Mantua: Local Animals Get a Second Chance

Veterinarians are skilled in medical and surgical treatments to attend to the needs of animals. Many vets have a great passion for animals and take great pleasure in improving an animal’s life. Three veterinary students from West Philadelphia took their love for animals to another level.

In 2005, Cares4Pets was formed, focusing on the goal of rescuing animals in the Philadelphia area. What is unique about this organization is that all the people involved with this shelter have a veterinary background.

As a small organization that is able to provide personal attention to each animal, the team tends to foster animals that wouldn’t have a shot in larger rescue groups. The animals that need medical attention or that will be more expensive to treat are usually overlooked at larger shelters because of lack of resources. Organizations such as Cares4Pets provide for those less fortunate and strive to find homes for those animals.

Natalie Miller, one of the founders of Cares4Pets, explained why the small-scale rescue group is so successful. “We take on a lot of animals that have broken bones or got hit by a car and they don’t know what’s wrong with them at the city shelter and they don’t have the resources to devote to them,” Miller said. “So we try to take those types of animals on because we can do veterinary work-ups a lot cheaper than other rescue groups and we can do a lot of things ourselves.”

There is not one central shelter for these dogs and cats, however. These animals are based out of foster homes the rescue group provides for them.

Scattered throughout Philadelphia, these animals learn to live in household conditions before taken to their new homes through adoption.  “Since we are a small group like that, we tend to spend a lot of energy with each of our animals. We know a lot about them.  So as opposed to going into a shelter and picking out an animal and not having a whole lot of information, everyone’s in a home, we can tell you exactly what they do in the house,” Miller added.

Cares4Pets takes in three to five animals every month and provides information about these cats and dogs on a website when they are ready and fit for adoption. Click here for more information.