Austin Pets Alive!

3/10/15

By Katerina Biancardi

And even on the cloudiest and rainiest of days, there’s a beam of sunshine on Cesar Chavez Street.

 

A man’s best friend looks through holes of the cold, metal fence and his big, blue eyes watch the millions of raindrops come down from the dismal, grey skies. Despite the dreary weather, his smile and waggling tail expresses that he is full of hope. He waits for the day a family will choose him to join theirs.

Located in the heart of downtown Austin, Austin Pets Alive! is a private animal shelter that hosts over 200 pets daily. APA!’s staff and volunteers are fully committed to ensuring each animal’s smile is full of hope, so when a family comes looking to adopt, the animal eager to be a part of a new family.

This past February was the fourth year anniversary of No Kill policy in Austin. Rebecca Reid, manager of marketing at Austin Pets Alive!, believes that the anniversary served as reminder about how important the entire community is in order to save the companion animals that are in the greatest need.

“Without our fosters, volunteers, adopters and donors, there is just no way Austin would be the largest no-kill city in the country for the fourth year in a row,” Reid said.

Each day volunteer Melissa Foester brings her joyous attitude to APA!. She works regularly with the dogs, and knows each one’s personality by heart. She could tell you dogs’ favorite’s type of treat, place to be rubbed, and where they like to go play.

   
 For example, Foester absolutely adores the sassy, Boston Terrier mix,  named Marie. When Foester handed her the generic treat, Marie was  not having it. Foester immediately remembered that Marie wanted  the braided twist bone. Once Foester gave it to her, Marie was  blissfully content.

Reid emphasizes that APA! is different among other shelters because APA!, “serves as the safety net for the most likely to be euthanized and the “most difficult” to adopt.

“We do not selectively pull animals that we believe can be easily adopted, we pull animals we know we can save with medical or behavioral intervention.”

She explains that APA is the only Austin shelter that operates specialized programs that host puppies with parvovirus, orphaned kittens, and cats with ringworm and leukemia.
 Over the past year, Amanda Dimova has been participating  in  the kitten foster program. When Dimova came to        resupply her  bottle feeding equipment and pick up her  new three foster  kittens, she was tickled pink because of  how tiny and delicate  the kittens are.

If one would cup their hands together to shape a bowl, one  of the precious and fragile kittens could fit inside. She  nurtures them, so one day they can be “someone’s buddy,”  she said.
However, sometimes dogs and cats become long stay pets. Misia Bielicki, APA!’s dog lead adaption counselor, states that when animal is at APA! longer than 60 days, the pet is classified as a long stay and the marketing department becomes highly involved to make sure they find a loving home.

Bielicki explains there is also matchmaker program that strives to match potential adopters with dogs and cats that the APA! knows to make sure they in the end up in a home perfect for their specific needs.

All the animals at APA! desire to have a place to call their home. The  dogs want  their owners to find the special spot on their ears they love  to have scratched, and  go on long walks in Zilker Park. The cats want  to snuggle up with their owners on  the couch and during playtime be  captivated with a ball of yarn playtime.

 “I get to wake up each morning knowing that what I’m doing is  literally saving  lives.  There’s nothing that can get you that revved up  (not even hyper-caffeinated  coffee  with a side of Monster),” Reid said.

Whether the pet is part of one of the specialized programs or healthy as can be,  APA!  is dedicated to caring for the pets until they find a home because much like  people, the  animals simply want to be loved.