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Tag: fostering

  • The Nonprofit Started by a California Teen That Helps Shelter Animals Find and Stay in Forever Homes | Animal Wellness Magazine

    The Nonprofit Started by a California Teen That Helps Shelter Animals Find and Stay in Forever Homes | Animal Wellness Magazine

    A young animal advocate who started a nonprofit to help animal shelters provides kits that help rescue animals find and stay in loving homes!

    Reducing Animal Stress is a nonprofit founded in 2023 by teen animal advocate and change-maker Ariela Robinson. As part of their mission to support animal shelters and rescues, the organization provides adoption, foster, and retention kits. Basically, they help animal shelters and new pet parents care for animals and provide dog/cat parents with the services they need to keep their companion animals. With this in mind, let’s learn more about Reducing Animal Stress and how their three kits are helping dogs and cats around the country to find and stay in forever homes!

    Kits That Help People Find, Foster, and Keep Animal Companions

    Adoption Kits for New Pet Parents

    Reducing Animal Stress provides new pet parents with adoption kits that include basic supplies and resources. They partner with several businesses to offer discounted veterinary care, dog walking or pet sitting services, free grooming sessions, and discounts on pet supplies. Funding for the adoption kits is thanks in part to the Westside Neighborhood Council.

    Kits for Dog and Cat Foster Parents

    Fostering reduces overcrowding in shelters. That is why Reducing Animal Stress works with over 30 rescues and shelters to distribute foster kits. The customized, pre-packed, ready-to-go kits help vetted rescues and shelters save time and reduce costs so they can prioritize saving more lives. Beyond that, Reducing Animal Stress also sent foster kits to an animal sanctuary that was destroyed by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. Funding for the foster kits came from the Be More Fund from the National Society of High School Scholars.

    Retention Kits for Pet Parents in Need

    Retention kits are available thanks to partnerships with Meals on Wheels West and Meals on Wheels West LA. They donate customized kits to low-income seniors, homebound people, and veterans. Not only does this help pet parents keep companion animals at home, but it also reduces the number of surrendered animals in Los Angeles shelters.

    Recently, Ariela made the rounds with a Meals on Wheels volunteer and was able to hand the kits directly to the recipients.

    “My favorite part about the retention kits is delivering them. I love getting to meet and support the kind people and their adorable pets who receive them,” explains Ariela.

    Funding for the retention kits is from the Riley’s Way Call For Kindness Award.

    Additional Programs Available Through Reducing Animal Stress

    Reducing Animal Stress has donated about 7,000 items and has participated in over 40 workshops/events. In addition to the kits, the organization also holds workshops for young people. The workshops encourage youth to get involved and focus on:

    • Collecting recycled materials and making pet items
    • Collecting and donating the items
    • Understanding the importance of animal enrichment and stress reduction

    Visit Reducing Animal Stress to learn more!


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    Ariela Robinson and Michele Robinson

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  • Austin Pets Alive! | Alvie Needs You This Giving Tuesday

    Austin Pets Alive! | Alvie Needs You This Giving Tuesday

    Nov 18, 2021

    Extremely underweight and sick, Alvie was found on the front porch of an abandoned home.

    This two-year-old boy has a chronic GI disease causing emaciation and needs intense treatment. He’s currently being treated in our clinic where we can monitor his progress. Throughout everything he’s endured, he’s never lost his sweet nature. Always wagging his tail and offering licks when you come to see him. Animals prove time and time again that they will not give up hope. We promise to never give up hope either. With your support, Alvie and pets like him will continue to get the care they need.

    Give your Giving Tuesday gift TODAY and make sure pets like Alvie have the chance to get the medical treatment they desperately need.

    Your donation today has double the impact thanks to a group of generous donors who are matching every gift between now and December 31, up to $100K! Don’t wait to double your impact for pets like Alvie!

    “I can’t say for sure honestly if he’s going to be okay,” said APA! veterinarian Dr. Ratnayaka. Alvie is on about 12 different medications for GI comfort, antifungal treatment, and antibiotics. We just received test results that confirm Alvie has pythiosis. Pythiosis is a water-borne infection that causes extreme weight loss, diarrhea, and vomiting. With every single one of his bones poking through his skin, we’re happy to at least have some answers to what’s causing this so that we can move forward with treatment.

    Together with you, we can offer innovative care to companion animals who have nowhere else to turn. Make your Giving Tuesday gift today to give pets like Alvie the best chance at a healthy life.

    P.S. Alvie also needs a foster who can give him lots of TLC. If you’re interested in fostering Alvie, please email [email protected].

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  • Austin Pets Alive! | Fostering in Austin

    Austin Pets Alive! | Fostering in Austin

    Aug 23, 2021

    Recently we were lucky to have an amazing group from the UT Austin McCombs School of Business study what the capacity for people to foster animals in Austin really looks like, by comparing current census data to common trends among our [hundreds] of amazing volunteers currently fostering APA! animals.

    What many people don’t know is that there is an entire machine of coordination and support behind any shelters with robust foster programs for homeless pets. The good news is that this machine is completely possible to build in any community and nurture to extend the ability to save the lives of companion animals at risk of euthanasia. And, thanks to this study, we have even more certainty on what we suspected to be a huge opportunity for new fosters in Austin.

    First, Who exactly fosters?

    The study matched active APA! foster parents’ demographics with Austin district census and survey data. Based on the number of current APA! fosters in each zip code, those ages 18-34, without pets, closer to the animal shelter and renters/single occupants are more likely to foster (both dogs and cats).

    When these variables were compared with the census in the same zip codes, a potential 433 potential dog fosters and 498 potential cat fosters were identified! And that number could multiply if the households foster more than one animal in need.

    Why do they foster?

    The study also analyzed the demographic data of APA!’s current fosters to find the top 5 reasons for fostering:

    • New time and bandwidth
    • Not ready for a long-term commitment (adopting)
    • Love of animals/grew up with animals
    • Desire to help animals
    • Trial for future adoption

    Based on this information, we are more knowledgeable than ever on who potential fosters are. And any city could pair these commonalities with their communities, plus best practices for building and maintaining a foster program [ampa resource link here] and we’d be looking at city by city solving a major portion of commonly being too under-resourced to save enough lives – by finding new resources outside of the shelter and into the community via foster homes.

    Thank you to the McCombs School of Business team: Anurag Peddaiahgari, Drake Sides, Haoshu Yuwen, Nicholas Hill, Nicholas Solorzano, and Sandesh Kakade, for shining new light on the potential of fostering animals in Austin!

    For those of you not yet fostering in Austin and are willing to join this lifesaving network, please email [email protected].

    Sources: Simply Analytics/Census and APA! fosters data

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