing to reach more and more pet owners.
(D) Dog Training & Behavior Assistance Vouchers (Taaka’s)
TIP offers a dog training grant program for owners who are in need of behavioral assistance for their pet or need to work on building a good relationship with their dogs. An owner fills out an application and writes on their concerns, and we schedule them with either a virtual or in-person training with one of our partner trainers. Pet owners are responsible for 10% of the overall cost of training at an already discounted rate.
