How to create a Give STL Day Campaign Page for the APA Adoption Center
By: Sarah Javier | April 30, 2020
Want to help support the APA on Give STL Day by creating your own fundraising campaign? Keep reading for step by step by instructions or click here to watch a video tutorial.
*Please keep in mind that donations raised through a Facebook fundraiser will not count towards Give STL Day totals.
Step 1: Go to givestlday.org/apa
Step 2: Click CREATE A CAMPAIGN
Step 3: Click CREATE PROFILE
Step 4: Enter Name, E-Mail & Password. Then click CREATE PROFILE.
Step 5: Customize campaign page.
- Title
- URL
- Summary
- Upload photo and/or video (video must be from YouTube)
- Personal appeal
- Goal
- Select “Yes” This is for Gives Day
Step 6: PUBLISH MY CAMPAIGN
Step 7: Click SEE CAMPAIGN PAGE
- Make sure all details are correct
- Edit your page if you need to
Step 8: Share your campaign page on social media or e-mail!
Donations breakdowns and what donations could cover.
(This is for your reference if you need help creating a goal or explaining to donors what their donations could help at the APA).
A donation of $25 could cover the cost of a round of vaccines for one dog.
A donation of $50 could cover the cost of a spay or neuter surgery.
A donation of $100 could cover the cost of a dental cleaning for one animal.
A donation of $250 could cover the cost of heartworm treatment for one dog.
A donation of $500 could cover the cost to care for a momma cat and her kittens.
Example Text for Social Media & E-Mail
**Don’t forget to insert the link for your campaign page!
“Do I have 10 Facebook friends that can donate $25 to the APA for #GiveSTLDay? Your donations could help cover the cost of heartworm treatment for one dog.”
“Each APA animal receives age appropriate vaccines before they are adopted. ___ (insert animal’s name), one of my favorite (dogs) that I have played with at the APA, is just one of thousands that have received great care at the APA before they found their forever home. A donation of $25 to the APA on @GiveSTLDay would mean so much to me and could help (dogs) like ___ (insert animal’s name).”
“I am looking for 5 friends to donate $10 to the APA for #GiveSTLDay. Your donations could help cover the cost of a spay or neuter surgery for an APA animal.”
“It’s kitten season! If you would like to help a momma cat and her kittens, like ___ (insert cat/kitten names) receive care through the APA, please consider making a donation for #GiveSTLDay. The average cost for their care is $500. Do I have 5 Facebook friends that can spare $100 for the APA on Give STL Day?”
We Are The Helpers
By: Sarah Javier, Executive Director | April 20, 2020
Even in the midst of a pandemic, inspirational stories of compassion and kindness abound – neighbors helping neighbors, signs of encouragement chalked on sidewalks, birthday parades through neighborhoods, uplifting messages of gratitude and hope written on the windows of hospital rooms, and so much more. It is within our nature to lift one another up, and together is the only way through this.
As Mr. Rogers taught us, always look for the helpers.
At the APA, we care deeply about animals. Sometimes caring about animals also means caring for their people, especially in moments like right now.
We were recently able to help Bluana and her family through a tough time. Like so many others, Bluana’s owner was laid off from his job due to COVID-19. Because Bluana is highly allergic to chicken and beef, she requires a special diet to remain healthy. Special diets can be expensive, and when facing a job loss and mounting expenses, prescription dog food can be out of reach. Bluana’s family stretched her dog food using cooked rice, but understood that was not sustainable, so with the help of people who care for them, they connected with the APA Pet Partners program for help.
The APA helped secure the dog food Bluana needed, and provided the family with a new collar, leash and bandana, as well. The entire family was grateful, including Bluana, who happily greeted our outreach coordinator, Savannah, and rolled over for belly rubs.
We are grateful we were able to connect with Bluana and her family. We understand that these are difficult times, and no matter what, we are here to help see one another through it. Nearly 100 years ago we made a commitment to help animals in need, and that commitment continues. We are the helpers, and the only way through this is together.
Since the stay-at-home order was issued for St. Louis, we have helped over 100 pets in crisis and their families. If you would like to help support our work during this time by giving to our COVID-19 relief fund, you can make a secure, online donation HERE.
Meet Shayla, one of our amazing transporters!
By: Sarah Javier | April 9, 2020
Shayla is one of the many amazing people that we work with through our Transfer Program, which helps needy pets from across the state and country get a chance to be adopted. Last year, with the help of people like Shayla, we were able to transfer in 1,937 pets from other shelters, providing each of them with the second chance they needed. Below, Shayla explains in her own words how she became involved in animal rescue and the kinds of issues that pets in her community face:
“I grew up in the Rolla, MO area and it was apparent from the start that I loved animals more than the average kid. My family took in many pets in need over the years, including dogs that a neighbor abandoned, a momma cat who showed up and had kittens, and a couple of rescue horses. So when I got old enough to drive and happened upon a litter of puppies that had been dumped, it was just natural to bring them home and take care of them.
Shortly after both organizations closed at the beginning of 2017, a group of concerned people came together to form The Barking Bridge Project, which is the organization that I am part of. Two of the major services that we provide to the communities we serve are low-cost spay/neuter and rescue coordination/transport. The APA has been a vital part of both of those programs – allowing us to help more animals than we otherwise could have. Part of our low-cost spay/neuter program involves working with the Carol House Quick Fix Pet Clinic and the APA and these partnerships have been vital in helping to spay and neuter dogs in those communities who otherwise would not have had the opportunity and would have continued to procreate in the already overpopulated region.
The APA’s transfer program has always been vital to the homeless and unwanted animals in the areas we serve as well. Not including the animals I transported to the APA during my time at TASTC, I have driven more than 1,500 at-risk animals to the APA. They’ve ranged from tiny kittens, cats, rabbits, birds and numerous dogs and puppies. Among all the different circumstances, there were pets whose owners could no longer care for them, animals who were found as strays, those whose time was up in a rural pound and companion animals whose owners moved away and cruelly left them behind. Each one of them was important, every one of them had feelings, and all of them were desperate for a second chance at a good life. The APA provided that and even more for them. The vast majority of the animals we have transported to the APA had never received any veterinary care prior to their arrival. Some suffered from heartworms and the APA provided the life-saving treatment they needed. Many had bullet wounds and infected bite wounds from the harrowing lives they once had. Several were pregnant and sought refuge at the APA and in the homes of so many kind fosters who provided them with the safety and care they needed to nurse their babies under veterinary guidance and away from predators and parasites that they would have otherwise (and many had previously) endured. Dogs with broken limbs were doctored and able to run again, and formerly mistreated animals learned to trust again under the love that the staff and volunteer. Not only did the APA save the lives of hundreds of these animals, but they provided them with quality lives – enriched by humans who love them and spoil them. Many of these pets who once struggled to survive, now live a life of leisure – hopefully forgetting the pasts they were able to escape from. I was asked what my favorite thing about being a transporter was. It’s not the driving all those miles or even seeing so many cute puppies – it’s that after knowing what they’ve been through – I can do my part to help make sure that their tomorrows are so much better than their yesterdays. I am grateful to the APA for being a safe haven to so many pets in need – healing them both physically and emotionally and providing them with loving homes.”
We’re so grateful that we’re able to help pets in the communities where it’s most needed, thanks to wonderful people like Shayla.
Pets Make Our Lives Better: The Story of Carrot and Basant
By: Sarah Javier, Executive Director | March 31, 2020
Pets make our lives better. They bring joy and smiles, and in rough times, they bring us comfort and give our spirits a boost. At the APA, we are fortunate to see the impact pets have on others each and every day.
Before coming to the United States, Basant was scared of cats and dogs. Growing up, she never had pets. In her second year of school in St. Louis, her depression symptoms returned and she started seeing a psychiatrist. Basant started to like dogs and her psychiatrist agreed having a pet would help her depression. However, she wasn’t ready for a pet of her own and also learned her lease would not allow dogs. So, in 2017, she started fostering kittens. Basant wasn’t sure about cats and felt nervous when they would climb on her, but quickly got over that feeling, and it turned into pure excitement. “I loved them so much,” Basant said.
Basant fostered another litter before she had to stop because it wasn’t feasible with her roommates and space. Basant explained, “It was very hard on me staying away from cats, that’s when I started volunteering in the cat room at the APA.” After a while, she decided she was ready to adopt her first pet. Basant noticed a little orange kitten, teasing another kitten in his kennel. He was shy when she reached for him and hid. Basant was patient, carrying and petting him, and after a while he started purring like a machine. She adopted Carrot that day.
“He’s a very special boy, he has to greet me every morning and every afternoon when I get back home by jumping in my lap and licking my nose. He’s basically my family here,” said Basant. Carrot was found as a shy, stray kitten who was nervous of people. Both Basant and Carrot started out afraid of one another, but together have found love and family.
APA Statement on Spay and Neuter during COVID-19 Pandemic
By: Sarah Javier, Executive Director | March 27, 2020
The APA has worked through numerous challenges during these unprecedented times. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our operations in ways we couldn’t have imagined just a few short weeks ago. Essential staff are caring for the animals and we continue to meet our mission of bringing people and pets together through creative ways such as curbside adoptions, emergency fostering, online humane education, and videos. We know we must continue to adapt as this situation evolves. Fortunately, we have an incredible team and have been able to respond to every challenge with well-informed, decisive action.
A recommendation to limit “non-essential” or “elective” surgical procedures has been made by the U.S. Surgeon General. All health care professionals, including veterinarians, are to adopt strategies that will allow them to conserve PPE (personal protective equipment) as much as possible. The AVMA recently stated that veterinary practices can and should defer elective procedures to preserve medical supplies. While spay and neuter is important, it is considered a non-emergency procedure. The recommendation from leaders in our industry, including the ASPCA, HSUS, The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement, University of Wisconsin’s School of Veterinary Medicine- Shelter Program, and the American Veterinary Medical Association is to temporarily suspend spay and neuter surgeries.
Based on this information, the APA has decided to temporarily suspend spay/neuter surgeries for our adoption center animals and outreach program. We will join a list of shelters, spay/neuter clinics, and veterinary practices around the country doing this to prioritize saving lives – both human and animal. This decision was not made lightly, but in doing so we:
- Conserve PPE needed by medical professionals working on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic;
- Were able to donate some of our PPE to a local hospital already experiencing a shortage of necessary supplies;
- Maintain only essential employees in the building and reduce exposing our staff to COVID-19;
- And ensure we have surgery supplies available for emergency surgeries necessary to save the lives of animals in our care.
Our commitment to spay and neuter is unwavering. However, vulnerable animals continue to need sheltering and we must do what we can to get them into loving homes. We do not want to hold animals needing spay/neuter surgery for weeks to months, risking overcrowding. Even the best shelter environments are stressful and we have their emotional and physical well-being in mind, as well.
We will continue to do adoptions and will require each adopter to sign a spay/neuter agreement at the time of adoption. We will follow up with adopters as soon as we can resume non-essential surgeries, and have a number of options available to make post-adoption spay/neuter possible. The APA will prioritize specific surgery days for these pets for those who wish to have their pet spayed/neutered at the APA. We have also partnered with Carol House Quick Fix Clinic and will offer a voucher to have the surgery done at their clinic. Many adopters already have a relationship with a veterinarian, so an additional option is to have the pet spayed/neutered at their own vet. With medical records verifying the procedure, the APA will provide reimbursement to help cover the cost of the surgery.
We realize spay/neuter is a cornerstone of our success and, during normal times, it saves lives. We are not operating under normal circumstances and we must prioritize and continue helping as many animals as we can.
Animal welfare has made great strides by reducing pet overpopulation through spay/neuter efforts and, post-COVID-19 pandemic, we will continue those efforts. As soon as we can, we will ramp up our existing programs for shelter surgeries, free spay/neuter services for our outreach community (63136 zip code), and TNR efforts. Until then we need your support either through adoption, fostering, donating, or sharing what we do.