Compassion, responsibility, and harmony
The health and safety of our families are inseparable from the well-being of our animals.
SHOWCASE
Wind River
We are working deep within the grass roots of the Wind River Reservation to provide Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho families access to free veterinary services.
4 Leg Drive
Providing access to veterinary care
We answer calls for help from families whose pets are sick or injured. We pick up dogs and cats from their homes on Tribal lands and take them to our veterinary partners. Once treated, we take the healing pets back home at no cost to their families.
Most Indian reservations have no veterinarians. Access to off-reservation veterinary care is often too far away and expensive. The median net worth of families in Indian Country in 2022 was $5,524, making the wealth gap between White and Native households 32 to 1.
When our pets suffer, our people do too.
OUR STORIES
Nanook and Krystein
Meet Nanook and his owner, Krystein. Nanook was roaming around the reservation looking for love when Krystein found him. NAHS 4 Leg Drive got him neutered and vaccinated so that he can live his best life back on the rez with Krystein.
Petlatch
Gifting dog food and shelter
We show up to help prevent dogs from starving and freezing to death in communities where household overcrowding is 8 times the national average. Multiple generations of people often live together in cramped tribal housing that was not built to accommodate them. The only place for their dogs is outside.
We give Native families a 30-pound bag of dog food and a new dog house filled with straw to help them and their furry companions get through the winter. In doing so, we honor the Indigenous gift-giving tradition. “Potlatch” is a word of the Kwakwaka’wakw people of the Pacific Northwest that means “to give.”
When our pets receive comfort, our people do too.
Safe Space
Building pet shelters & work skills
We teach Native women, LGBTQIA+, and youth how to build heated, all-weather dog houses to give them knowledge, skills, and confidence— and keep more outdoor pets safe in extreme cold.
We provide hands-on, collaborative learning opportunities to people who have historically been excluded from the construction industry. Discrimination and harassment can make opportunities to break into construction feel unsafe. Less than half of the 4% of women who work in the building trades are Native American, and less than 1% of all tradesmen identify as LGBTQIA+.
By teaching our relatives how to build dog houses that can withstand harsh environments, we are teaching them how to build professional skills that can do the same thing.
When our pets are prepared, our people are too.
H.O.T. Dogs
Keeping kids safe
We teach Native American kids how to be safer around dogs and become pet owners and veterinarians. Our children are at the highest risk of dog bites of anyone in the United States, growing up in communities without enough animal control resources, in a country where only 1% of all veterinarians are American Indian. We’re working to change that.
We create multi-media resources for Tribal families and educators to help children thrive by understanding their risks, responsibilities, and opportunities regarding dogs. Our curriculum includes books, films, coloring books, and dog training workshops. Our lessons are mostly restatements of traditional indigenous knowledge that colonization nearly destroyed.
When our children are protected, our futures are too.
CatsUp
Honoring Tribal Elders
We help Tribal Elders care for cats, who are often their constant companions.
Tribal Elders are traditional leaders and the heart of our communities. They share a wealth of knowledge that enriches us all, while experiencing personal poverty at twice the rate of all older adults in America. Living in food deserts without enough food for themselves, Tribal Elders often struggle to feed their feline friends.
Public services like Meals on Wheels are usually unavailable on Indian reservations, and systems of care that other communities rely on are missing. That’s why we partner with Tribes and other organizations to include cat food in home delivery food programs for seniors.
When we help our elders thrive, we help our cultures survive.