March Month in Review
March was a tough month for us at APA. There were a lot of wonderful adoptions and many pets returned to their owners, but there were also a record number of intakes. At Olivette alone, there was an increase of 22% in pets brought to the shelter as compared to last month. Since January 1, intake at Olivette is up 159% compared to this same time last year (1,077 pets have been brought to us in 2023). While our adoptions are up 331% year-over-year at APA Olivette, we have a lot more animals moving through the building, and intake is outpacing the number of pets finding homes. And, we haven’t even hit Spring and Summer numbers, which is when we typically see significant increases in intake.
To be transparent, we are very concerned with the trend we are seeing. There is a national animal welfare crisis, and it is hitting the APA in a big way. Contributing factors include the housing crisis, inflation, and lack of spaying and neutering during COVID. Animal welfare has never experienced an overpopulation problem like this in recent history.
We can’t move these animals out of the shelter without you. Whether through foster care, adoptions, sharing on social media, or donating to provide support, you can help us care for and find homes for these pets.
Let’s talk about some positive numbers. There were 547 adoptions between both locations during the month of March. At each location we have a digital counter that ticks up with each adoption, and it fills our hearts with joy each and every time we get to hit that button. If you follow us on social media (and if you don’t, you should!), I’m sure you’ve seen the big smiles of both people and pets as they finalize their adoptions and pose for their first family photo.
It always brings heartache to pet owners when a pet wanders off on an adventure. Fortunately, lost pets are now being reunited with their owners at even higher monthly rates because of the Facebook Lost & Found page, our team’s efforts in finding the owners, and posting on Nextdoor. In March our team helped 103 animals get back to their families.
Our Humane Education program had a fantastic month, with over 150 people participating in programming. The Wellness Clinic at Brentwood saw a total of 429 patients and an additional 75 wellness services were provided to pets in our community through our Outreach programs.
There is a lot of great work being done at the APA, but again, we are urging you to share with others the state of urgency we are experiencing at both of our locations, and animal welfare as a whole. We can’t sustain the number of animals coming in and help is needed from our community. To learn more about volunteering, fostering, adopting, or simply making a donation to support our work, please visit our homepage.
Thank you for your continued support.