I’ve spent a lot of time working with founders and companies striving to address challenges or fill service gaps in the Veterinary industry. Sometimes I work in an area I am familiar with, and other times I am challenged to broaden my perspective or question my assumptions. I recently had an eye-opening experience that involved a challenge in my own backyard, so to speak.
We enjoy our home in New Orleans. It is a city of creative, resilient people. As with any hometown, it has its challenges, and although I am aware of them, I didn’t see how I could alleviate any of them – that is, until I was introduced to the Goldrings.
Seeing A Need
Genie and Lindsay Goldring saw the challenges faced by households facing significant financial challenges, particularly the struggle to keep pets healthy and avoid surrendering them to a shelter. Lindsay was working under a renowned dog trainer and serving as the Executive Director of The Animal Adoption Center in Jackson, WY. Genie was shocked to find that 80% of shelter intakes in New Orleans were heartworm-positive and that many programs to help pet owners provide care to their pets were not being utilized by those in certain sectors of the community. They both felt that more needed to be done. So what was their next move? They bought a truck.
This mother-daughter duo intended to drive around the neighborhoods and spread the news about programs that helped people with their pets. They would stop to talk to anyone they saw with a pet, handing out leashes and treats and providing information about the area’s spay/neuter program. Lindsay recounts a pivotal moment when she happened across a man sitting on the corner of the street selling water and a puppy.
“It turns out that Chucky was the owner of the business occupying that corner lot and was known in town for helping pets in need. We got to talking and found that neither he nor the locals knew about many of the programs that could help them, and they needed help accessing them,” said Lindsay. “When Chucky told us he thought that ‘together we can do this,’ a fire was ignited in us,” and The Inner Pup was launched.
The Inner Pup is a nonprofit based in New Orleans, LA, that focuses on equitable access to pet health care and resources for pets and their families struggling to make ends meet. And that business owner? He teamed up with Genie and Lindsay to spread the word and build trust within the local community.
The Inner Pup
The Inner Pup (TIP) is not a rescue group or an animal shelter. It is an organization that delivers low-cost heartworm and flea prevention clinics, wellness exams, treatment options, and Veterinary assistance grants where they are needed – in low-income neighborhoods. In 2025, TIP provided:
- 1,500+ pet visits across all their programs
- 14 Heartworm and Wellness Clinics(from little neighborhood pop-ups to massive community clinics)
- 6 Cat Clinicsin their Healing Center office
- 10 Heartworm Happy Hours for treatment clients
- 18 pallets of pet food and 12 pallets of human food were distributed
- Nearly 10,000 months of heartworm protectionand 9,000 months of flea/tick prevention were given out
- 90% of pets seen got a heartworm test—blood draws on porches, sidewalks, fire stations, and front yards
- 138 dogs are currently in heartworm treatment
- Over 135 pets have been helped through the Veterinary Assistance and Training Voucher programs
- November 9 clinic, where they saw 566 pets; TIP alone handled nearly 300 heartworm tests and prevention doses that day
And if you think that list is impressive, just look at how the duo in a truck built programs that make a difference:
- Heartworm Zero Program – Geared toward prevention, as well as treatment assistance because telling someone their pet is positive and then leaving them does not help the pet or the person.
- OneTouch – A research endeavor to address heartworm incidence in a local New Orleans community, with the hope of expanding globally. This is a rare study using community-owned dogs rather than research dogs.
- Veterinary Assistance Grant – Vouchers for non-emergency health issues at providers in the New Orleans metro area
- Spay/Neuter Grant – Vouchers for low-income Orleans Parish pet owners
- Dog Training Grants – Ethel’s Etiquette offers not only local trainers, but also virtual trainers who work remotely with pet parents.
TIP’s pop-up clinics, prevention programs, and resources ensure that pets can stay with their families rather than becoming another statistic in the shelter system. While statistics are something I watch, this particular one didn’t tug at my heart until I read Unleashing the Bond: Harnessing the Power of Human-Animal Interactions by Dr. Rustin M. Moore, dean of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He shows us that the human-animal bond has a profound effect on a child’s development. For children, pets can be a source of comfort, stability, and motivation.
Connecting kids and pets has its benefits. Recently, TIP received a donation of the “Love Me Gently” book by Lisa Wiehebrink to hand out to children at community pet clinics – kids couldn’t wait to read it. Lindsay Goldring sees TIP not only protecting animal welfare, but also supporting the emotional and developmental well-being of the children who love them by involving kids in pet care and keeping pets healthy and in the household.
Looking to The Future
From just driving a truck to coordinating clinics and programs, Genie Goldring sees the next phase involving more outreach, as well as the sustainability of the organization. She says every community has underserved people, and she wants TIP to make pet care easier for families and more affordable. Genie says her goal is to “shatter the gold standard of heartworm treatment and put prevention and treatment within reach of all families.”
What started as helping to get the word out about programs to help pet owners has morphed into multi-program services to address the root of pet neglect and abandonment. As best explained by Desmond Tutu’s quote, “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they are falling in.” TIP’s goal is to be more active upstream and help pet owners keep their pets healthy and in the family home, rather than suffering from a lack of medical care or being surrendered to a shelter. The need is great.
Here is where I challenged myself to get involved, especially for the kids and their pets – but how? A friend of mine has her two dogs involved in a Reading and Literacy Program where kids read to the dogs because the dogs sit and listen, don’t judge how fast or slow the child reads, and reward the child’s effort with a paw on the leg or a slobbery lick! My own dog is not up to that challenge, but I needed to do something. My first step was to become an active TIP board member and help them navigate the challenges of serving pets and people in the community.
Working with TIP’s fantastic team, I realized that many of TIP’s needs (leashes, toys, harnesses, treats, food, diagnostic tests, heartworm and flea preventives, antibiotics, steroids, and other general pharmaceuticals, etc.) were well within my circle of contacts. One contact, BARK in the Belly premium pet food, has partnered with The Inner Pup to donate food for distribution at local community events. I don’t often reach out with a direct request, but when something aligns this closely with my values—and with the kind of community I believe in—I feel a responsibility to share it.
Where You Can Help
What can YOU do? If you’re reading this, you are an industry leader with resources. Challenge yourself to broaden your reach and help more people and pets. Consider directing product donations to TIP, including:
- Portable tag making machine and collars (many of TIP’s clients don’t have anything identifying their pets, and, especially during fireworks, the pets take off and are lost)
- Anything to walk dogs – harnesses, leashes
- Toys – tough frisbees, tug toys, things for chewers, plush toys, bully sticks
- Pop-Up Clinic supplies – tents, crates, leashes
- Gifts for outside dogs – igloos, fence (with installation)
- OTC Pharmaceuticals – flea baths, etc.
- Pet beds
- Pet food and training treats
- Dog brushes, deshedders, and pet first aid kits
- TIP-branded totes to use for giveaways or other TIP-branded items to give away
- Medical items
- Heartworm, flea, and tick preventives
Contact gene@theinnerpup.org for in-kind donations.
What I love about TIP isn’t just the mission, but the integrity of the people behind it and the impact they’re having in our community. All families, regardless of income, deserve a pet. Healthy pets support healthy families and healthy families build resilient communities. Let’s make 2026 a banner year for the pets and their families.