The Coalition for Pets and Public Safety first began when Erika Brunson and a few of her associates decided that they had to do something about the overpopulation of pets in Los Angeles. About 120,000 unwanted dogs and cats are euthanized annually in the city.
The goal of this non-profit organization is to increase access to affordable or free spay and neuter services. To achieve its goal, the group bought the first ever mobile spay and neuter van. Brunson asked her acquaintance Jeffrey Katzenberg of DreamWorks to design the artwork for the van and he agreed to do it. The van, which the Coalition for Pets and Public Safety leases to the City of Los Angeles for one dollar a year, goes into impoverished neighborhoods and conducts free sterilizations for pets that are companions to senior citizens, the handicapped, and low-income families. The van will spay and neuter animals over 4 months of age. The Coalition will even pay for the spay and neuter of puppies and kittens under four months of age at a regular full service hospital
The group, according to Brunson, has thus far altered 4,000 animals. “We have a huge overflow and have to turn animals away everyday,” she told me. They give many of the pets they must turn away free vouchers to go to a local hospital.
Gavin Polone, a co-founder of the Coalition for Pets and Public Safety, said that he joined with Brunson and her friends because he thought the animal population in Los Angeles was simply “disgraceful.” He says that the ramifications of even altering just 4,000 animals are significant.
More than just simply altering pets, Polone believes that it is necessary to educate the public on the importance of not only getting their own dogs spayed and neutered, but also on the value of rescuing animals. There are businesses that continue to breed animals even while many are killed because they can’t find them homes. Polone, himself, has eight pets, three dogs and five cats, all of which were rescued.
The Coalition for Pets and Public Safety hopes to eventually expand its activities. In addition to the van, the Coalition for Pets and Public Safety works with California Institute for Woman, a women’s prison in Corona, to spay/neuter and provide veterinary care to domestic and feral cats that are being taken care of by the inmates. The organization would like to do even more. Currently, all money has been raised among the founding members, according to Brunson. They are hoping to increase their fundraising efforts. Polone says they may even have a movie premiere to raise money. In time, the Coalition for Pets and Public Safety will hopefully build on the important work it has done this past year and significantly reduce the animal population of Los Angeles.
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