Kathy Hochul’s "Affordability" Blind Spot: Just Guess!
Half of New York households with pets consider them family members, and many struggle to afford vet care. Hochul's 2025 economic agenda ignores them.
The Scoop New York is a newsletter dedicated to companion animals and the New Yorkers who care for them, from Buffalo to Brooklyn. NYC ACC KILLS, published by TSNY, enumerates and memorializes adoptable cats and dogs who were nonetheless exterminated by Animal Care Centers of New York City.
Headlines from Buffalo to Brooklyn
It’s January 17, 2025. This is The Weekly Poop.
This week, Governor Kathy Hochul delivered what could be, at the risk of jinxing it, her penultimate state of the state address.
In the aftermath of getting their clocks cleaned by Trailer Park Jesus, capital “D” Democrats, very much including Hochul, have decided playing “just folks” is the shortest path to regaining relevancy as a national concern. It’s not even MLK Day and “affordability” is already word of the year.
Cue millionaire Hochul opining on making rent and subsisting on Spam.
Amid pledges of tax cuts, tax credits, tax rebates and other inch-deep sops, Hochul neglected to pretend to care about impoverished New Yorkers who struggle to provide for their companion animals.
About half of New York households have pets. According to stats compiled here, more than 50 percent of New York pet owners consider their pets “as important a part of their family as their human relatives are.”
Nationally, a Harris Poll commissioned last year by The Humane Society of the United States found that 39 percent of respondents “at certain points … couldn’t afford their animal’s needs, such as emergency and preventive veterinary care, food and supplements.” Further, a majority of those polled by HSUS “agreed that one’s financial situation shouldn’t impact their ability to own a pet and that owners shouldn’t forfeit a pet if they fall on hard times.”
In sum, Americans of all stripes love not only their pets, but yours too. More than a third of Americans can’t always afford adequate pet care. One of every two New Yorkers, give or take, has a companion animal. And most New York pet owners consider their animals to be family members.
Unfortunately, as yours truly has mentioned a couple or three times, New York lawmakers — state and local — are in the main indifferent to New Yorkers’ love for companion animals. Hochul in particular seems to think she’s done her job by chipping in a token few million toward shelter construction and renovation, which localities say does not cover costs associated with bringing those facilities in line with new state standards set to take effect in December. To say nothing of desperately-needed initiatives like low-cost spay-neuter and low-cost vet care.
Delivering for New Yorkers’ companion animals is delivering for New Yorkers. It’s an easy win. The proverbial low-hanging fruit.
No wonder New York Dems can’t see it.
Here’s the latest New York companion animal news:
New Yorkers may not know for a while if their corrupt current mayor might be succeeded by their corrupt former governor.
Manhattan BP Mark Levine leads City Council rep Justin Brannan in fundraising among comptroller aspirants who could’ve contested Bill de Blasio’s behind closed doors NYC ACC contract scheme but instead went along with allowing ACC to fleece city taxpayers until 2052.
An anonymous tipster says Yonkers Animal Shelter is a pit of animal cruelty and employee misconduct, though you can’t really discern that from this vaguely creepy News 12 piece, which seems AI-generated.
A Queens woman is frantically looking for her 3-month old puppy, Phoebe, after she disappeared while in the care of a Rover-hired sitter.
Goldie, the cat who jumped from a third story window to escape a fire in a Midtown building, is recovering and will soon be reunited with his person, a man who sounds like he really loves his cat.
Twenty-three cats, many or all of them fosters, were unaccounted for in the wake of a house fire in Copiague. Warning: potentially distressing video behind the first link.
Irondequoit police shot a dog seven times after s/he allegedly bit a child and attacked an animal control officer — though from here the redacted body cam video raises more questions than it answers.
Lollypop Farm in Rochester is asking the public for help identifying whomever dumped a dog, named Oscar, in a dumpster. Oscar was at the facility less than a month before he was adopted.
Buffalo TV station WKBW filed a nice piece on Buffalo C.A.R.E.S., a rescue currently in need of fosters.
Pat Kiernan (IYKYK) profiled a volunteer for Queens rescue Puppy Kitty NY City.
Finally: “Based on our call data, dogs are far more likely to be attracted to marijuana than cats.”
This week on The Scoop New York
Donna Lupardo and Michelle Hinchey Still Oppose SARA
Albany ag committee chairs Donna Lupardo and Michelle Hinchey have for years let the Shelter Animal Rescue Act languish. With the legislature back in session, they have no plans to change that.
Adoptables
It’s another weekend with just one NYC ACC mobile adoption event, tomorrow in Queens. TSNY has queried ACC about mobile adoption cutbacks — set to stretch into March, at least — questions ACC and NYC health department flacks have to this point ignored.
Penelope (pictured) is stress-grooming after seven months at CNY SPCA in Syracuse and needs a home where she’s the only cat.
Cane (pictured) and friends await at Buffalo C.A.R.E.S., mentioned above.
Find New York adoptables near you on Dogs in Danger and Adopt a Pet.
Food recalls
The FDA announced no new pet food recalls this week, though H5N1 contamination of raw food has prompted another manufacturer, California-based Monarch, to pull its products from stores.
As reported last week, Northwest Naturals recalled its cat food after a pet house cat caught bird flu and died from eating it.
Writes Nathan Winograd of the No Kill Advocacy Center: “Health officials in various cities urge people not to give their cats raw milk or cat food. Unfortunately, skepticism about public health measures has resulted in dismissing these claims, and the products are becoming more popular than ever. Cats are paying the price.”
Check here for FDA info on prior pet food recalls.