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Paws on Slauson p.e.t. equity index
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Here is exactly how the math works for Council District 9:
1. Turning "Need" into a Number (The Multiplier)
Instead of multiplying by a word like "Extremely High," the formula assigns a decimal multiplier to each level of need.
- Low Need neighborhoods (like CD 5) get a multiplier of slightly over 1.0 (like 1.02) because their residents have cars and money, meaning they can easily reach and afford every resource available.
- Extremely High Need neighborhoods (like CD 9) get a much lower multiplier, in this case, about 0.60 (or 60%).
2. The Math for CD 9
CD 9 scored a 33 for its physical resources (Pet Access Score). We take that 33 and multiply it by the Extremely High Need multiplier of 0.60: 33 × 0.60 = 19.8 (which rounds to the final Pet Equity Score of 20).
3. What This Actually Means in the Real World
Why do we reduce their score? Because having a vet clinic nearby doesn't do as much good if the community can't afford to walk through the doors.
That 0.60 multiplier represents a "barrier penalty." It means that because of the extreme poverty, lack of vehicles, and reliance on public transit in CD 9, the few pet resources that do exist there are essentially only 60% as effective or accessible to the local population as they would be in a wealthy area.
If a wealthy neighborhood gets a Pet Access Score of 33, it’s an inconvenience they just hop in their cars and drive to another district. But if CD 9 gets a 33, it is a crisis, because the residents don't have the cars or disposable income to bypass the shortage. The multiplication drops their score to 20 to expose exactly how heavily those community barriers weigh on the residents.
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The Guiding Question: Does Every Family Have the Tools to Keep Their Pets?
Every year, Los Angeles Animal Services takes in nearly 42,000 animals. Behind these numbers are families who love their pets but face insurmountable systemic barriers. National data shows that when families earning under $50,000 are forced to re-home their pets, 26 percent do so simply because they cannot afford medical care. Furthermore, 40 percent of these families state that having access to free or low-cost veterinary care would have been the single most helpful resource to keep their pet at home.
This raises a vital question for our city: Given the systemic barriers residents face, does every neighborhood in Los Angeles have equitable access to the resources required to keep pets healthy and in their homes?
To answer this, we developed the P.E.T. Index™ (People, Equity, Tools), which evaluates all 15 Los Angeles City Council Districts by comparing the physical availability of pet resources against the actual, daily challenges faced by the community.
The Parameters: Understanding the Citywide Bottleneck
When evaluating access, we must look beyond just counting pet stores. We have to look at the realities of the animal welfare safety net.
For example, the City of Los Angeles mandates that pets be spayed or neutered. Over the last three years, the city issued over 160,000 spay/neuter discount vouchers and free certificates, but less than half were actually redeemed. The data tells a powerful story, showing that of the vouchers that were redeemed, 88.1 percent were for fully free certificates rather than partial discounts. This proves that for vulnerable communities, a minor discount is not enough, and fully subsidized care is a strict necessity.
Yet even when families secure a free voucher, a massive geographic bottleneck exists. Currently, only 29 veterinary clinics in the entire city of Los Angeles accept these free vouchers, a catastrophic decline from 85 participating clinics in 2015.
Furthermore, a lack of local resources drives down civic compliance. The Los Angeles City Controller estimates that only 15 to 30 percent of the city's dog population is licensed. This mirrors national trends, where only about 23 percent of dogs and 7 percent of cats are officially registered. When communities lack affordable veterinary care, they often avoid the system entirely, leaving hundreds of thousands of pets invisible until a crisis forces them into a shelter.
The Data: The 2026 P.E.T. Index™ Rankings
When we apply the P.E.T. Index parameters to Los Angeles, a deeply fractured map emerges. In districts with high vehicle ownership and high median incomes, such as Council Districts 5 and 11, pet resources are abundant, resulting in exceptionally high Pet Equity Scores.
However, when we map the city's highest-need areas, identifying neighborhoods dealing with severe transit dependency, high renter-occupancy, and deep poverty, against the physical locations of those 29 remaining voucher-accepting clinics and national pet retailers, massive care voids appear. The data naturally reveals where the crisis is concentrated, setting the stage for targeted interventions to rebuild the animal welfare safety net where it is needed most.
