Learn / Companion Animals
Helping Companion Animals and Their Humans
Thoughtful Choices Make an Impact
Companion animals bring joy and unconditional love into our lives, yet they are uniquely vulnerable due to human choices.
Nearly 65% of Americans have a companion animal in their family, bringing them kinship, comfort, joy, and many other benefits. According to Pew Research Center, 97% of pet owners consider their pets part of their family.
More than 70 million dogs and cats are ready to find a family of their own but instead find themselves on the streets or in overcrowded animal shelters. People facing housing challenges may also be forced to choose between a place to live and staying with their beloved companion.
By learning more about the needs of companion animals and those who care for them, we can work toward solutions that protect both.
Adopt or Foster to Save an Animal’s Life
The greatest crisis facing companion animals today is animal homelessness. Across the country, animal shelters are overwhelmed and under-resourced. When shelters close their intake because the kennels are full due to a lack of adopters or fosters, countless animals are left with nowhere to go.
Despite the tireless efforts of shelter staff, volunteers, and innovative groups - through spay/neuter programs, smarter adoption strategies, expanded outreach, and clever marketing – animal homelessness persists. While loving animals wait in shelters, many people continue to buy dogs or cats, often unknowingly supporting inhumane breeding practices. This increases the burden on shelters and leaves adoptable animals behind.
But everyone can offer a powerful act of compassion to a homeless animal by adopting or fostering:
Every adoption creates space for another animal in need.
Every foster placement provides a lifeline to an animal that might otherwise be turned away.
By adopting, fostering, and never shopping for animals, so many individuals hold the power to save an animal’s life – and in the process, they may just positively change their own.
Keep Pets with the People Who Love Them
More than 20 million companion animals in the U.S. live in households experiencing poverty. For many families, pets are a vital source of emotional support and stability, but the cost of care can be overwhelming.
Care for the poor is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching, and this care extends to all our family members. When we support access to veterinary care, pet-inclusive housing, and basic resources, we help keep people and pets together.
KEY STEPS TO SUPPORT BOTH ANIMALS AND PEOPLE:
Pet-friendly housing policies: It’s tough for lower-income families to find homes that allow companion animals. Lack of affordable housing is a major reason people surrender animals to shelters. In transitional housing programs, asking residents to leave their animal - one of their most stable, loving companions - behind can create an impossible choice for vulnerable people. Subsidized housing should welcome all companion animals without breed and size restrictions. Landlords should reduce or eliminate extra fees for families with companion animals.
Community support services: Families struggling to make ends meet can’t keep up with rising veterinary costs. Community pet food pantries, government-subsidized spay/neuter, and vaccination clinics are lifelines that can mean the difference between an animal staying in their home or ending up in a shelter.
Skip Puppy Mills
Puppy mills are large-scale commercial breeding operations that prioritize profit over animal welfare. Dogs in these facilities often live in cramped, filthy cages with little to no socialization, exercise, or veterinary care. Many suffer long-term physical and emotional harm.
According to Humane World for Animals, there are still about 10,000 puppy mills in the U.S., with over 500,000 dogs used solely for breeding. While some states have implemented bans to address this, puppy mills continue to operate online and through informal marketplaces.
As puppy mills continue churning out puppies, animal shelters are struggling to keep up. Best Friends reports that a dog or cat is killed in a US shelter every 90 seconds. With so many animals in need of loving homes, adopting from a shelter is the most ethical and compassionate choice.
End Breed Discrimination
In many cities and housing situations, certain dog breeds are unfairly banned or restricted - a practice known as breed-specific legislation (BSL). These policies often target large breeds, regardless of an individual dog’s temperament or behavior.
Studies show that breed is not a reliable predictor of behavior, and leading organizations like the ASPCA, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and Humane World for Animals oppose breed-specific laws.
Worse, these laws disproportionately affect renters, low-income families, and people in housing transitions - making it harder to keep or adopt pets. Ending BSL helps both animals and people stay in safe, stable homes together.
Cats Need Claws
Declawing might sound like a nail trim, but it’s actually a brutal surgery that permanently disfigures cats. Declawing involves amputating a cat’s toes at the first joint, equivalent to cutting off the tip of your finger at the first knuckle. Most people declaw their cats in an attempt to reduce scratching. But declawing creates a host of new problems. It can cause serious physical and behavioral problems in cats. Some declawed cats will become litter-averse and begin eliminating outside the litter box. Other cats will develop back pain and bite more frequently.
Declawing has been banned in dozens of countries, several US states (Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, and New York), and many cities, including Los Angeles and Austin. There are many safe and effective alternatives to declawing. The Paw Project lists resources to keep your family (and furniture!) safe and happy. You can also find veterinarians who have adopted a “no declaw” policy.
The righteous care for the needs of their animals...”
— Proverbs 12:10