NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa is proposing that the city hand out $1,000 to help cover pet expenses for anyone who saves a dog or cat from being euthanized at a city shelter.
Sliwa is proposing giving people who adopt animals a $1,000 "Pet Snap Card" to be used for food, supplies and other related expenses at local stores.
"This Pet SNAP Card will help promote and facilitate adoptions throughout New York City by easing the financial expenses of pets," Sliwa said in a statement.
"It works in the same way the traditional SNAP program except it can only be used toward pet expenses; food, supplies, vet care, etc," he added.
The Guardian Angels founder who lives with 15 rescue cats noted that people who got pets for comfort during COVID-19 now want to get rid of them.
The program would cost approximately $3.2 million annually, Sliwa told The New York Post.
Funding for the "Pet Snap Card" program would come from the $23 million Animal Care & Control Budget, according to Sliwa.
The program would also "facilitate that every animal coming into and going out of the shelter is spayed/ neutered and vaccinated," he added.
"This will save thousands of animals from being euthanized," Sliwa said.
