An interview with Friends for Life Animal Rescue from Houston, Texas.
Table Of Content
- Introducing Friends For Life Animal Rescue
- What Are Friends For Life Animal Rescue’s Goals, Mission, And Vision?
- How Would You Help A New Pet Owner Find The Right Animal For Them?
- What Do You Think A Typical Day At Friends For Life Animal Rescue Looks Like?
- How Would You Socialize Animals So They Can Become More Comfortable Around People And Other Animals?
- How Does The Community Play A Role In Friends For Life Animal Rescue’s Mission And Operations?
- What Do You Think Might Be The Greatest Challenge Of Running Friends For Life Animal Rescue?
- Are There Any Specific Programs Or Initiatives Friends For Life Animal Rescue Is Currently Working On?
- What Would You Say Has Been The Most Rewarding Part Of Running Friends For Life Animal Rescue?
- What Would You Most Want Others To Know About The Plight Of Stray Pets And Pet Rescue/Adoption That They May Not Already Know?
Introducing Friends For Life Animal Rescue
Friends for Life Animal Rescue is a registered 501c3 non-profit, no-kill animal rescue group founded in 1993 and located in Gilbert, Az.
What Are Friends For Life Animal Rescue’s Goals, Mission, And Vision?
Our mission statement is: To significantly impact animal overpopulation through aggressive programs focusing on rescue, spay and neutering, adoptions, and education.
How Would You Help A New Pet Owner Find The Right Animal For Them?
Potential adopters are asked to complete an adoption consultation form. An adoption counselor reviews the forms, meets with the family, and introduces a cat or dog they believe would be a good fit based on the information. The animal will meet all family members (including other canine family members) prior to adoption finalization.
What Do You Think A Typical Day At Friends For Life Animal Rescue Looks Like?
Dog and cat caregivers arrive early each morning to feed/walk/provide medication, as well as clean all dog kennels, play areas, and cat rooms. Dog kennel buddies and cat enrichment coordinators arrive shortly thereafter to get the dogs out and about socially, and to play with the cats. The front desk team and adoption counselors arrive to meet the public and make introductions to the animals. Once business hours have ended, the evening caregivers arrive to feed/walk/provide medication and clean all areas. At approximately 9pm, the on-site caregiver walks all cat rooms and kennels to ensure everyone is tucked in for the night and ensure all entrances and exits are securely locked.
How Would You Socialize Animals So They Can Become More Comfortable Around People And Other Animals?
The dogs have kennel buddies that take them on outings to dog-friendly locations (parks, stores, restaurants, etc). The cats have enrichment coordinators who conduct handling assessments and play with the cats to determine their play and social style.
How Does The Community Play A Role In Friends For Life Animal Rescue’s Mission And Operations?
We are VERY fortunate for the level of community support we have. The community very actively supports our fundraising events and will often hold donation drives to benefit our organization in lieu of birthday gifts, etc.
What Do You Think Might Be The Greatest Challenge Of Running Friends For Life Animal Rescue?
Friends for Life has only 3 paid staff members and is mainly powered by 400 volunteers, most of whom have full-time jobs and families. We have 16 on-site indoor/outdoor dog kennels and 5 community cat rooms. We are fortunate to have a network of foster homes, which typically means we have approximately 100 animals in our care at any given time. We receive over 1,000 requests for intake in an average month. We are a no-kill organization, so we do not euthanize to create space for another animal. Explaining we cannot accommodate every intake request can be difficult for the public to understand.
Are There Any Specific Programs Or Initiatives Friends For Life Animal Rescue Is Currently Working On?
We have a low-cost spay and neuter program for low-income families (their cost is $15 per animal for spay or neuter services). We also have Mia’s Mission, which is a no-cost DHPP vaccine and/or booster program. Twice per year, we host a free microchip-a-thon.
What Would You Say Has Been The Most Rewarding Part Of Running Friends For Life Animal Rescue?
Receiving photos and/or visits from adoptive families who want us to know how much their animal family member is thriving in their home!
What Would You Most Want Others To Know About The Plight Of Stray Pets And Pet Rescue/Adoption That They May Not Already Know?
It is not uncommon for “purebred” animals to find themselves at a rescue. Rescue animals are very grateful and loyal family members. Adopt, don’t shop!
Wondrousdrifter.com is thankful to Friends For Life Animal Rescue for the interview.
Check out this page for the list of animal shelters in Houston, Texas.
