Dec 24, 2021
Expensive Pals,
As this yr involves a detailed, I’m in awe of the lifesaving love that you’ve got for canine and cats who haven’t any different possibilities to continue to exist. You made positive that pets survived a iciness hurricane. You made positive that Austin remained the most secure town in the USA for pets for the tenth yr in a row. You were given APA! one step nearer to maintaining safe haven pets within the middle of Austin. Most significantly, this yr, you made positive that greater than 12,000 pets had been stored from needless loss of life in shelters.
This yr additionally marked a large shift, on account of COVID, in the way in which that govt shelters function everywhere the rustic. For the primary time in historical past, governments are banding in combination to handle the basis reasons of crowded shelters and needless euthanasia. Even supposing we don’t seem to be a central authority safe haven, APA! helps to steer the motion in opposition to a extra humane, for people and pets, method of running. The present all animal fans have wanted for yr after yr in the end feels possible- to get rid of the killing of safe haven pets in The us, ceaselessly.
Early in 2022, APA! management shall be sharing our complete 2021 affect numbers and highlights, however as you rejoice the vacations (for those who rejoice them, and alternatively you safely can this yr) we need to want you and your family members neatly and thanks to your endured function in saving animal lives.
Let’s have a look again on simply among the milestones from 2021.
February: Iciness Typhoon Uri & the beginning of shipping
When Iciness Typhoon Uri hit Texas in mid-February this yr, it leftover 4 million other people out of energy and water for days. Temperatures set out to traditionally low unmarried digits, and there used to be in style lack of web and mobile phone reception.
In our paintings, lives are at the line each day. When screw ups like Uri hit, it takes a village to verify no partners’ lives are misplaced — regardless of the cases. Our devoted team of workers and volunteers went above and past to stay the animals on-site secure and heat, with some team of workers even snoozing on the safe haven.
With the assistance of the network, we had been in a position to triage burst pipes and regain energy by means of donated turbines. We depended on our network greater than ever throughout this time, and our network depended on us. Our P.A.S.S. (Certain Choices to Refuge Give up) program used to be in complete drive, saving network pets from the chilly, offering meals and water to puppy house owners in want and so a lot more.
As we won keep watch over over our personal disaster, the focal point became to animals who had been shedding their lives in shelters that didn’t have energy as we madly transported greater than 1,000 of them to different towns that might lend a hand. Whilst Austin is the most secure position for pets in the USA, just a tiny fraction of the 150,000 animals shedding their lives each and every yr in Texas can get into Austin. The chilly disaster were given us to think about Austin as a pit forestall within the adventure from one very bad position in TX to a miles much less bad position within the north, even supposing that ultimate vacation spot isn’t at Austin’s degree of No Kill luck. In doing so, we began to open the door to creating Texas No Kill. As of as of late, 2,228 lives had been stored in 2021 thank you in your enhance of the shipping efforts in Texas.
April: Introduced partnership with Austin FC
The primary-of-its-kind honorary mascot partnership featured APA! canine to be had for adoption as Austin FC honorary mascots at each and every Austin FC regular-season house fit all over the 2021 season. The most efficient factor about this partnership is that the focal point used to be on canine who regularly are regarded over within the safe haven as a result of they’re too giant or too outdated. Because the release of the community-centered partnership, 15 Austin FC mascots had been followed!
September: Austin tenth No Kill Anniversary
2021 marked Austin’s tenth yr as a No Kill town. When APA! used to be based in 1997 as an all-volunteer advocacy group, Austin Animal Heart’s save fee used to be 15 %. In June 2008, APA! used to be reborn as a rescue group and through 2011, the town reached a 90 % are living liberate fee, making Austin the most important No Kill town within the U.S.
Ten years later, our town now has a 97 % are living liberate fee. At the side of you, the absolute best values of the folk of Austin are represented in the way in which we handle our network’s pets.
October: Refuge Re-opening
By means of overdue October, after over a yr of adopting APA pets completely on-line, we determined it used to be time to re-open our doorways — safely. With overlaying and different protection measures in position, our safe haven is now open Saturday and Sunday from midday to six p.m. Seeing our network individuals in particular person in spite of everything this time has been one of the vital highlights of the yr.
November: Town Solution Passes
We pulled off any other season of a hit lifesaving regardless of the demanding situations with our The town Lake facility and restrictions inside of our settlement with the town. This November regardless that, we completed a big milestone in operating in opposition to a years-long late answer. Our settlement, because it had no longer been up to date in over 10 years, didn’t permit us to satisfy our group’s undertaking. We had been limited through the places through which lets lend a hand surrounding shelters whilst maintaining Austin No Kill. And we had been limited to an arbitrary selection of animals that we will have to pull from Austin Animal Heart, which has the most important municipal price range within the nation, even supposing it intended we had been duplicating their paintings.
With no new settlement, our house within the middle of the town and our daring imaginative and prescient for the way forward for animal welfare used to be in jeopardy. On November 4th, Town Council voted to permit us to absorb animals from anyplace and stay at house in our present location. We nonetheless must finalize an reputable hire settlement, which will have to mirror the worth of the land use with regards to donated greenbacks we spend to undertake out animals of their price. However we’re delighted that one of the vital two main roadblocks to a a hit felony partnership is now out of the way in which. It will NOT have came about with out you elevating your voice and telling the council that saving our four-legged, and from time to time three-legged, members of the family’ lives, responsibly, issues to you.
Lately
We’re happy with the growth we’ve made on our new strategic plan we introduced closing yr. We’ve finished and are imposing a number of techniques to be a sustainable group and to put money into our other people. We’ve additionally opened our Human Animal Reinforce Products and services (HASS) challenge so any group is usually a spouse and, in doing so, exponentially grown the paintings underway to modify the way in which govt shelters operate- through moving the focal point from simply animals to families- each human and nonhuman. Lately we’ve 104 HASS spouse organizations. Right here at house in Austin, we’re proceeding to seek out higher techniques to save lots of the lives that we stumble upon in want, it doesn’t matter what problem or trauma they’ve to triumph over.
As we are saying good-bye to 2021 and hi to 2022, we’re nearing 100,000 intakes of animals since 2008. That’s just about 100,000 that will’ve been killed for habits quirks, clinical problems and even only a loss of house at partnering shelters. At the side of you, APA! is still the security web for pets who’ve nowhere else to show.
In 2021, we by no means will have anticipated the enhance that you simply gave to animals and we’re so thankful for YOU. Alternatively, we’re nonetheless wanting our December function for donations to enhance the paintings we wish to kick off on January 1, 2022. In case you are nonetheless ready to lend a hand financially this yr, please click on right here to make a present as a result of, because of beneficiant nameless donors, it is going to be doubled as much as $100,000 thru December thirty first. Each bit is helping exponentially if given sooner than the yr ends.
Thanks for the entirety you do for the pets that want you maximum. Glad vacations and glad new yr!
-Ellen Jefferson, DVM