Pet Rescue
"Don't Shop - ADOPT!"
Imagine waking up on a cold, hard floor with no friends or family to call your own. Imagine living in cramped, filthy quarters your entire life. This is the unfortunate reality for millions of unwanted animals and puppy mill dogs across America. Each year, 2.7 million adoptable dogs and cats are euthanized in the United States, simply because too many animals come into shelters and too few people consider adoption when looking for a pet. But there is hope!
The Animal Humane Society is there to give these innocent animals a second chance. Ava encourages people to adopt a rescue animal instead of buying from a pet store.
Ava's first rescue pet was a chubby, 3-legged cat appropriately named Tippy. But her passion for this cause was truly sparked when she and her family rescued Bear, a 13-year-old black lab whose owner had died. They later adopted a 7-year-old basset hound named Sam and cat named Crackers.
Over the past seven years, Ava has participated in the Animal Humane Society's Walk for Animals and personally raised over $6,500 (qualifying as a "Walk Star," raising over $1000 per year in donations). In addition to her work with AHS, Ava has volunteered over 300 hours with other pet rescue organizations, including Underdog Rescue, Secondhand Hounds, and Cocos Heart Dog Rescue. She even had the opportunity to volunteer in South Africa with the Oscars Arc WOOF Project! Ava organizes pet bed donation drives and volunteers at the annual Underdog Rescue gala selling dog treats. She has volunteered numerous times at Project Purpose events, where she helps make pet supply bags, builds shelters for feral cats, and carves pumpkins for shelter dogs to enjoy.
Each year, Animal Humane Society (AHS) cares for more than 100,000 animals in need and helps thousands more through programs for people and pets. AHS helps thousands of dogs, cats, and critters in need find loving homes each year, and no animal is ever turned away. As one of the nation's leading animal welfare organizations, AHS is transforming the way shelters care for animals and engage their communities. From innovative medical and behavior programs to investments in outreach and advocacy, AHS is advancing animal welfare and creating a more humane world for animals everywhere.
AHS takes in every animal surrendered regardless of its health, age, breed or behavior. This commitment to open admission guarantees shelter and care to thousands of animals that would otherwise have no safe refuge. AHS also takes in animals from municipal shelters and other organizations that don’t have the resources to care for them. For instance, our rescue basset hound Sam came from an overcrowded shelter in Oklahoma.
Although many animals can be placed in AHS adoption programs as soon as they are vaccinated and sterilized, others require specialized care to overcome health and behavior issues. AHS provides extensive medical treatment, surgery, behavior modification, and foster care to those with special challenges, ensuring that even the most difficult-to-place animals have a chance at adoption. As a result of these extraordinary efforts, more than 93% of the animals that came through AHS doors in FY20 were adopted or placed in the community.
Saving one animal may not change the world, but for that one animal, their world will be changed forever.
