Sponsored - The following content is created on behalf of GK Foundation dba Giving4Pets and does not reflect the opinions of Gray Media or its editorial staff. To learn more about Giving4Pets, visit Giving4Pets.com.
SUN CITY, AZ (Giving4Pets) – Family is everything. And pets are family. It’s not just us saying that. It’s pet owners/guardians/parents. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, a whopping 97% of pet owners say their pets are part of their family. (We’re not sure what’s wrong with the remaining 3%.) For some, pets as family goes a step further. “About half of pet owners (51%) not only consider their pets to be a part of their family but say they are as much a part of their family as a human member,” research associate Anna Brown wrote on PewResearch.org last year.
Now that we have established that pets are indeed family – like there was ever any real question about that – let’s talk about the heartbreaking decisions some people are forced to make about their beloved fur babies.
There’s no denying that times are tough, and having a pet as part of the family can be expensive. The cost of living, including pet care, has increased for everyone. The ASPCA estimates that owning a dog costs between $750 and $1,000 per year, depending on its size, and about $800 to own a cat (not that any human owns a cat). That covers just the basics for a healthy animal.
If your pet needs special medical care – whether it’s an emergency or a chronic condition – your budget will take a sizable hit.
The struggle is real. MetLife Pet Insurance did a study last year that found more than “half of pet parents (54%) worry about being able to care for their pets in the future ….” Slightly fewer “are concerned that pet care costs will prevent them from being able to be a pet owner in the future.”
Emergencies happen. Life happens.
That brings us back to those heartbreaking decisions. If a pet owner cannot afford needed medical care for their fur baby, they’re left with two options – surrender or euthanasia. If personal circumstances make day-to-day pet care challenging, the owner might not see an option other than rehoming. Rehoming an animal is hard enough, but rehoming a pet needing potentially expensive medical care is virtually impossible.
Either way, the pets and their families lose each other.
That’s why the GK Foundation and the Giving4Pets Thrift Stores exist.
This nonprofit organization rescues pets, but it’s not a pet rescue or shelter. It’s a resource – a financial safety net.
Giving4Pets thrift store is unique because it’s dedicated to keeping pets with their families. It’s the first of its kind, and the founders, Samantha Garcia and Sean Kosla, are passionate. They are so dedicated that they have never taken a salary for their tireless more-than-full-time work on top of the full-time jobs they hold down to meet their personal obligations. That’s how much they believe in keeping pets and families together.
“Coming home to a pet is the GREATEST feeling ever,” explains Giving4Pets.com “The companionship, unconditional love, tail wagging, and those smiles are the rush we at Giving4Pets live for. Our pets are a part of our family, and we want to do everything we can to keep our family together.”
Giving4Pets provides assistance to families in need to help them keep their pets where they belong – at home with them.
[↗ Make a tax-deductible donation to Giving4Pets to help keep pets with their families.]
“Nobody should have to choose to euthanize or surrender their family pets solely due to lack of money,” Sean said.
Since the GK Foundation launched in mid-2023, Giving4Pets has come to the rescue for 28 pet parents whose animals needed critical medical care that they could not afford on their own. Those Giving4Pets grants provided between June 2023 and last month totaled nearly $14,000.
“This is an incredible start, but we still have a long way to go,” Giving4Pets said.
GK Foundation has received 79 applications from people desperate to help their pets. As much as Samantha and Sean wanted their organization to cover expenses for all of them, it simply wasn’t possible. The money wasn’t there.
Those pet owners were faced with two terrible options.
Euthanize or surrender
While GK Foundation was unable to help, they did point the pet parents to other resources, they don’t know the outcome for those fur babies or their families.
“The heart-wrenching reality is that many of these pets may have been put to sleep because their owners couldn’t afford the medical care,” GK Foundation said.
Go hug your pet. We’ll wait.
Should the cost of care be a death sentence?
A few years ago, Sean nearly faced that impossible euthanize-or-surrender decision himself. He had gone out to pick up some food, and he took his chihuahua with him like he always did. Buchannas was about 4 at the time.
“When I turned onto Elliot Road, she jumped out of the window and rolled onto the street,” Sean recalled. He immediately stopped, scooped her up, and sped to the nearest emergency vet clinic. She needed surgery to the tune of about $3,500.
“My only option if I couldn’t afford it was to euthanize or surrender,” Sean said. “I had about $22 in my bank account.”
Sean was lucky. He qualified for CareCredit, which is for veterinary and pet financing. That’s the only reason Sean and Buchannas are still together today. But his story could have had a very different ending.
“The bottom line is if I didn’t have the money, I would have lost my pet,” he said. “There were no options for my financial situation at the time.”
Samantha and her wife had a similar experience when their dog Emma needed an expensive back surgery.
“If it weren’t for CareCredit and our ability to qualify for it, one of the answers from the vet was to euthanize her, and that was not an option for us,” Samantha said.
No other options -- until now
What about the pet parents who cannot qualify for CareCredit? Should they be forced to lose their pet if they run into financial hardship or medical emergency? CareCredit says 4 out of 5 pets will have a medical emergency in their lifetime.
So, once Samantha and Sean, who have been friends forever, decided what they wanted to do – help keep pets with their families – they had to figure out how to do it. Samantha has a background in political fundraising, and has first-hand experience as to how irritating it is for donors to be consistently asked for more money.
“I’m not a fan of constantly getting pieces of mail and emails and phone calls asking for money,” she said. This is a major turn off to donors who gave once and then get bombarded with asks from multiple nonprofits or political campaigns!
One day, she was driving on the 51 when she spotted a box truck with animals on the sides. She caught up with it and discovered it was for a thrift store for a local pet organization. She had never known such a thing existed, but she quickly realized it was the answer she and Sean needed.
[↗ Be a safety net for pets and their families.]
Why a thrift store?
Thrift stores are generally considered bullet-proof businesses because people always have unwanted stuff.
Samantha and Sean found a location in an area with several thrift stores, many for different nonprofits, and opened for business.
“Your generosity has not only brightened the lives of these pets but has also created a ripple of hope and compassion,” Giving4Pets said on its Facebook page. “Together, we’re making a difference in the lives of both animals and their loving families.”
Giving4Pets was the last hope for 28 pets and their families. It wants to be there to help more, but it desperately needs your help.
While Samantha and Sean put everything they can into Giving4Pets Thrift Store, there’s a harsh reality to running a shop and operating a foundation. The inherent costs of doing business are an obstacle to doing good. The rising prices of necessities like rent and utilities are affecting individuals and families -- which is why organizations like the GK Foundation are so essential -- but they’re also hard on small businesses.
The GK Foundation model doesn’t give money to the pet owners. It pays the vet bill directly or, in the cases of simple day-to-day care, sends food and necessary supplies to the owners.
In addition to proceeds from its store, Giving4Pets relies on individual donations and is working to build and expand partnerships with local businesses and veterinarians.
When most people think about supporting pets in need, their minds go to shelters and rescue organizations that find forever homes for pets. The focus is on getting pets into homes, not necessarily keeping them there.
Giving4Pets looks beyond getting pets adopted to safeguarding companion animals whose loving families want nothing more than to keep their fur babies despite the circumstances that might be working against them. According to a recent MetLife study, 55% of employees say they live paycheck to paycheck. If life throws a curveball, which it often does, their situations can go from bad to worse in a blink. Should they be forced to give up part of their family?
GK Foundation does not think so and will do everything possible to keep pets with their families.
[↗ Become a Giving4Pets donor.]
Looking to the future
Part of responsible pet ownership is looking after an animal’s health. That means regular vet visits the same way humans check in yearly (at least) with their primary care physicians.
According to a USA Today article published earlier this year, the number of veterinarians in the U.S. has not kept up with pet ownership. While more people have pets, thanks partly to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of vets has remained relatively steady.
Becoming a veterinarian requires four years of college and another four years of veterinary school. It’s not cheap. That’s why Giving 4Pets is establishing a scholarship program. They want to ease the financial burden so veterinary students can concentrate on becoming great vets rather than the debt they might have when they graduate.
Giving4Pets needs your help
You can make a major difference in the lives of pets and their people with a monetary donation to Giving4Pets through Kindest.com. It’s a 501(c)(3) organization (Federal Tax ID #83-1258057), which means your donation is tax-deductible. It’s the perfect year-end donation to pay it forward and do something good while getting a break on your taxes.
“Your generosity will directly help us support the growing number of applications we receive daily from pet owners seeking assistance,” GK Foundation says.
If money is tight, and we know it is for many, you can still help by volunteering at Giving4Pet’s flagship Thrift Store. They’re looking for full- and part-time volunteers. Your time is a valuable gift. Investing it at the Giving4Pets Thrift Store can reduce overhead costs and make more money available for pets and their families. If you’ve ever shared your life, home, and heart with a pet, you know how vital it is to keep pets and their humans together. Volunteering at Giving4Pets’s Thrift Store can go a long way in furthering that mission.
Help Giving4Pets keep pets and families together today.
“Together, we can make a difference,” Samantha and Sean said. “Together, we can save lives.”
Go hug your pet again. They need some ear scritches. And treats.