What 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 those who aren’t familiar with the
fostering concept, volunteer fosters enlist
to host an animal, or animals if the animals
get along and the situation is appropriate, in
their homes until a permanent family can be
found. The volunteers shoulder the cost of
food and boarding while the animal is in their
care. Food costs are reimbursed by the group
and all medical costs are covered by Animal
Advocates as well until they are adopted. The
benefits to the animal are numerous.
For one, a fostered animal doesn’t go
through the stresses of being in a kennel
environment, where dogs that have been
kenneled for months on end have the
potential of going “cage crazy,” a physical and
mental state of simply giving up. Dogs will
retreat to the rear of their cages, no longer
greet visitors at the front of the cage, and
remain listless or seem depressed. Fostered
animals also have a safer health environment.
While kennels are prone to infectious diseases
such as parvo, kennel cough and feline URI,
the risk of fostered animals being exposed to
those ailments is greatly reduced in a foster
care environment.
Just like its larger kennel brethren, Animal
Advocates ensures that your new pet is spayed
or neutered, current on its shots and tagged
with a subcutaneous microchip so that the pet
can be identified and traced back to its owner
should it run away or get lost inadvertently.
A.A. volunteers also, like larger animal
welfare organizations, save animals from out
of state when they can, rescuing dogs from
rural shelters in Ohio or the Carolinas that are
slated to be euthanized for reasons of space
or time. In addition, they have been known to
place animals outside of their home base of
southwestern Pennsylvania in extreme cases
where the need benefits the animal most.
“We do try to place animals in the Greater
Pittsburgh area, but we’ve been known to go
out of our way on occasion,” Murphy said.
“We’ve also pulled dogs from Maryland and
Virginia, which is rare. But if it needs to be
done, we’ll do it.”
Animal Advocates also doesn’t discriminate
against animals based on breed, age or health.
It has rescued senior pets and found them
homes where they can live out their golden
years, and they have rescued pets who are
cancer survivors whose owners abandoned
them.
One thing that hasn’t happened to
Animal Advocates in its 30-year existence
is the need for services to decrease. The
number of homeless and displaced animals
is almost overwhelming, no matter how
many beneficial organizations are in play, and
Animal Advocates needs volunteers to get the
job done.
“We always need more volunteers, whether
it’s taking some animals out to Moochie &
Company in the Mall at Robinson, where we
bring them one Sunday a month, or visits to
Petco in Robinson, or volunteering to be a
foster home or caregiver,” Murphy said. “We
can find a way for you to help.”
If you are interested in helping Animal
Advocates, go to the website:
animaladvocates.net, where the current
pets up for adoption can be found, or call
at 412.928.9777 to leave a message. Phone
calls will be returned when a volunteer is
available. You can also call the resale shop at
412.928.9837, Monday through Friday from
noon to 3 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., on
Saturdays. It is a 501c3 organization, and all
donations are tax deductible as far as the law
allows. In this special 30th anniversary year,
the volunteers are looking to raise $30,000 to
help even more animals in the future. n
Crosby, Dog for Adoption
Do you have room in your heart and home to give this golden boy love and comfort in his golden years?
Crosby was taken in by animal control in WV and from there came to Animal Advocates. He was found starving, so
deprived of food that he was barely able to stand alone. Poor Crosby was so emaciated he was literally falling down and
we weren’t even sure that he would survive. He has shown us how strong he really is; he’s feeling and looking fine now
with vet care, good food and kindness shown to him by our animal caregivers. We love this golden boy with the loving
heart, strong spirit, and strong will to live. At approx. 8 years. old, he deserves to be living in a loving home.
This dog deserves to be a winner, please help Crosby.
Crosby is in a foster home now. He’s enjoying running in the yard with the other family dogs and getting comfy
indoors with dogs, cats and people. He likes this “home life” and really wants a home that will be his forever.
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