We have good news: The live outcome rate at TLAC in May was 89%! Without our volunteers, fosters, adopters, and donors, that rate would have only been 64%.
Historically, May and July are the second worst months of the year. The worst month? Yep, June. But the silver lining is that if we can just keep up this intensity for the next 7 weeks, we'll have made it through the worst of the summer.
We need your help now more than ever. We want to keep up the 90% live outcome rate and show the rest of the country that no-kill can be done at a large municipal shelter.
Below are some of our most pressing needs. If you can help in any way, we'd love to have you!
Volunteering
Medical Volunteer Co-Coordinator: APA’s vet hospital is in charge of the care of the hundreds of animals in APA’s program, as well as the Low Cost Community Hospital. We are looking for someone with a background as a veterinary technician or receptionist that could help teach medical volunteers basic technical skills and train other volunteers to be trainers. 8-10hr/wk commitment
Email [email protected]
Transportation Volunteer: Help transport animals to and from adoption events, the animal shelter, the APA vet clinic and other transportation needs in and around Austin. No training or skills required, just sign up for dogs or cats and you will receive emails whenever a transport need arises!
Email [email protected] to get added to the transport email list
Orphan Kitten Nursery Feeder: Care for and insure the well-being of 30-40 orphaned kittens in our nursery. The nursery needs feeders literally around the clock to come in for 2-4 hour shifts to bottle feed, groom, clean up after, and love on our orphaned babies. Training is required and provided at the nursery by APA staff. The number of kittens we save is directly related to the number of feeders we have!
Email [email protected] to sign up for training.
Dog Walking Volunteers and Team Leads: Come to APA's shelter on Manachaca and Lamar in the mornings or evenings any day of the week to walk the doggies! These guys stay cooped up during the day at adoption sites and at night in their kennels, so walks all around the campus on a leash are great to help them stretch. It also helps a lot with behavior issues that can develop from being inside of kennels all day and just help make happier, more well-rounded pups!
Email [email protected] or [email protected] to sign up!
Vet Clinic Volunteers: Help fill prescriptions, restrain animals, give vaccinations, monitor anesthesia, and assist the technicians in their daily medical duties. OR if medical stuff grosses you out – help greet clients, answer the phone, talk to people about their pets, check people out, etc.
Email [email protected]
Fostering for Dogs and Cats
Moms w/babies - We get a lot of moms nursing babies or pregnant teenagers into the shelter that need foster care so they can have a quiet, safe place to raise their babies. This is one of the most rewarding foster experiences - watching the mom love and clean and care for her babies is just too cute for words! Typically these guys need foster for 6-10wks to let the babies get big enough for spay/neuter.
Orphaned Bottle babies (0-3wks old): These are the most intensive, but most rewarding type of foster. They need fed every 2-3 hours (but can go up to 6 hours overnight) and don't have a mom, so need you to be their surrogate mom. You will clean them, feed them, help them go to the bathroom - everything a mom would do. These little angels are completely helpless and need your help to grow into big, strong, healthy pets! These are perfect for stay-at-home moms or dads and people that work from home!
Orphaned Gruel babies (3-5wks old): These babies don't have a mom care for them but are starting to transition to wet food. They can be left alone for 5-6hrs at a time (up to 8hrs overnight), and eat a mixture of wet food + formula. They sometimes need bottle feeding while they learn how to eat on their own. These are great for folks that work part time or can come home to check on them during lunch.
Go to http://www.austinpetsalive.org/get-involved/foster/ for more info on fostering and to fill out the application. You can choose to foster dogs, cats, or both, and choose what type of animal you want - adults, kittens, puppies, behavior cases, orphans, moms, seniors or sick ones, they all need your help!
Donations
– Please drop off at 2807 Manchaca Blvd 7 days a week 11am - 7pm
Esbilac Puppy Formula or KMR Kitten Formula; powder version (available at PETCO)
Canned or Dry Nutro Kitten, Puppy, Dog or Cat food
Bleach
Paper Towels
Plastic small kiddie wading pools (for the dogs outside to stay cool)
Your old grocery bags (to pick up poop!)
Tidy Cat Litter
Expired Medical Supplies – Human medical supplies work for animals too! (IV fluid bags, gloves, suture material, IV catheters, medications, pill bottles)
