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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jean Bubley, Animal Rescue Volunteer
5:58:01
·
120 sec
Jean Bubley, a volunteer animal rescuer, testifies in support of proposed pet food pantries and funding for spay/neuter programs. She emphasizes the financial burden on volunteer rescuers and the importance of these initiatives in addressing pet abandonment and overpopulation.
- Highlights the high costs of veterinary care, including spay/neuter procedures, which rescuers often pay out of pocket
- Stresses the need for low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter services to help both rescuers and individual pet owners
- Mentions the importance of pet food pantries for people struggling to feed their animals and for rescuers managing colonies and foster animals
- Raises the issue of lack of pet-friendly housing as another major cause of pet abandonment
Jean Bubley
5:58:01
Hi, my name is Jean Bubly and I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak here today and also for proposing the pet food pantry and funding for spayneuter.
5:58:17
I am a volunteer with several rescue organizations and work with several independent rescuers.
5:58:25
And I want to emphasize that I'm a volunteer.
5:58:28
Like all the rescuers I know.
5:58:31
We have full time jobs to pay the bills and then spend more time rescuing animals and paying for their medical care out of our own pockets.
5:58:44
My credit card statement is full of thousands of dollars of veterinary bills for animals that I don't own but that I'm fostering and I'm sure all the other rescuers are in the same situation.
5:59:01
So I think the proposal for low cost, high volume spay neuter that would help rescuers is fantastic.
5:59:11
And it would also, I hope, help individual pet owners who struggle to pay for medical care for their pets.
5:59:20
It's very, very expensive as several people have already mentioned to spay and neuter animals.
5:59:27
And that's one of the problems is pets are being abandoned.
5:59:32
They're not spayed and neutered and they're making more animals.
5:59:36
Makes the problem worse.
5:59:38
And the pet food pantry is super important for people who can't afford to feed their animals and for rescuers who need to feed colonies and foster animals.
5:59:50
And something this doesn't address but I'll drop it in here is lack of housing that allows pets is another huge reason for pet abandonment.