Hearts Alive Village: Providing Critical Assistance for Animals and Their Humans

The end of pandemic benefits has increased the need for assistance of all kinds, including help for pet owners to keep and care for their four-legged best friends.

Hearts Alive helps all kinds of critters
Photo courtesy of Hearts Alive Village Las Vegas

About a month ago, the federal government ended the additional unemployment benefits provided during the earlier phases of the pandemic. In July, the eviction moratorium was ended. Many people are now left without sufficient income, and the unfortunate result is that many people will have difficulty feeding and caring for their pets. Heartbreakingly, some people will decide they have no choice but to surrender their pets to a shelter.

In Las Vegas, the Hearts Alive Village is one of the rescues trying to help people keep their pets. This non-profit offers several resources for struggling pet owners, including a program to help veterans and their pets with training, financial aid for vet bills, boarding and other resources. They also offer a foster and adoption program, re-homing help, a pet pantry, low-cost vet clinics, and a retail location with new and gently used pet items like toys and beds. They recently announced the addition of a horse sanctuary this fall – an urgent need, considering the number of horse owners in Southern Nevada.

Hearts Alive is opening a horse sanctuary
Photo courtesy of Hearts Alive Village Las Vegas

Back in July, their location near Rainbow and Charleston was burglarized. Although none of the animals were hurt, the group had to deal with the theft of money and equipment – never an easy thing to deal with, and at a non-profit, any loss is particularly difficult.

Hearts Alive helps fill the need for animal assistance in Las Vegas. While the city’s official shelter, The Animal Foundation, does its best to keep up with pet-related needs, it’s consistently dealing with an average of 30,000 animals coming in each year. It’s one of the highest volume single-site animal shelters in America. According to the RJ, Las Vegas has as many animals brought into its shelter as Los Angeles County, which has six shelters. That means groups like Hearts Alive are critical to providing resources for animals in Southern Nevada.

If you’ve been keeping up with the local news, you know that rent increases are driving people out of their homes, compounding the financial difficulties people are facing from the end of pandemic aid. The Nevada SPCA says that moving is one of the biggest reasons people surrender their pets. Many rentals don’t allow pets, or if they do, they require large deposits or higher rent. These cruel policies force too many people to choose between having a place to live or keeping their pet family members – and approximately 72% of renters have pets. Put that together with stats from December of 2020, when the ASPCA estimated that 19.2 million pets were living in homes that weren’t current on rent, and you have a recipe for a terrible situation. 

I’m not ashamed to admit that I dearly love animals of all kinds. That’s why the current situation is so concerning to me. My pets have always been members of my family. I can’t imagine how people who are already going through catastrophic losses of homes and financial security must feel when faced with surrendering their best friends, or foregoing medical treatment for them, or being unable to feed them. 

I’m urging everyone who can to make a donation to Hearts Alive or another animal rescue. They’re doing all they can to help with a situation that will only grow, and they need our help.

How can you resist this face?
Photo courtesy of Hearts Alive Village Las Vegas