Volunteering for Volunteers

A Capstone project by Zayna Chouman

and Avery Alexander
Our issue: Homeless Animals
● Homeless animals are pets which are either living on the streets or living in shelters.

● 3.3 million dogs enter American shelters every year

● 700,000 dogs are euthanized every year, and 1.6 million are adopted every year

● 3.2 million cats enter American shelters every year

● 860,000 cats are euthanized every year, and 1.6 million are adopted every year
 Continued:
- All strays must go to the Austin Animal Center, then are relocated to shelters like the Austin Humane
Society or the Town Lake Animal Center
- Texas killed more cats and dogs in 2018 than any other state (estimated total of 114,000 animals)
- Austin has a No-Kill policy, meaning animals cannot be euthanized unless they are terminally ill or
otherwise unable to be adopted.
- Shelters have limited spots for animals, which are filled quickly, and because Austin is a No-Kill city,
the biggest issue at local shelters is space.
- Shelter resources are often limited by what the community can provide. Volunteers keep shelters
running.
 Talking with the expert: Amanda Massey
● Education and Events Coordinator at the Austin Humane
Society
● Email, call, and in-person conversations since early
September
● Overpopulation & spread of disease biggest problems for
homeless animal population in Austin
● AHS is volunteer run & served 12,000 animals last year
alone
● No-Kill shelter since 1952
● Plenty of volunteers already
Our thought process:
● Wanted to work with animals

● Through research figured out shelters are the biggest benefit to homeless animals

● Wanted to create a lasting impact on shelters, something hands-on that normal volunteers aren’t

already doing

● Contacted the Austin Humane Society and Austin Pets Alive, AHS wanted to work with us and

gave us a tour

● After tour, shaped plan and found a strong end goal.

 Why this is the best plan for us
- This is the biggest issue that the Austin Humane society is facing at the moment

- It will directly affect all of the animals at the shelter, and will create the biggest everlasting impact on them

- As of now, the full time staff at the Humane Society have to stop what they are doing to try and help the

volunteers which in turn stops them from doing their jobs, making the whole shelter process inefficient

- We are hoping to make that process flow more smoothly

- We will not need funding to help us complete this project and accomplish all of our goals
Questions?
Sources

“Austin Humane Society.” Austin Humane Society, www.austinhumanesociety.org/.

“Pet Statistics.” ASPCA, www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics

“How many dogs are in the world?” Oxford Pets, www.oxfordpets.com/how-many-dogs-are-in-the-world/.

Henrikson, Eric. “Texas Killed More Cats and Dogs in 2018 than Any Other State.” KXAN.com, 12 Aug. 2019,
www.kxan.com/news/texas-killed-more-cats-and-dogs-in-2018-than-any-other-state/