In 2025, Paws for a Cause Vet Care has partnered with Joliet Township Animal Control through a generous grant from Best Friends Animal Society, the Rachel Ray Save Them All grant. This collaboration is a game-changer for the Joliet community, offering subsidized veterinary services for a nominal copay to families facing financial difficulties. The goal is simple yet profound: to help keep pets in their homes, reduce shelter surrenders, and ultimately improve the live outcome rates at the Joliet Township Animal Control. By offering essential veterinary care such as vaccinations, spaying, neutering, and dental surgeries, emergency pyometra surgery, prescription medications and more at a reduced cost, the program ensures that families in need can afford the care their pets deserve.
The partnership is particularly important for Joliet, a city where a lack of local resources continues to make it difficult to achieve lower shelter surrenders and better adoption outcomes at Animal Control. Particularly, the financial burden of pet healthcare can be overwhelming for many families in Joliet. This program will provide critical support to families who might otherwise have to surrender their pets to local shelters due to health concerns or the inability to afford care. By reducing the need for shelter surrenders and helping families keep their pets healthy and safe, Paws for a Cause Vet Care and Joliet Township Animal Control are aiming to decrease the number of animals entering shelters and improve their chances of finding forever homes.
This initiative is part of a larger effort to achieve a 90% live outcome rate for shelter animals in Joliet. Historically, the community has faced an overwhelming strain on local shelters and animal control. With the support of Best Friends Animal Society, this program is a vital step in reducing the number of animals in shelters, ultimately increasing their chances of adoption and a second chance at life. By helping families keep their pets, Paws for a Cause Vet Care is making a significant impact on both the animal population and the local community.