On a trip to New York, Genevieve Frederick walked by a homeless man with a loyal dog by his side. She normally would walk past panhandlers, but something felt different about this encounter. On her website, she writes, “I couldn’t get that dog out of my mind. I tried to imagine what brought the man to be homeless. Was it drugs, alcoholism? That’s the conclusion most people make about the homeless. This man didn’t look like an addict. I wondered why and how he got to where he was in life. And, what about his dog? It was obvious the dog was devoted to the man. He was not on a leash and could have run away at any time. I was confused as to the reason anyone who is homeless, who could barely feed or take care of themselves, would even consider having a pet.”

After returning home, she began to do some research about homelessness in America. She found that 3.5 million people in America are homeless and that between 5-10 percent of homeless individuals have dogs or cats. Some places, it’s as high at 25 percent. While at first she was confused about how a homeless individual could possibly care for an animal, she soon recognized the power of companionship and love that can bind a homeless individual to their animals and knew she had to help.


She decided to take action. Along with her daughter Renee, she started a nationwide program called Pets of the Homeless, which provides food and basic emergency veterinary care to pets in need. This relieves the burden many homeless individuals feel when they can not provide for their most loyal companions.

In eight years since opening, they’ve already provided food and care for 13,000 animals! We are so inspired by Genevieve and Renee and their dedication to helping animals and humans across the country. If you’d like to donate to Pets of the Homeless, click here.