Forget the Judgment, Remember the Bond: Carol Mithers on “Rethinking Rescue”

In her eye-opening book, Rethinking Rescue, journalist Carol Mithers examines how poverty and economic inequality create impossible choices for pet owners who love their animals but lack resources to keep them. Through the remarkable story of Lori Wiese, who pioneered community-based animal care in Los Angeles’ most underserved neighborhoods, Mithers demonstrates not only that we can’t adopt our way out of shelter overcrowding, but that we must address the socioeconomic barriers that force beloved pets from their homes in the first place. With veterinary costs skyrocketing, housing in short supply, and judgment sometimes replacing compassion, Mithers challenges us to see animal welfare through a social justice lens and recognize that keeping pets with the families who love them is both more humane and more effective than traditional rescue models.

Key Points:

• Rising veterinary costs have outpaced human healthcare, making even basic care unaffordable for many
• Housing insecurity and “no pets” policies are major drivers of animal surrender
• Reclamation fees at shelters often prevent low-income owners from retrieving lost pets
• Community-based veterinary clinics and support services keep animals in homes they already have
• Spay/neuter access remains critical but requires culturally sensitive approaches
• Animal care can be an entry point for addressing other social needs, like legal problems and mental health issues
• The myth of the “ideal pet home” (suburban, middle-class) ignores diverse positive human-animal bonds

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Journalist Carol Mithers has written extensively about extraordinary people and cultural movements for over three decades, with work appearing in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, and numerous other publications. Her latest book, “Rethinking Rescue: Dog Lady and the Story of America’s Forgotten People and Pets”—praised as “revelatory and provocative” by the Washington Post and selected as an NPR Book of the Day—chronicles how Lori Weise’s groundbreaking work created a safety net for both people and pets in LA’s struggling neighborhoods, demonstrating that social justice and animal welfare are intrinsically connected. Mithers previously co-authored “Mighty Be Our Powers” with Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee (a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist) and wrote “Therapy Gone Mad” about a 1970s psychotherapy cult. Her recent Capital & Main piece on pet ownership and eviction earned an L.A. Press Club Award.

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