Fido Niagara
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Mission Statement
Fido Niagara is a non-profit providing pet fostering for vulnerable Niagara, Ontario residents experiencing a temporary medical, housing, or legal emergency. Fido Niagara stands for “Friends in Deed of Niagara” and refers to the old saying, ‘A friend in need is a friend in deed’. Often our most beloved companions are victims of changing housing and demographic conditions, and this is particularly true of the developing Niagara Region. Fido Niagara’s mission is to maintain the health and stability of our community by cushioning stressful times with emergency pet fostering services. Therefore, vulnerable Niagara residents can seek stable housing or medical treatment with peace of mind that their beloved companion is cared for and will be reunited with them. We rely on and contribute to the compassionate and neighborly character that is still Niagara.
About This Cause
For many homeless people, pets are ‘part of the family’, and provide comfort and support. For victims of domestic abuse, pets are often protectors and sole friends. The loss of a pet can be devastating. The impact of the loss of a pet is emotional trauma, which can lengthen the time to find suitable housing. The key activity we provide is a 30-day animal boarding service in support of homelessness prevention. This activity is further comprised of these steps: 1) creating an intake with the pet owner (client), and establishing the need with a social worker, and recording information; 2) securing an appropriate foster through our network, and meeting the foster at their home to determine suitability for the animal’s needs; 3) meeting the client at their current location, collecting the animal, and signing the client on agreement; 4) performing a veterinary wellness check, which usually includes updating vaccines and treatment for parasites; 5) placing the animal in the foster home, and signing foster on agreement; 6) weekly in-person check-ins with the foster family, and phone or email check-ins with the client and the client’s worker; 7) returning the animal to the owner at a designated time and place within 30 days. We receive many requests to extend the foster period beyond 30 days. Fido Niagara will generally does extend to the average of 39.5 days in shelter (according to the Niagara Housing Statement) if a) the client can show proof of a rental agreement with a fixed move-in date in the near future, and b) the foster family agrees to extend. In the event that the animal is too aggressive, destructive, or sick to be placed in a foster home, the animal may board for 7 days at a local humane society. In the event that a person is housed but hospitalized, Fido Niagara also offers a drop-in house-call service, whereby a volunteer will stop by the sick person’s house once or twice daily to walk or feed a pet. We also partner with women's shelters in the Niagara Region, to enable women to exit dangerous domestic situations without fear of losing their pet. We accept requests for fostering only from a Niagara Region accredited social welfare agency, medical facility, or other municipal organization, who is caring for and representing the animal’s owner. For example, a social worker from ProjectShare, an EMS technician, a nurse with Niagara Regional Health Services, or a doctor from St. Catharine’s Hospital, must contact us to request the service on an animal owner’s behalf. The representative must demonstrate a clear need. Fido Niagara is available 24/7 for intakes both by phone and via online intake form. This will usually happen from the point of service, such as at the home when a PSW or EMS is making a call, or at a food bank where a homeless person receives services. A Fido Niagara volunteer will meet with the animal owner to perform an intake. After waivers are signed, Fido Niagara will collect the animal and drive it to an appropriate foster volunteer’s home from our network within the Niagara Region. In the case of house calls, keys will be collected. We will hold the animal and make routine check-ins on both owner and animal, and return the animal to the owner within 30 days. WHAT WE DO We provide shelter, food, exercise, love, for vulnerable pets for up to 30 days through our network of volunteers, and ensure that the animal is returned to its owner. We share digital picture updates of the foster animal with its owner. We accept requests for fostering only from a Niagara Region accredited social welfare agency, medical facility, or other municipal organization, who is caring for and representing the animal’s owner. We screen our volunteers with background checks, home inspections, and veterinary history. We may provide basic first aid medical care (such as flea treatment or rabies vaccines) to ensure the comfort and safety of both animal and foster volunteer. We require that homeless pet owners be actively engaged in househunting with their social worker, and provide regular updates. WHAT WE DON'T DO We will not surrender or rehome your pet/s. We will return the pet/s to you at any time at your request. We do not ask questions about your personal situation, other than the general category of emergency, nor do we share your information with others. We do not introduce the animal’s owner to the foster volunteer. We do not provide fostering or re-homing services for abandoned, homeless, or rescued animals. These animals should be referred to a shelter or animal control. Fido Niagara does not provide free fostering services for animal owners who are traveling, or otherwise not experiencing an obvious social, legal, or medical emergency. We reserve the right to refuse service for animals displaying aggression or unreasonably destructive behavior. Increased housing prices, high occupancy rates, and mental illness are contributing factors to a growing homelessness problem in the Niagara Region. While a robust service network efficiently transitions the homeless into permanent housing, one factor hinders housing transition services – pets. Homeless shelters in Niagara do not accept pets, and permanent housing choices are limited to those with pets. Homeless pet owners resist transitional housing services for fear of separation or loss of their pets to municipal authorities. The result is that these individuals either remain on the streets with their pets, or remain in costly pet-friendly motels. The goal is to transition these individuals into shelters, and from there into permanent housing. What is needed is a service to house the pets during the transition time. What is also needed is such a service which has the trust and cooperation of this population. Fido Niagara’s founder, Jessica Cohen, has two master’s degrees in product design and architecture. As a construction project manager for Aroma Espresso Bar, and later as a project manager in Information Technology for The Home Depot USA, Jessica managed budgets of $500k-$3m. These projects involved hiring and managing sub-contractors, generating work plans, holding sub-contractors to deliverables, and purchasing. Jessica is also a graduate of an entrepreneurship program at the Schulich Executive Education Center of York University, in conjunction with an Ontario Centres of Excellence entrepreneurship grant. Jessica is also a military veteran. Jessica Cohen’s Linkedin profile is at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicacohendesign/ Fido Niagara’s second director is Kristen Murre, who brings expertise in project management and digital marketing; and Andrea Willette, who brings leadership and organizational management expertise as Sub-lieutenant with the Cadet Instructors Cadre, and Duty Officer with Parks Canada. Fido Niagara has successfully placed animals with foster families, whereby enabling the families to move from the streets to a shelter, or from a motel to a shelter. These placements are successful because, a) otherwise, animal owners would refuse to surrender their animals to municipal services, and b) animal owners can focus on finding suitable housing, which takes longer to find. Fido Niagara enables people to focus on finding housing by safely removing and monitoring their pets during the transition time. Our approach is partnership-based, with collaboration among government and private organizations. Already, all of these organizations have reached out to us to join our service network: StartMeUp Niagara, ProjectShare, YWCA Niagara Region, YMCA Niagara, The Salvation Army, RAFT, Southridge Shelter, OntarioWorks, Gateway Residential Community and Support Services, Bethlehem Housing and Support Service, and Niagara EMS. Some of these organizations, such as the YWCA, would not be able to deliver their services without our collaboration. Our approach is locally driven, in that we service all of the Niagara Region. Finally, our novel approach is animal-centred. Our clients understand that we care about animals and this trust us with our pets. Once the pet situation is stabilized, the homeless pet owner may focus on finding housing.