Austin Pets Alive! is pleased to announce our December Volunteer of the Month: Gail Nelson!
In 2012, Gail helped APA! begin the PASS Boarding Program, an extension of the Positive Alternatives to Shelter Surrender. This program helps people rehome or keep their pets during domestic abuse situations, hospital stays and more.
In an attempt to provide relief to those who only needed short-term care for their pets, Gail began reaching out to boarding facilities. PASS members only expected to bring a few boarders on board, but Gail’s efforts have successfully allowed APA! and PASS to form partnerships with over 40 boarding facilities! Through these efforts alone, Gail has saved countless animals from ending up in shelters by striving to provide useful alternatives for families and pets. Gail is a true life-saver.
"When an emergency request comes in, all I have to do is contact Gail and she takes over from there. This is not always a simple task. Sometimes the dogs and cats needing help are not spayed/neutered or vaccinated, all things our boarding facilities require, so Gail has been able to work with other area organizations to get these things done before the animal has to go into boarding, which in emergency cases sometimes needs to be almost immediately.
Gail has also handled many situations where pet owners do not have transportation and has recently secured voluntary transporters for our program so we can accommodate those people and pets as well.
In addition to all of this, Gail keeps track of each facility and each client we help. She sees to it that each is given credit through Facebook posts on our APA Facebook page and through Tweets. She tracks their donated time so they get credit at the end of the year.
I can't think of a more important role than the one Gail plays, and I can't think of a more dedicated and hard working person to do it. She truly deserves recognition for all that she has done for this program. "
-- Patty Alexander
