Prevention Is the Future of Animal Welfare
Prevention Is the Future of Animal Welfare
For generations, animal welfare has focused on one primary goal: rescue the animals that need help.
And while rescue will always remain essential, many of today’s most innovative organizations are asking an important question:
What if we could prevent the crisis before it ever begins?
Instead of waiting until a family has no choice but to surrender a beloved pet, prevention-focused organizations work upstream. They help people find pet-friendly housing, provide emergency veterinary care, stock pet food pantries, and connect struggling families with resources before financial hardship turns into heartbreak.
It’s a simple shift in thinking, but one with enormous consequences.
During her conversation on the Top Dog Podcast, Christy Schilling, Executive Director and Co-Founder of BetterTogether Forever, shared why the future of animal welfare isn’t just about rescuing more animals. It’s about making sure fewer animals need rescuing in the first place.
Every Surrender Has a Story
When people surrender a pet to a shelter, it’s easy to assume they simply gave up.
The reality is usually far more complicated.
Many families have already exhausted every option they know. They’ve searched for affordable veterinary care. They’ve struggled to find pet-friendly housing. They’ve borrowed money, skipped meals to buy pet food, and spent weeks trying to solve a problem they never expected to face.
By the time they arrive at a shelter, they’re often carrying guilt, fear, and heartbreak.
Christy has built BetterTogether Forever around one belief:
Most people don’t want to surrender their pets. They simply run out of options.
That’s why her organization exists.
Rather than replacing shelters, BetterTogether Forever fills the gap before families reach that point. The organization connects pet owners with food assistance, veterinary care, emotional support animal assessments, temporary foster options, and housing resources designed to preserve the human-animal bond.
Sometimes all a family needs is one phone call.
One referral.
One person willing to say, “Let’s see what we can do.”
Housing Has Become an Animal Welfare Issue
One of the greatest challenges facing pet owners today isn’t behavior.
It isn’t training.
It isn’t even veterinary care.
It’s housing.
Across many communities, finding affordable housing that accepts pets has become increasingly difficult. Breed restrictions, weight limits, pet deposits, and strict landlord policies force many families into impossible decisions.
Keep your home.
Or keep your pet.
No one should have to choose between the two.
BetterTogether Forever works with pet owners throughout Los Angeles to help overcome these barriers. By assisting with emotional support animal assessments and connecting families to available resources, the organization helps many people remain housed without sacrificing the companionship that often provides emotional stability during life’s hardest moments.
When people stay housed, pets stay housed too.
And shelters avoid becoming overwhelmed by animals who never needed to lose their families in the first place.
Sometimes Helping Means Connecting the Dots
One of the most surprising insights Christy shared is that her organization doesn’t always have to provide every solution themselves.
Often, their greatest contribution is simply knowing where help already exists.
Animal welfare can be confusing.
One organization offers free surgeries.
Another provides pet food.
A different nonprofit helps with transportation.
Another specializes in temporary foster care.
To professionals working in animal welfare, those resources may seem familiar.
To someone facing a crisis for the first time, they’re nearly impossible to navigate.
BetterTogether Forever acts as a bridge.
The team helps families understand what programs are available, complete applications, schedule appointments, and connect with partner organizations that can meet their specific needs.
Sometimes guidance is every bit as valuable as financial assistance.
As Christy explained, many people express overwhelming gratitude simply because someone answered the phone, listened without judgment, and helped them understand where to turn next.
Collaboration Saves More Lives Than Competition
One theme appears repeatedly throughout Christy’s work.
No organization can solve animal welfare alone.
Veterinary clinics donate discounted services.
Pet food manufacturers contribute supplies.
Other nonprofits provide specialized medical care.
Volunteers help transport animals.
Housing organizations work alongside pet support programs.
Every success depends on collaboration.
One story from the interview perfectly illustrates this philosophy.
An unhoused individual had finally secured permanent housing, but their dog needed to be spayed, vaccinated, and approved as an emotional support animal before moving in.
Within just two days, BetterTogether Forever coordinated veterinary partners, documentation, transportation, and resources that allowed the person and their dog to remain together.
No single organization accomplished that outcome.
The community did.
Animal welfare becomes far more effective when organizations focus less on who receives the credit and more on ensuring families receive the help they need.
Success Isn’t Always Measured by Adoptions
Animal shelters often celebrate adoption numbers.
Rescues celebrate animals saved.
Those metrics matter.
But prevention organizations measure success differently.
How many pets stayed home?
How many families avoided surrender?
How many crises never became shelter intakes?
Last year alone, BetterTogether Forever responded to thousands of requests for assistance, distributed more than $145,000 worth of pet food and supplies, and helped over 1,200 pets receive veterinary care. Behind every number is a family that may have remained together because someone intervened before circumstances became irreversible.
Those victories rarely make headlines.
Yet they may represent some of the most meaningful successes in animal welfare.
The best rescue story is often the one that never required rescue at all.
Leadership Means Finding Hope in Difficult Work
Like many nonprofit leaders, Christy spends her days hearing heartbreaking stories.
Families facing eviction.
Senior pets needing emergency medical care.
People grieving impossible decisions.
The emotional weight can become overwhelming.
So how does she keep her team motivated?
By celebrating every victory.
Some are extraordinary, like helping an unhoused individual move into permanent housing with their dog.
Others are quiet moments that rarely receive public attention, like helping an elderly owner afford humane end-of-life care for a beloved companion instead of forcing them to navigate the shelter system alone.
Every success reminds the team why their work matters.
Those stories become fuel during difficult days.
Because in animal welfare, hope often grows one family at a time.
What This Means for Dooberteers
Whether you’re a volunteer, foster, transporter, shelter professional, or nonprofit leader, Christy’s story offers an important reminder.
The future of animal welfare isn’t only about responding to emergencies.
It’s about preventing them.
Every bag of pet food distributed.
Every veterinary voucher.
Every housing resource.
Every phone call answered.
Every family supported before surrender becomes necessary.
These aren’t small acts.
They’re investments in stronger communities and healthier human-animal bonds.
When we help people keep the pets they already love, everyone benefits.
The families.
The shelters.
And most importantly, the animals.
Listen to the Full Episode
Want to hear Christy Schilling’s inspiring conversation about prevention, pet retention, and building stronger communities for people and their pets?
Watch on YouTube:
Listen for the audio versions:
If you’re passionate about helping animals, join the Doobert community where volunteers, fosters, transporters, and animal organizations work together to save lives every day.
Visit Doobert.com to get involved, volunteer, foster, or transport animals in need.
And don’t forget to subscribe to the Top Dog Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode.