Making a difference – A look at five local animal rescue organizations

A few weeks ago, Unleashed featured a story about Friends of the Animals (FOTA) adopting out more than 500 dogs during its first year as a rescue. The organization began in 2010 as a booster group to improve the lives of the animals confined to the city shelter.

FOTA is among five animal welfare non-profits that were founded largely as a result of a 2009 meeting convened by Baton Rouge Area Foundation. The discussion focused on the possibility of Baton Rouge becoming No Kill community, which means no healthy or treatable animal would be euthanized in municipal shelter.

At that time, nearly 80% of animals—75% of dogs and 90% of cats—that arrived at Animal Control were euthanized.

Outrage over those dismal statistics, the antiquated facility and the need for immediate action led to the founding of FOTA, Rescue Bank, Yelp!BR, Project Purr Baton Rouge and Companion Animal Alliance (CAA).

As they approach the five-year mark—despite a bad economy, an unending supply of animals needing help and limited resources—these non-profits have attracted enough volunteers and grants to thrive.

As members of the loosely configured group of Garden District rescuers, Mark Mese and Judy Atkinson know firsthand that small rescues have a hard time competing with large national organizations for grants and a harder time turning away animals in need.

When they heard a Louisiana native had established a Houston-based pet food bank, they eagerly offered to open a Baton Rouge affiliate. Since 2010, Rescue Bank of Baton Rouge has distributed more than 480,000 pounds of food and other supplies to its 30 member rescues.

“It has been so important that we have truly made a difference in helping to improve the lives of animals in our community [and] assisting the people who care for them,” Atkinson says. “By providing some food, we make it possible for local rescue groups to take in more animals, to save more lives and to pay for things other than food.”

Rescue Bank’s donations allow many small rescues to allocate a greater portion of their budget to medical care, crates and other essentials for the thousands of animals they rescue annually. Just as significant is the relationship the smaller groups have made.

“When we started Rescue Bank, many local rescue groups knew nothing about each other [or] regarded the others as competitors for resources, adopters, volunteers and foster homes,” she says. “Through Rescue Bank, the groups have come to know each other, share information, cooperate in rescue efforts and make affirmative coordinated efforts to change the status quo [of animals] in our community.”

Before BRAF was able to ink a comprehensive No Kill agenda, Yelp!BR organized and began showcasing shelter dogs in high traffic area. Soon, they opened a no kill shelter in North Baton Rouge. In 2012, the group adopted 326 dogs and puppies; last year, that number dropped to 250.

“We attribute the decrease in total number of adoptions to a better, more thorough screening process resulting in fewer returns,” Yelp!BR fundraising coordinator Beverly Y. Theriot says.
Still over the last four years, Yelp!BR has found homes for 1,200 canines.

Project Purr has proven to be a powerhouse in the adoption of felines. In its first six months, the group placed 422 cats. During its first full year of operation, it placed another 597. In 2013, the group adopted out 512 felines.

According to founder and Executive Director Peggy Polk, this year’s numbers are down due to a smaller corps of foster caregivers and a few returns from individuals unwilling to make a lifetime commitment to cat they adopted.

While the adoption rate was higher in the beginning, so was the death rate of animals rescued. Panleukopenia, a disease that is preventable but was prevalent at the shelter, killed many of the kittens Project Purr rescued.

“Now that CAA runs the [shelter] and they vaccinate on admission, we have virtually no cases of panleukopenia and nearly all pets that we rescue live and get adopted,” Polk says.
In all approximately 2,300 cats and kittens have been saved.

Since 2011, the City-Parish has contracted with CAA to run the shelter. In 2012, CAA records show 9,150 cats, kittens, puppies and dogs entered the shelter. The total save rate including animals redeemed by their owners and those who went into rescue was 53% for dogs and 37% for cats. That year, 816 cats and 624 dogs were transferred to rescue; still, 3,897 animals were euthanized.

In 2013, the statistics were much the same with an intake of 8,055, a 55% live release rate for dogs and 35% for cats. Last year, 743 dogs and 659 cats went into rescue; some 3,855 animals were euthanized.

Besides releasing animals to rescue, CAA also has its own adoption program. In 2012, CAA adopted 1,817 dogs and 374 cats. In 2013, 1,424 dogs and 370 cats were adopted directly from the shelter.

“Each year is very unique, and as an open-admission shelter, CAA must take in all animals that are presented to us,” CAA’s executive director Beth Brewster says. “In this past year, with the help of many outside experts, we have focused our efforts on building best practices in our operations. We are proud to say we now have a facility with good disease control utilizing industry-standard cleaning protocols. With a new outreach team and established relationships with PetCo and PetSmart, we are excited about this increased visibility and hope that transfers to seeing more adoptions and rescues in 2014.”

Although other animal welfare groups pull pets from the East Baton Rouge Parish Animal Shelter, YelpBR!, Project Purr and FOTA are specifically dedicated to lowering the euthanasia rate at the city shelter. Because the euthanasia rate for cats remains remarkably high at 65%, Project Purr continues to rescue exclusively from the facility. A new CAA program for community cats may significantly decrease that rate as well.

While Baton Rouge is still far from being a No Kill community, the city is closer to that goal than it’s been before. That’s thanks in no small part to these dynamic organizations have increased public awareness about conditions at the shelter and the high quality of pets available for adoption.

Not only have they saved animal lives, they have brought tremendous happiness to thousands of Baton Rouge families who have found a fabulous, furry friend.

These cats and kittens were saved from the city shelter and are now available for adoption from Project Purr BR.

Odo was saved from Animal Control along with his sisters (Dax and Kira). This gray tabby guy likes to follow his humans around the house and talk to them. When it’s time for bed, he likes to snuggle. Odo get along well with other kitties and dogs.

Coco Chanel is sassy and fun. She loves to sit and look out of the window during the day. When her fosters arrive home she wants some attention and sometimes gives kisses, too. She does fine with other cats, and could tolerate a cat-friendly dog. For more information, contact her foster at [email protected]” or by calling 773-6993.

Hershey is the ultimate cat. He is both loving and playful. This black-and-white boy is especially tolerant. He gets along wonderfully with children and loves other cats. However, Hershey isn’t the kind of cat you can leave at home all day by himself. He craves attention and has lots of energy—and love—to share his human companions.

Rooster is a fun loving, super affectionate kitten with some huge purrs. This orange tabby loves hanging out with his mom, Egwene, and his sister, Joiya. But, he would also do well in a home on his own because most of all he loves his people.

Tessa was left at the pound on Valentine’s Day (which made her very sad because all she want is to be loved). Her favorite things are giving love nibbles and playing with the phone. This calico/tabby would make a great addition to any family including those with other cats.

Affectionate, fun-loving Charlie Brown is an awesome kitty. This Maine Coon mix has an immune disorder, so he’s best suited to be an only cat or with another kitty with the same diagnosis. For more information, email to his foster at [email protected].

All these pets have been spayed/neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and litterbox trained. Many other adoptable cats and kittens are available from Project Purr.