In 2022, AAWL partnered with PetSmart Charities to conduct the first-ever bi-lingual needs assessment of over 600 pet owners living near AAWL, including 448 pet owners who identified as Latino. Ultimately, the goal of the assessment was to be able to provide pet owners with affordable, accessible veterinary care to help keep pets in their homes and out of the shelter system.
We surveyed residents living in these zip codes surrounding the shelter -- 85006, 85008, 85009, and 85034 (Central City Phoenix). The residents living in these neighborhoods are predominantly Latino or Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC). We conducted stakeholder interviews, focus groups, and a community survey to gather our results. Then in 2023, we partnered with PetSmart Charities again to conduct additional conversations with over 90 pet owners in the 85009 zip code to dive deeper in to the needs of pets owners in these communities.
From these conversations with over 700 pets owners, we learned that a majority of them encountered obstacles in obtaining vaccines and nearly half reported that they didn’t have a regular source of veterinary care for their pets. Their biggest needs were vaccines, flea/tick/heartworm preventative, spay/neuter surgeries, and dentals. Many of the individuals we surveyed said they preferred services in Spanish, but didn’t know where to receive them.
As we work to better align AAWL’s veterinary services to meet these community needs, we are prioritizing delivering services in a way that respects the culturally diverse pet owners living and working in underserved communities near our shelter. We have restructured our low-cost community vet clinic to focus on providing much needed vaccines and wellness care, and we are excited to continue to partner with PetSmart Charities and Latino pet owners in East Maryvale to host pop-up vaccine clinics and develop a new vet care curriculum to help educate pet owners on how to care for their pets.
As part of these efforts, we’re always looking to recruit bi-lingual volunteers and staff, specifically veterinarians and vet techs, who are interested in partnering with us to better serve our community. If you’re interested in learning more about how to partner with AAWL on this Access to Vet Care Project, please email Alessandra at anavidad@aawl.org or call 602-273-6852.
