W
hat separates Animal Advocates
from its larger animal shelter
counterparts is that Animal
Advocates does not run a formal
shelter. All the animals in its network for
adoption are in the care of foster families, who
lovingly look after their needs until suitable
homes are found. A.A.’s building, which
houses several “AdvoCats” doted upon by
volunteers, is used strictly as a fundraising
vehicle for the organization as resale shop,
where donated goods are sold at discount to
fund the group.
“Everyone involved with us is a volunteer,”
Murphy said. “We’re a working board [of
directors]. We’re not figureheads. Everything
is volunteer-driven. No one is paid anything,
and our resale shop is one of our main
funding sources.”
While being a totally volunteer-driven
organization has its advantages as far as saving
on overhead and administrative fees, it also
has its setbacks in that Animal Advocates can
only handle as much traffic as its volunteer
pool can provide.
The numbers are nothing to sneeze at,
but, Murphy laments, if there were more
volunteers willing to be fosters for pets and
working in the shop, caring for in-house
AdvoCats, more cats and dogs could be saved
each year.
“In 2013, we placed 140 dogs alone and
spent over $60,000 on veterinary services.
When you add cats into the mix, we’re
averaging over 200 animals a year being
placed into loving, caring homes,” Murphy
said. “It’s hard to say how many we’ve saved
overall, going back as far as we do, but it’s
significant.”
For thos