Foster Pets

When she’s not at the pound comforting stray pets, jenny Olsen spends her spare time running Safety Net, a surrender prevention program at animal care and control of New York.

“Generally we call ourselves animal social workers. We offer people guidance and resources so they don’t have to give up their pet,” said Olsen.

Safety Net works with pet owners to find low-cost options for boarding, veterinary services and more.

“What we’re finding more now due to the economic crisis are people who have lost their jobs or have been evicted,” said Olsen.

Dog owners like this Bronx couple who lost their jobs and then their home.

Living in their van after being turned away from homeless shelters that wouldn’t allow pets.
Until Safety Net offered them another option for their pit bull rocky a foster home.
About 120 pets end up at shelters in New York each day.

More than 50,000 of them were euthanized in 2008.

And without Safety Net, Sadie Judge’s cats could have been on that list after she lost her apartment.

I was in the animal shelter and I was so afraid this was it, I was going to lose my cats. I didn’t have any help,” said Judge.

Now her cats are living in foster care with Alex Booth.
Booth says between food and supplies, the cost to care for each cat is about %450.00 a month, a small price to pay for saving a life.

And for the staff and volunteers at Safety Net, that’s all the thanks they need.