Keeping Pets With Their Humans, Even In A Crisis

The crew who helped put together a behavioral training yard.

There can be many reasons that a person might contemplate giving up a companion animal. or pet. Some of the reasons can include lack of funds, job loss, military deployment, illness, difficult behavior. Millions of animals come into some type of shelter care every year. Is there some type of support service available where a person in crisis can turn for assistance to stop this contemplated step of letting go of a cherished pet?

In Cropseyville, NY, THE ANIMAL SUPPORT PROJECT (TASP) brings together various types of solutions that can lead to a happier outcome for pets and their humans. The all volunteer team of Patricia Watt, Melinda Plasse, and Mitch Valerien brought their passion and skills together to provide such supports as training, grooming, transportation, routine vet visits, allergy and other types of diagnostic tests, whatever is needed, to help pets and their people stay together.



Ms. Watt explained, "We believe passionately that pet owners who are going through a crisis, whether that be financial, medical, or some other emergency, should not at the same time lose their beloved pets just because they cannot meet their needs."

All of the services are provided for free to those with low incomes, many of whom are disabled, senior citizens. unemployed, deployed, and/or disadvantaged. Ms. Watt commented, "By having TASP fill that gap, those owners need not surrender their pet to a shelter thereby benefiting not only the welfare of the animal but also the emotional state of the pet owner."

One of the awesome pairs of owner/pet is Dan and Sheeba. Dan is a military veteran, who has suffered three strokes in 2015, leaving him with significant aphasia. an inability to form words or understand language. along with pre-existing Parkinson's Disease. Sheeba, 9 years old, had been with Dan for four years. Both man and dog loved each other very much and got along well together. Sheeba never wanted for anything.

But, then on a visit to the vet's Dan found out that Sheeba had a lump on one of Sheeba's mammary glands. Dan didn't have the fund for a diagnostic work-up, much less any surgery. That's when TASP stepped in and paid for the work-up and the surgery, the latter through a support fund, which was supplied by various contributors.

Allana and her family lost their home in a fire, TASP helped board their dog, Bria, while the family searched for a new home.

Today, the happy duo are on the mend. Sheeba had her surgery and is now cancer-free. Dan has been making slow progress in speech therapy. And the twosome take walks and climb the stairs together (Sheeba just has to do it backwards). Not always is the ending in real life so happy. This wonderful twosome thank their supporters, who contributed to the surgery fund, so both could have more time together.

The young men of an Acacia fraternity attend a dog training session while volunteering with TASP.

Thanks for information from this article on Pollination Project:  https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/patricia-watt-the-animal-support-project/; this youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoiEgN_0uC0; this youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMw3VtehZyM; and the above link.

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