Dec 24, 2021
Expensive Mates,
As this 12 months involves a detailed, I’m in awe of the lifesaving love that you’ve got for canines and cats who haven’t any different possibilities to outlive. You made certain that pets survived a winter storm. You made certain that Austin remained the most secure metropolis within the US for pets for the tenth 12 months in a row. You obtained APA! one step nearer to maintaining shelter pets within the coronary heart of Austin. Most significantly, this 12 months, you made certain that greater than 12,000 pets have been saved from pointless demise in shelters.
This 12 months additionally marked an enormous shift, on account of COVID, in the best way that authorities shelters function all around the nation. For the primary time in historical past, governments are banding collectively to deal with the foundation causes of crowded shelters and pointless euthanasia. Though we aren’t a authorities shelter, APA! helps to steer the motion in the direction of a extra humane, for people and pets, manner of working. The present all animal lovers have wished for 12 months after 12 months lastly feels possible- to get rid of the killing of shelter pets in America, endlessly.
Early in 2022, APA! management shall be sharing our full 2021 influence numbers and highlights, however as you rejoice the vacations (when you rejoice them, and nonetheless you safely can this 12 months) we wish to want you and your family members nicely and thanks on your continued function in saving animal lives.
Let’s have a look again on just some of the milestones from 2021.
February: Winter Storm Uri & the beginning of transport
When Winter Storm Uri hit Texas in mid-February this 12 months, it leftover 4 million individuals out of energy and water for days. Temperatures obtained right down to traditionally low single digits, and there was widespread lack of web and cellular phone reception.
In our work, lives are on the road on daily basis. When disasters like Uri hit, it takes a village to make sure no companions’ lives are misplaced — regardless of the circumstances. Our devoted workers and volunteers went above and past to maintain the animals on-site protected and heat, with some workers even sleeping on the shelter.
With the assistance of the neighborhood, we have been in a position to triage burst pipes and regain energy through donated turbines. We relied on our neighborhood greater than ever throughout this time, and our neighborhood relied on us. Our P.A.S.S. (Constructive Alternate options to Shelter Give up) program was in full power, saving neighborhood pets from the chilly, offering meals and water to pet homeowners in want and a lot extra.
As we gained management over our personal disaster, the main focus turned to animals who have been shedding their lives in shelters that didn’t have energy as we madly transported greater than 1,000 of them to different cities that might assist. Whereas Austin is the most secure place for pets within the US, solely a tiny fraction of the 150,000 animals shedding their lives annually in Texas can get into Austin. The chilly disaster obtained us to think about Austin as a pit cease within the journey from one very harmful place in TX to a a lot much less harmful place within the north, even when that last vacation spot shouldn’t be at Austin’s degree of No Kill success. In doing so, we began to open the door to creating Texas No Kill. As of at the moment, 2,228 lives have been saved in 2021 because of your assist of the transport efforts in Texas.
April: Launched partnership with Austin FC
The primary-of-its-kind honorary mascot partnership featured APA! canines out there for adoption as Austin FC honorary mascots at every Austin FC regular-season house match all through the 2021 season. The very best factor about this partnership is that the main focus was on canines who usually are seemed over within the shelter as a result of they’re too large or too outdated. Because the launch of the community-centered partnership, 15 Austin FC mascots have been adopted!
September: Austin tenth No Kill Anniversary
2021 marked Austin’s tenth 12 months as a No Kill metropolis. When APA! was based in 1997 as an all-volunteer advocacy group, Austin Animal Heart’s save fee was 15 %. In June 2008, APA! was reborn as a rescue group and by 2011, the town reached a 90 % stay launch fee, making Austin the most important No Kill metropolis within the U.S.
Ten years later, our metropolis now has a 97 % stay launch fee. Along with you, the best values of the individuals of Austin are represented in the best way we take care of our neighborhood’s pets.
October: Shelter Re-opening
By late October, after over a 12 months of adopting APA pets solely on-line, we determined it was time to re-open our doorways — safely. With masking and different security measures in place, our shelter is now open Saturday and Sunday from midday to six p.m. Seeing our neighborhood members in individual in any case this time has been one of many highlights of the 12 months.
November: Metropolis Decision Passes
We pulled off one other season of profitable lifesaving regardless of the challenges with our City Lake facility and restrictions inside our settlement with the town. This November although, we achieved a significant milestone in working in the direction of a years-long overdue resolution. Our settlement, because it had not been up to date in over 10 years, didn’t permit us to meet our group’s mission. We have been restricted by the places during which we might assist surrounding shelters whereas maintaining Austin No Kill. And we have been restricted to an arbitrary variety of animals that we should pull from Austin Animal Heart, which has the most important municipal price range within the nation, even when it meant we have been duplicating their work.
With no new settlement, our house within the coronary heart of the town and our daring imaginative and prescient for the way forward for animal welfare was in jeopardy. On November 4th, Metropolis Council voted to permit us to absorb animals from wherever and stay at house in our present location. We nonetheless must finalize an official lease settlement, which ought to replicate the worth of the land use by way of donated {dollars} we spend to undertake out animals of their cost. However we’re thrilled that one of many two main roadblocks to a profitable authorized partnership is now out of the best way. It could NOT have occurred with out you elevating your voice and telling the council that saving our four-legged, and typically three-legged, members of the family’ lives, responsibly, issues to you.
In the present day
We’re happy with the progress we’ve made on our new strategic plan we introduced final 12 months. We’ve accomplished and are implementing quite a lot of packages to be a sustainable group and to put money into our individuals. We’ve additionally opened our Human Animal Assist Companies (HASS) challenge so any group is usually a accomplice and, in doing so, exponentially grown the work underway to vary the best way authorities shelters operate- by shifting the main focus from simply animals to families- each human and nonhuman. In the present day we have now 104 HASS accomplice organizations. Right here at house in Austin, we’re persevering with to search out higher methods to save lots of the lives that we encounter in want, it doesn’t matter what problem or trauma they’ve to beat.
As we are saying goodbye to 2021 and hiya to 2022, we’re nearing 100,000 intakes of animals since 2008. That’s practically 100,000 that will’ve been killed for habits quirks, medical points and even only a lack of house at partnering shelters. Along with you, APA! continues to be the protection web for pets who’ve nowhere else to show.
In 2021, we by no means might have anticipated the assist that you simply gave to animals and we’re so grateful for YOU. Nonetheless, we’re nonetheless wanting our December aim for donations to assist the work we have to kick off on January 1, 2022. In case you are nonetheless ready to assist financially this 12 months, please click on right here to make a present as a result of, because of beneficiant nameless donors, it will likely be doubled as much as $100,000 by December thirty first. Each bit helps exponentially if given earlier than the 12 months ends.
Thanks for every part you do for the pets that want you most. Blissful holidays and completely satisfied new 12 months!
-Ellen Jefferson, DVM