July 2018. Over 900 animals at MCAS alone. Plea after plea have been put out for adopters, fosters and rescues to step up and help, with little relief in sight. Operation Pets Alive is seeking to expand both our Dog/Puppy, Kitten/Cat Foster Teams so we can answer that plea and save lives.

As a rescue who partners with both the Montgomery County Animal Shelter (MCAS) and the Conroe Animal Adoption Center (CAAC), the availability of foster homes directly impacts our ability to help these open-intake shelters. Puppies and kittens wait in overcrowded shelters for us. Pets with medical needs wait. We have a number of pups in boarding, that also need foster homes. Summer is a challenging time, not only because intakes at shelters heat up, but because within OPA, we also have existing foster families taking vacations. If you have ever thought about fostering, make NOW the time to take that jump. 

When you foster for OPA, you will not be alone. You join a family of dedicated fosters, willing to walk you through every step. We have short-term and longer-term fostering opportunities. Last year alone, OPA rescued over 3,125 pets from our local shelters, and from within our community, plus impacted the lives of countless other through our Core Programs. But we need help, from you in our community, to keep saving lives!

If you’re ready to be part of the solution for a No Kill Montgomery County, drop us an email letting us know what type of foster(s) will best fit your family situation.

Can’t foster, but want to help?
Join us for a New Volunter Orientation, the last Wednesday of every month, beginning at 6:30 pm at the South Lake Community Center in the Woodlands (2235 Lake Robbins Dr. Room 107). Our Volunteer Coordinator will go over the countless ways in which you can help support our homeless pets, and life-saving Core Programs.

Beat the Heat! Spay/Neuter Your Pets! 
OPA offers affordable Spay and Neuter Services for Cats and Dogs

Did you know OPA offers a low cost Spay/Neuter Program for ALL Montgomery County Residents that have unaltered cats or dogs? Spaying and Neutering your pets is the single most important way to save lives of homeless pet, by reducing unwanted cat and dog populations!

Plan A. offers Spay/Neuter for both dogs and cats for as low as $30 if you are on any kind of government assistance, or make less than $40,000 a year (must show proof of income/assistance).

Plan B. is $80 for Spay/Neuter of dogs and $65 for cats, and is for anyone who does not qualify for Plan A. (no proof of income/assistance necessary).

Read more about our Spay/Neuter Program and find the application here (scroll down page): 
www.operationpetsalive.org/programs.php  

Send the complete application, and/or any questions to our Spay/Neuter Team Lead at:
kayla@operationpetsalive.org 

Dogs Playing for Life™ Happening at Our Local Shelters!

EXCITING NEWS! ‘Dogs Playing for Life™’ (DPFL) has arrived at our County Shelters ~ Montgomery County Animal Shelter (MCAS) and the Conroe Animal Adoption Center (CAAC)! Operation Pets Alive is thrilled to have sponsored the initial March training by the DPFL Team, all made possible through a grant from the Animal Farm Foundation. But we need your help to sustain it moving forward!

Dogs Playing for Life is a Program that lets dogs be dogs through playing! A program that gives each shelter dog daily exercise, and opportunities to learn how to behave socially around other dogs. A program that provides program staff and volunteers insight about each shelter dog’s personality that aids in a good matches for an adoptive homes. In short, happier, satisfied animals are generally less stressed, which equates to less disease and extreme behavior in shelters that puts people, and animals lives, at risk! To read more about the Program, visit: www.dogsplayingforlife.com

We are in need of volunteers, to assist with the ongoing implementation of the program at both MCAS and CAAC. If you are interested, please drop us an email at: volunteer@operationpetsalive.org

Donations are also welcome, and will assist us with Program Costs moving forward. Your gift, no matter how small, will help improve the quality of our shelter pups’ lives while kenneled, and help save lives! To make a donation just go here: www.operationpetsalive.org/donate.php. Be sure to include a note that your donation is to go towards “Dogs Playing for Life”.

Have We Finally Arrived at a No Kill Montgomery County?
A New Year’s Message from our President

We have [almost] arrived! Since our inception, Operation Pets Alive has been working hard to help Montgomery County become a 'No-Kill' Community. In 'no-kill' parlance, this means our shelters are saving over 90% of the animals they intake each year. Though the road to no-kill has been filled with twists and turns, our volunteers and supporters have tenaciously stayed the course to help our community achieve this major milestone. It is rewarding to know that, seven years later, we are just about there!

The Montgomery County Animal Shelter just posted a 92.5% live release rate for 2017, and the Conroe Animal Adoption Center was close behind posting a 88.7% live release rate for the year. Is our work here done? I don’t think so.
OPA will be taking a deep breath and considering adjustments for the future. In fact, changes are already underway:

* New management at both shelters has squarely set their sights on increasing the live release rates.

* OPA continues to assist both shelters with medical expenses, but we have now moved beyond simple x-rays to more serious procedures.

* We launched OPA in 2011 with a major focus on transporting pets from our over-full shelters to other parts of the county. Now, many more rescue groups have established transport programs adding to our overall life-saving efforts.

* Hurricane Harvey challenged OPA, and the rescue community, to work together to move animals out of shelters to safety, quickly, and in great numbers. OPA answered the call, engineering no less than four flight and ground transports within the span of a few weeks to clear the shelters for Harvey victims.

* During 2017 OPA increased adoption venues, which remain open to animals from both shelters, as well as our own OPA pets, as a second means to move animals out of crowded shelters and into homes. As a result, we saw a 30% increase in local adoptions during 2017.

* OPA has joined forces with Texas Litter Control and the Bruce Knapp Fund to TNR even more of Montgomery County’s Community Cats thereby reducing births and shelter intake. OPA also saved over 100 additional feral cats, at risk in the shelter, pending the approval of a feral cat program for the city of Conroe. 

In 2018, we’re charting new territory through a grant to introduce Dogs Playing for Life™ programs at both local shelters. This structured playgroup program will enable our community to save more lives by giving shelter dogs much-needed exercise and socialization during their shelter stay.

OPA has seen our all-volunteer organization grow in both the magnitude of volunteers and achievements. And further, thanks to the generous support from our community, we have continued to fund that growth through donations.

I am honored to be associated with such a dedicated and capable group of animal lovers and to be a part of an organization that has helped our community achieve a laudable 'No-Kill' milestone. Kudos to all! Looking forward to more progress in 2018!
 
Marcia Piotter
President, Co-founder Operation Pets Alive!

How OPA Impacted Homeless Pets in 2017
Our Year In Review

Because of your support, Operation Pets Alive rescued a total of 3,125 homeless pets in 2017 from within Montgomery County. Take a look at our breakdowns. A total of 1,842 dogs and 1,283 cats were saved from our County Shelters, and within our community. During 2017 OPA transferred 921 dogs and 245 cats, via ground and air, to partnering shelters and rescues in other areas of the country where a greater demand exists for adoptable pets, and a 99.9% save rate amongst those transferred ~ mainly through our ‘Pups On Trucks’, ‘Flights For Life’, and ‘Cat Taxi’ Programs. OPA had a great year for local adoptions with 806 dogs and 623 cats finding forever homes within our Community ~ a 30% increase from last year!

In addition, OPA helped hundreds of other pets in our community through other Programs. Our low cost Spay/Neuter Program assisted families by altering 99 pets. We also helped over 150 pets in need from MCAS and CAAC with outside veterinarian services. Our TNR Program alone, ensured that 302 community cats were spay/neutered and vaccinated, so they could live safely in our community without reproducing.   

An awesome job by volunteers, fosters, partners and our supporters!

Chewy To the Rescue of our Homeless Pets!

We love Chewy ~ and we know if you give them a try ~ you will too! Great service, FAST and free shipping (for orders over $49), and when you place your first order through Chewy using the button below, Chewy will donate $20 buckaroos to help our homeless pets! Plus, Chewy offers a 20% discount off your first autoship order.

Make your life easier. Find EVERYTHING your pet needs ~ quality foods, treats, supplements, toys, bedding and more at Chewy! As always, we thank you for your support!

Animal Hearted Offers Discounts on FUN Apparel that Benefits OPA!

How awesome is it that Animal Hearted, has partnered with us at OPA to offer discounts on their wonderful line of pet-related T-shirts and other very cool apparel? Very awesome! Just go to https://www.animalhearted.com. Shop from their outrageously fun dog and cat lovers clothing line (and other items), use the code SUPPORTOPA at checkout, and not only will you get a 10% discount on your total purchase, but 25% of all final sales (excluding shipping, etc) using this code, will support us at OPA and help us save countless more lives! Thank you Animal Hearted!

Animal Hearted Apparel is a clothing company with a conscience. Like us at OPA, they are passionate about animals. Not only do they make fun and creative clothing and accessories for animal lovers, they are dedicated to saving the lives of shelter animals. Their generosity and vision has helped save thousands of shelter pets, and with your help, together we can help save many more!

Have you checked out our OPA Etsy Store Lately? New items are added all the time! Find everything from dog and cat toys to plush pet mats, kitchen and home accessories, and more. Select from dog and cat-themed fabrics, and other fashionable textures/patterns. All meticulously designed and hand crafted, with the quality and care you expect from OPA Volunteers. All net proceeds go to benefit Operation Pets Alive and our work with the homeless animals of Montgomery County TX. Start your shopping at: www.operationpetsalive.etsy.com 
If you would like to join our talented and dedicated Team of OPA-Crafters, drop us a line at: susan@operationpetsalive.org