Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Pitcock.
Karen, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
AAR is a Cat & Dog Center that includes a no-kill adoption shelter, an affordable spay-neuter clinic, a wellness center, and community education outreach. Founded in 2002 by three dedicated animal lovers; Angie Fenton, Barbara Schulz, and James Gordon. AAR is a non-profit organization managed and maintained by an all-volunteer staff. Our mission is to end the unnecessary euthanasia of helpless, unwanted animals and place them in permanent homes, and to properly educate the public about responsible pet ownership.
We are funded by donations from the community along with grants from several foundations. When we began, we had lots of garage sales to raise funds for the dogs and cats. Today we hold several fundraisers, our largest being our annual golf tournament which brings in around $25,000 per year. We operate debt free so every dollar that comes into the shelter goes back to the dogs and cats.
We average close to 500 adoptions and 1,500 spays/neuters per year. We are looking forward to moving to our new and larger facility in Magnolia this September. The added space will allow us to save more animals in our community as well as expand our spay and neuter services.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Rescue is never a smooth road. Fundraising is always a challenge especially when large funds are needed for a new facility. We average 30-40 calls, emails, and walk ins per day from people trying to rehome/surrender an animal. We do not euthanize for space so adoptions are critical to having room for more animals. Spay and neuter is key to ending the over population of pets, which is why we offer low cost spay and neuter.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Abandoned Animal Rescue – what should we know?
We are a dog and cat shelter that works to find permanent homes for animals that are surrendered to us. We began our spay and neuter clinic several years ago which is an added benefit to our shelter. We are blessed to have an actual facility which is a plus as most rescues are foster based. This allows potential adopters to come in and see several animals at one time. We are most proud of our new building in Magnolia which we will be moving to this September 2017. This will give us 3,000+ square feet for our reception area, cattery, surgery clinic and adoption center along with a 4,500 square foot dog building.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Our success is due to the volunteers that work hard to care for the dogs and cats, and to our supporters for donating. It takes 25 volunteers a day to keep the shelter running. We have 400+ volunteers in our email distribution list and they are always ready to jump in to cover a kennel shift or even work a fundraising event. When we say “our shelter” we mean all of ours. It is a volunteer and community effort to keep us going.
Pricing:
- Low cost vaccination clinic – shots just $15 each, heart worm test $25 each, no vet fee.
Contact Info:
- Address: 419 E. Hufsmith
Tomball, TX 77375 - Website: aartexas.org
- Phone: 281-290-0121
- Email: info@aartexas.org
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