Urgent Request For Volunteers

Dear St. Louis Community, 

It was nearly one year ago that the APA began operating the St. Louis County Animal shelter (now known as APA Olivette), effectively doubling the number of animals we serve. During this time, we have had 8,787 animals enter our doors in need of help. At our Olivette facility, intake is up by 3,142 animals over the previous year, which is greater than anticipated.  

Now, with CARE STL and St. Louis City Animal Control unable to take animals in through at least the end of the year, we know the number of animals needing our help will increase even more, further stretching our resources and ability to provide the level of care we are accustomed to providing.  

At the APA, we believe it is important to support the pets of our community when they need us most, no matter how challenging this may be, but we are struggling. The number of animals we are currently caring for consistently exceeds 500 across both locations on any given day. This is a LOT of animals, and 200 more arrive every week. To put it into perspective, today we have 318 dogs in our care. To give each dog a minimum of two ten-minute walks during the day (and of course we want more!) we need a total of 35 staff members and volunteers walking dogs for 3-hour shifts each day. While we have many wonderful, hardworking volunteers and staff, many more are needed. 

We need your help. Now, more than ever, we need volunteers who are willing to assist with walking dogs. Our Olivette location has the greatest and most urgent need for volunteers, but Brentwood welcomes new volunteers, as well. For those who are unable or uncomfortable walking dogs, we can use help with cleaning and other simple, but critical shelter tasks, such as dishes and laundry. This help is needed throughout the day, but especially in the mornings, as this support will allow our team to focus on cleaning and providing the medical care that the animals need to thrive. 

At the APA, we do many extraordinary things and are proud of what we have accomplished over the past year, especially while doing all that was needed to operate an additional facility that required much of our team. We also know we can provide even better care for the many animals in our community who need and deserve all we can give them. To help us do this, please visit our website and complete a volunteer application by clicking HERE. You can also reach our volunteer manager at 314.645.4610 if you have question. 

Interested in working at the APA? We are hiring great team members, as well. To view open positions and learn how to apply, click HERE.  

As always, thank you for your support as we work to help every pet who needs us.  

With gratitude,