The Inner Pup (TIP) works to keep dogs out of shelters. They need our support!

By Leo McGovern, the Inner Pup

Residents of the New Orleans area know a dysfunctional system when they see one. The chaotic nature of life in our city is often obvious to us, whether it's surging utility bills, endless construction, or that one pothole that annoys on a daily basis. There is one endless battle being fought, unseen by the majority of the public-- our animal shelters are full to the brim, bursting at the seams to a point where caravans of former pets are being relocated to other cities where a shelter or rescue is lucky enough to have space available. While shelter employees and their volunteers valiantly go to work every day, The Inner Pup is supporting them by attacking the causes behind pet abandonment. 

The Inner Pup is a New Orleans-based non-profit that is not a rescue but an organization based on prevention, meaning preventing Heartworm infection and preventing the most common reasons dogs from surrendered to shelters. We're a donation-based outfit that operates monthly Heartworm and flea prevention clinics, providing low-income pet owners with low-cost prevention and services. While our clients travel to meet us, we accommodate walk-ups and operate in the neighborhoods that need us the most, frequently appearing in New Orleans East, the Lower 9th Ward, and near Central City, at the Harry Tompson Center.  

TIP helps low-income pet owners maintain their beloved pets by providing low-cost heartworm and flea prevention, as well as treatment programs for those dogs who test positive for heartworms. In addition to our clinics, we have a veterinary assistance grant program that helps with non-emergency pet care, a voucher program for dog training, and a burgeoning education outreach program that visits schools and promotes positive pet ownership and acceptance.  

Our animal shelters were never intended to be used the way they are right now, as indefinite holding pens for discarded pets and rescues. The shelters are meant to reunite stray pets with their owners and take care of dogs and pets that have fallen through the cracks, and while our local shelters are frequently overflowing, their resolve endures despite repeatedly dealing with heartbreaking owner-surrenders. 

The Inner Pup helps well over one hundred dogs every month in the New Orleans area and we're expanding our reach in 2023, and to do that we can use your support! If you'd like to donate to TIP or volunteer your time or services, please reach out through theinnerpup.org. And, this holiday season TIP is running a chocolate cake campaign, where every hundred-dollar cake purchase can receive a specially made flourless chocolate cake made by TIP founder and former longtime caterer, Genie Goldring. All cake proceeds go directly back into The Inner Pup's life-saving programs. More info on the cake campaign can be found at https://tinyurl.com/TIPchocolatecake