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  • Austin Pets Alive! | Say “Yes” for Sapphire this Giving Tuesday

    Austin Pets Alive! | Say “Yes” for Sapphire this Giving Tuesday

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    Nov 29, 2021

    At Austin Pets Alive!, we never hesitate to treat any companion animal that trots, limps, or must be carried through our doors.

    Because of your generous support, we have been able to save nearly 100,000 lives in the last 10 years. One of those lives is Sapphire. We see tragic cases every single day, and Sapphire is no exception.

    Living as a stray, Sapphire was struck by a car. A bystander alerted the city and she was brought to the city shelter, Austin Animal Center. She was bleeding, writhing in pain from nerve damage and bruised ribs — and pregnant. But when the city asked us to take over, our clinic staff did the ultrasound and made the heartbreaking discovery of no fetal heartbeats.

    Determined to save Sapphire, our clinic gave her pain medication and she was stable. Unfortunately, her front left leg likely won’t heal with the nerve damage so it will have to be amputated in the coming weeks.

    At most shelters, dogs with injuries like Sapphire’s would immediately be euthanized but together with you, we believe all pets deserve a chance to recover and live long healthy lives.

    You can support pets like Sapphire every single day by giving today. With every gift matched up to $100K until December 31st, your gift today has TWICE the impact for pets in need.

    “When Sapphire came to us, she was in a lot of pain. Walking to the end of the corner and back was a big deal for her,” said her foster Anne.

    Before moving to America, Anne heard of Austin’s No Kill status and knew she needed to foster. She began fostering in January 2019 and adopted her “foster fail,” Luna.

    “Nothing deters me,” said Anne. “It’s just the right thing to do. I don’t have a lot of people here because of the pandemic, all of my family is overseas. This can be my adoptive family right here. I mean, who doesn’t fall in love with that face?”

    Because of animal lovers like Anne, we know that fostering is the future of APA!. The more pets we can get into homes, the more critical cases we can treat on campus. Together with you, we can strive towards a future where we save more pets than ever. Will you consider making a gift to help further APA!’s future?

    Today, Sapphire is all play! You would never guess this gem has nerve damage. Currently Sapphire is on a special surgery list for amputation. Regardless of whether Sapphire has three legs or four, we are determined to give her the best life possible. Until then, she’ll be hanging with her foster mom Anne and foster sister Luna.

    “Her spirit never falters,” Anne said. “I just hope she finds a really good family who’s going to love her unconditionally.”

    As we enter into this season of giving, your active support allows us to say “yes” to every pet that needs us. With so many companion animals in need, your gift today instantly affects thousands of pets nationwide. Together with you, we can end needless euthanasia across our state and our country.

    With gratitude and eyes on the future,

    P.S. Together with you, we can give gems like Sapphire twice the chance at a healthy and happy life with all gifts being matched up to $100K, until December 31st. Don’t wait!

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  • Austin Pets Alive! | Ready for Resolution

    Austin Pets Alive! | Ready for Resolution

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    Oct 14, 2021

    Thanks to the dedication of you and our fellow supporters, we can confirm that an item regarding Austin Pets Alive!’s resolution will be on the Austin City Council agenda on Thursday, November 4.

    As soon as we have the draft resolution language to share, we will reach out to update you and ask you to take one more final action to help advocate on our behalf.

    At stake are the details of how we will be required to operate far into the future:

    • the number and types of animals we pull from the Austin Animal Center to keep our work in alignment with our mission,
    • the ability to use any facility we operate, at our own cost, for animals from any location,
    • and how Austin’s No Kill achievement will be sustained by both Austin city staff and APA!.

    History has trained us to know that this meeting and resolution will not just sail through and be easy. We need to count on you to rally alongside us to keep No Kill in the heart of Austin. Our work to save at risk pets is a direct reflection of our community values and we are endlessly grateful to each of you for advocating for our place in Austin.

    While critical to our future in the heart of Austin, we would be remiss if we didn’t say that the enormous time and effort negotiating for this resolution competes with fundraising for our daily lifesaving work. While the city has a taxpayer-funded budget and thus does not need to fundraise, every single dollar we use for every single animal we save (even from Austin Animal Center) is fundraised. To make a gift to support our continued lifesaving, please click here.

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  • Austin Pets Alive! | APA! IS ASKING COUNCIL FOR A FAIR AGREEMENT

    Austin Pets Alive! | APA! IS ASKING COUNCIL FOR A FAIR AGREEMENT

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    Oct 01, 2021

    There are only seven days until the final October City Council meeting agenda must be posted.

    That means we have seven days to make it clear to the city council members that No Kill in Austin is important and deserves their urgent attention.

    There are many layers to this problem, but right now one of the most important things that you, as a supporter of the animals who need us to save their lives, can know is that we simply need a relationship with the city that makes sense.

    APA! has kept Austin No Kill by taking animals off the city’s kill list every single day for 10 years now. We will continue to do that. We will not agree to continue serving as Austin Animal Center’s overflow partner. It doesn’t make sense to our mission as a nonprofit organization or the pets that never get a chance to leave a shelter alive.

    It is no longer fair to serve as an overflow partner for Austin Animal Center anymore for two main reasons:

    First, the rebuildable land leased to APA! by the City of Austin has been dramatically reduced to just one fourth of what we were promised in the Lamar Beach Master Plan. This is not reflected anywhere in the negotiations with city staff or in our actual license agreement. It is as if it doesn’t matter. But it does matter to us because, once we sign an agreement, we cannot use the property in the future the way we have been for the last 10 years. This means we can not build anything new on this property that will even come close to matching our current capacity. It is unreasonable to expect APA! to provide the same level of services to the City when the property we have been given in exchange for those services has been so significantly reduced.

    Second, the City of Austin Animal Center has received over $10,000,000 more dollars per year than they had when Austin first became a No Kill city. Our mission is to eliminate the killing of pets in shelters and as long as an animal is at risk in Austin, we will save it. It is not reasonable to ALSO ask APA! to provide free services to Austin Animal Center that they’ve been funded to provide to Austin people and animals.

    We believe that APA’s support of the City of Austin, in keeping Austin No Kill and driving the city to be progressive and sustainable, is worth the land we are being given. City Council will have to decide if they agree. Please contact your council member’s office today with an email and follow-up call if you agree. It is so important that the council offices hear your voice before they make the final determination.

    Thank you,

    Ellen

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  • Austin Pets Alive! | Angelo’s Heroic Rescue

    Austin Pets Alive! | Angelo’s Heroic Rescue

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    Sep 27, 2021

    Sunday mornings are Bart and Rocio’s only day to sleep in.

    Sunday, June 27 started like any other Sunday morning. Around 9 a.m. the couple decided to attend the early church service rather than their usual late morning service.

    Driving down windy roads just northwest of Austin, the couple was coming down a hill when they spotted Angelo. Rocio slammed on the brakes when she saw a small animal in the middle of the road. As they got closer to Angelo, they could tell it was a dog — a severely injured dog.

    With one look, it was painfully obvious that Angelo had been on his own for weeks. With ribs and backbone showing, his malnourishment was evident.

    “The worst part was the massive wounds to his face,” Bart said. “I consider myself to be a bit of a tough guy. I have taught martial arts for over 30 years, but at that moment I could not stop the tears. My heart was torn out of my chest as I wondered who would leave a dog out here. Why? As I looked at Angelo’s massive injuries, all I saw was a sweet, loving, beautiful dog.”

    Rocio rushed to get food, water, and blankets while Burt sat with Angelo, stroking his back and letting him know he was safe. “No more nights alone in the woods,” Bart said.

    Once Rocio returned with supplies, Angelo attacked a bowl of water as if he was dying from thirst, but refused to eat anything. Rocio and Bart knew Angelo needed emergency medical care.

    After arriving at a local animal hospital that did not take emergencies, Rocio and Bart drove around town desperate to find a vet that could care for Angelo.

    At an emergency vet clinic, Rocio and Bart said that they would claim responsibility for the expenses of Angelo’s care. After examining Angelo for 30 minutes, a veterinarian came back and said that because Angelo was not their dog and his care would cost thousands, the clinic could not help.

    “My heart sank,” said Bart. “We could tell [that the veterinarian’s] hands were tied.”

    In the parking lot of the clinic, Bart asked someone for advice on where to take Angelo. The person led the couple to Austin Pets Alive!.

    “She said that was the place she would go, even though she knew APA! doesn’t take dogs from the public,” said Bart.

    Bart and Rocio pulled up to our Town Lake Animal Center location and met with a vet technician. She also shared that we do not take animals from the public and recommended Emancipet, but warned they have a 24 hour waiting period. Bart shared that he didn’t believe Angelo would make it another 24 hours without care.

    This response prompted the technician to come and see Angelo. After spotting the wounds on his face, she hurried him inside the clinic.

    “Up to this point, we were not sure where to turn. It had been such an emotional morning,” said Bart.

    The technician came out and said that the veterinarians and APA! had agreed to save Angelo.

    “We offered to pay what we could and [the technician] said, ‘You already have. You saved Angelo.,’” Bart said. “We both believe that we were put there for a reason that morning, and that reason was to be there to help save this beautiful creature.”

    Thanks to our incredible P.A.S.S. (Positive Alternatives to Shelter Surrender) program, we’re able to take in emergency cases like Angelo and continue to act as the safety net for pets in need right here in Austin and across Texas. We’re happy to share that Angelo has received treatment and is in a loving foster home until he gets adopted.

    Aleia and her son (who you may recognize from our episode of “That Animal Rescue Show”) are currently fostering Angelo.

    “I was reached out to by the clinic and [they] asked if I would be willing to help out with him because he is a special needs case,” said Aleia. “We do a lot of hospice fostering and palliative care. It worked out well. He has assimilated into the home, no problem. He’s good with cats, good with dogs. He really just wants to be on his blanket sleeping most of the time, that works out really well. He’s just a sweet guy which makes it very easy.”

    You can meet Angelo yourself here!

    Austin never would have reached 10 years of No Kill without everyday heroes like Rocio and Burt. If Rocio and Burt hadn’t decided to attend the early service that Sunday morning, Angelo may have never gotten the chance to find a loving home. We need you to join Rocio and Burt to fight for No Kill to stay in Austin so pets like Angelo get the same chances as healthy pets by making a gift today.

    With our No Kill future at risk more now than ever before, these stories remind us of why we do this work. Why we save the animals that have nowhere else to go.

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  • Austin Pets Alive! | Angelo’s Heroic Rescue

    Austin Pets Alive! | Angelo’s Heroic Rescue

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    Sep 27, 2021

    Sunday mornings are Bart and Rocio’s only day to sleep in.

    Sunday, June 27 started like any other Sunday morning. Around 9 a.m. the couple decided to attend the early church service rather than their usual late morning service.

    Driving down windy roads just northwest of Austin, the couple was coming down a hill when they spotted Angelo. Rocio slammed on the brakes when she saw a small animal in the middle of the road. As they got closer to Angelo, they could tell it was a dog — a severely injured dog.

    With one look, it was painfully obvious that Angelo had been on his own for weeks. With ribs and backbone showing, his malnourishment was evident.

    “The worst part was the massive wounds to his face,” Bart said. “I consider myself to be a bit of a tough guy. I have taught martial arts for over 30 years, but at that moment I could not stop the tears. My heart was torn out of my chest as I wondered who would leave a dog out here. Why? As I looked at Angelo’s massive injuries, all I saw was a sweet, loving, beautiful dog.”

    Rocio rushed to get food, water, and blankets while Burt sat with Angelo, stroking his back and letting him know he was safe. “No more nights alone in the woods,” Bart said.

    Once Rocio returned with supplies, Angelo attacked a bowl of water as if he was dying from thirst, but refused to eat anything. Rocio and Bart knew Angelo needed emergency medical care.

    After arriving at a local animal hospital that did not take emergencies, Rocio and Bart drove around town desperate to find a vet that could care for Angelo.

    At an emergency vet clinic, Rocio and Bart said that they would claim responsibility for the expenses of Angelo’s care. After examining Angelo for 30 minutes, a veterinarian came back and said that because Angelo was not their dog and his care would cost thousands, the clinic could not help.

    “My heart sank,” said Bart. “We could tell [that the veterinarian’s] hands were tied.”

    In the parking lot of the clinic, Bart asked someone for advice on where to take Angelo. The person led the couple to Austin Pets Alive!.

    “She said that was the place she would go, even though she knew APA! doesn’t take dogs from the public,” said Bart.

    Bart and Rocio pulled up to our Town Lake Animal Center location and met with a vet technician. She also shared that we do not take animals from the public and recommended Emancipet, but warned they have a 24 hour waiting period. Bart shared that he didn’t believe Angelo would make it another 24 hours without care.

    This response prompted the technician to come and see Angelo. After spotting the wounds on his face, she hurried him inside the clinic.

    “Up to this point, we were not sure where to turn. It had been such an emotional morning,” said Bart.

    The technician came out and said that the veterinarians and APA! had agreed to save Angelo.

    “We offered to pay what we could and [the technician] said, ‘You already have. You saved Angelo.,’” Bart said. “We both believe that we were put there for a reason that morning, and that reason was to be there to help save this beautiful creature.”

    Thanks to our incredible P.A.S.S. (Positive Alternatives to Shelter Surrender) program, we’re able to take in emergency cases like Angelo and continue to act as the safety net for pets in need right here in Austin and across Texas. We’re happy to share that Angelo has received treatment and is in a loving foster home until he gets adopted.

    Aleia and her son (who you may recognize from our episode of “That Animal Rescue Show”) are currently fostering Angelo.

    “I was reached out to by the clinic and [they] asked if I would be willing to help out with him because he is a special needs case,” said Aleia. “We do a lot of hospice fostering and palliative care. It worked out well. He has assimilated into the home, no problem. He’s good with cats, good with dogs. He really just wants to be on his blanket sleeping most of the time, that works out really well. He’s just a sweet guy which makes it very easy.”

    You can meet Angelo yourself here!

    Austin never would have reached 10 years of No Kill without everyday heroes like Rocio and Burt. If Rocio and Burt hadn’t decided to attend the early service that Sunday morning, Angelo may have never gotten the chance to find a loving home. We need you to join Rocio and Burt to fight for No Kill to stay in Austin so pets like Angelo get the same chances as healthy pets by making a gift today.

    With our No Kill future at risk more now than ever before, we need your help TWICE as much to keep Austin No Kill. Give today and double your impact for pets in need just like Angelo.

    Do you have an incredible rescue story like this? Keep up with our social media for your chance to tell us your story!

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  • Austin Pets Alive! | An Update on the Bastrop Dogs

    Austin Pets Alive! | An Update on the Bastrop Dogs

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    Jun 23, 2021

    We are so grateful to everyone who stepped up to foster one of the dogs or puppies who tested positive for distemper and needed immediate foster placement. Because of you, we exceeded our goal of finding 20 fosters and more than 150 people signed up to help, so we’re able to save even more lives than we imagined!

    “I hadn’t planned to take on another foster for a few months, but this was too extreme of a situation to ignore. Goofy is an extremely cute dog, so I hope he will get adopted quickly,” said Cassie Swayze, one of the Austin fosters who answered APA!’s call. “Since the pandemic, APA! has made fostering super easy because you can do everything online! They also have a huge shed with tons of supplies like leashes, toys, beds, and crates.”

    Goofy in his foster home with Cassie.

    Gary in his foster home.

    Another Austin resident who volunteered to foster one of the dogs recovering from distemper is Sierra Gonzales. She is fostering Gary and said, “I sleep better at night, knowing that I helped save his life. Gary is so playful and I like him so much.”

    We would like to extend a huge shout-out to our local media partners who helped us get the word out immediately to as many people as possible, and special thanks to our colleagues at Bastrop Animal Services for working alongside us to get these dogs to safety. While this situation could have turned out very differently without the mutual collaboration of our two organizations, the compassionate team at Bastrop got to work to get them into foster homes and save their lives. We’re all in this together and we are so grateful for our partnership with them.

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  • Austin Pets Alive! | The Future of Transport – A Note From Dr. J

    Austin Pets Alive! | The Future of Transport – A Note From Dr. J

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    Mar 25, 2021

    As we start to see the light of normalcy return with the release of COVID vaccines, we have a little break from what has felt like back-to-back emergencies to share our plans for the future at Austin Pets Alive!. Our board of directors and executive staff have been working hard on creating and starting to implement our 2021-2023 strategic plan.

    This plan brings our mission sharply into focus. If you need a refresher, our mission is to promote and provide the resources, education, and programs needed to eliminate the killing of companion animals. We recognize if we tighten our efforts, forget what we know as our “status quo” and really drill down on all the ways we, as a large lifesaving organization, can physically intervene in the deaths of shelter pets, we can actually find even more ways to save lives with what we have and know. Our eyes are set on making Texas No Kill and we’re not stopping there.

    After the recent snowstorm, we got a taste of what the animals are like who are still losing their lives in Texas as we madly transported more than 1,000 of them to other cities that wanted to help. These are sweet cuddly little kittens, small fluffy dogs, labs, huskies and so many more deserving lives that we know from our experience in Austin are among the easiest to save. One story in particular hit home–a sweet little chihuahua mix named Hamilton in Laredo who was scheduled to be killed. He was scooped up for this transport and now is happy and safe in a home in Jackson Hole, WY! We had never thought we could save thousands more per year until now, and dogs like Hamilton deserve our brainstorming and reassessing so that more lives are saved.

    Here is some food for thought:

    • It is estimated that 150,000 animals are still needlessly dying in Texas shelters every year.
    • In most northern U.S. communities, there is an overabundance of adopters, which is keenly felt by organizations which scramble to find adoptable pets to meet demand.
    • It costs a fraction of our total per animal to serve as a distributor to shelters and rescues as it does to take them all in and do all the work ourselves before adoption.

    So why haven’t we transported out all along? Over the last 12 years, we have steered clear of transport, except during Hurricane Harvey and then only for non-Austin animals, because Austin is the safest community in the country for pets. Sending pets from Austin to anywhere else is inherently more dangerous for them. Unfortunately, that thinking has gotten in the way of us taking a hard look at how we might be able to help pets still dying all over the state. While Austin is safest, only a tiny fraction of the 150,000 animals losing their lives each year in Texas can get into Austin. If we start to think of Austin instead as a pit stop in the journey from one very dangerous place in TX to a much less dangerous place in the north, even if that final destination is not at Austin’s level of No Kill experience, we start to open the door to making Texas No Kill.

    You might be thinking, “But taking some of your attention off of Austin-only animals makes you less effective for Austin!” We believe the opposite is true. We know that if we are able to save the masses of Texas lives more efficiently, we can ourselves focus on saving the few that truly need our specialized support more effectively. By helping more cities stop killing, we help more animals join homes both in Austin and beyond. By solving for the reasons animals die on a grander scale than just our own backyard, Austin continues as the beacon of hope for other cities and states. By ensuring that the money entrusted to us to save lives saves as many pets as possible, we give every animal, no matter its lineage, an equitable chance to not die in a shelter without the benefit of someone trying to help.

    Transport is one small piece of our strategic future. We will be sharing a lot more in the coming weeks. Thank you for being on this journey with APA! as we continue to push the lifesaving needle.

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  • Could you live on $16,000 a year? Here’s why you might have to

    Could you live on $16,000 a year? Here’s why you might have to

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    We’re told repeatedly how important it is to save independently for retirement, but a lot of us still aren’t listening.

    An estimated 33% of Americans have no money at all saved for retirement, but an even more frightening statistic is the fact that 30% of those 55 and older are in the same boat. And a big reason so many of us aren’t saving boils down to Social Security.

    In fact, according to the National Academy of Social Insurance, Social Security is the sole source of income for almost 25% of Americans 65 and older.

    But while it’s true that Social Security helps countless seniors stay afloat financially in retirement, there’s a real danger in relying on it too heavily. And if we don’t start taking matters into our own hands, a lot of us will risk coming up short when retirement rolls around.

    Can you live on Social Security alone?

    The problem with banking on Social Security is that your benefits are only designed to replace about 40% of your pre-retirement income. This isn’t just an educated estimate; the Social Security Administration even says so itself.

    Now you may be expecting your living costs to go down once you retire — so much so that you’ll be able to survive on Social Security alone — but in reality, that’s not likely to happen.

    For one thing, you’re going to have a lot more free time on your hands, which means you might wind up spending extra on leisure and entertainment. But more importantly, you’re going to have health care to worry about, and that’s where so many seniors get thrown for a loop.

    According to 2016 data from HealthView Services, a provider of healthcare cost-projection software, the average healthy 65-year-old couple retiring this year can expect to incur $377,000 in medical expenses over the course of retirement.

    Younger couples have it even worse. The average healthy 55-year-old couple today could spend as much as $466,000 on health care expenses throughout retirement, while a 45-year-old couple today in similar health might rack up $592,000 in health care costs. And those are the numbers healthy couples are facing. If your health isn’t great, your expenses could climb even more.

    When you think about it that way, Social Security probably won’t be enough, especially since the average recipient currently receives $1,341 in monthly benefits, or just over $16,000 a year. Even if you and your spouse each receive $16,000 a year in Social Security benefits for a total of $32,000, if you wind up spending $377,000 like the average healthy older couple over the course of a 20-year retirement, that’s $18,850 a year on medical costs alone. Subtract that figure from $32,000, and you’re left with just over $13,000 a year, or roughly $1,100 a month, to cover the rest of your expenses.

    And as much as you can try to keep your living costs down, there’s just no getting around the basics like food, electricity, transportation, and housing. In 2014, the average American spent $934 a month on rent alone. If you’re in a similar boat, that means you’d be left with less than $200 a month to cover the rest of your expenses if you were to rely solely on Social Security. And that’s just not enough.

    Time to start saving

    If $16,000 a year per person in retirement doesn’t sound adequate, then it’s time to start saving independently while you still have a chance. Even with retirement less than a decade away, there’s still time to amass some savings before you stop working for good. Anyone 50 or older can currently contribute up to $24,000 a year to a 401(k) and $6,500 a year to an IRA. If you can’t max out those contributions, do what you can. Saving just $250 a month over the course of 10 years will give you an extra $36,000 in retirement if your investments generate a relatively conservative 4% average annual return.

    If you’re still in your 30s or 40s, you have an even greater opportunity to catch up. Saving $250 a month over the course of 20 years will leave you with $137,000 for retirement, assuming your investments generate an average annual 8% return — a reasonable assumption for younger investors who are able to get more aggressive.

    Now if you’re already in your 60s and have yet to start saving, you might consider postponing retirement and working a few extra years to put some money aside. Though it may not be your ideal solution, some studies have shown that working longer could actually lead to a longer life. Another option? Work part-time in retirement to supplement your Social Security benefits.

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    No matter what you do to generate extra retirement income, don’t make the mistake of depending on Social Security alone to fund your golden years. Social Security can and should play a strong role in your retirement budget, but without another source of income, you risk running out of money at a time when you just might need it the most.

    CNNMoney (New York) First published November 29, 2016: 11:45 AM ET

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