Top 13 Holiday Pet Safety Tips
These 13 holiday pet safety tips will keep your furry family safe during the holiday season. Learn how to avoid choking hazards, toxic foods, injuries, and other dangers. The holiday season is a time for fun, friends, family, food, and celebration. But it’s also a hectic time of year, and there are dangers for dogs and cats that pet parents must be aware of. From poisonous treats to escape attempts, pet parents have to be especially vigilant about their four-legged family members around this time. Here are 13 holiday pet safety tips...
Share the Love 2023
Dec 19, 2023 ‘Tis the season for all things merry and bright! And Austin Subaru’s Share the Love campaign fits right into that aesthetic. A fundraiser that supports pets in need makes the staff, volunteers and pets of APA! so merry because it helps ensure a bright year ahead for our lifesaving programs. APA! was honored to be selected as a pillar partner of Austin Subaru this year and we were thrilled when they announced we’d be one of their hometown charities. In fact, this year is our 9th year in a row as a beneficiary of...
How Being a Cat Parent Improves Your Health: Top 5 Benefits
Being a cat parent helps keep the doctor away! Here are five ways how sharing your life with a feline friend can improve your health and well-being — physically and mentally. Cats are cute and cuddly companions — but they also offer their human companions numerous health benefits. From reducing stress to lowering blood pressure, sharing your life and home with a cat can positively impact your physical and mental well-being. Let’s explore the top five health benefits of living with cats, and why our furry felines are much...
Get ’em Home Challenge winning strategies for helping long-stay pets in animal shelters
This post originally ran in 2019. Mark your calendars for the next Challenge in April 2024, the Open Arms Challenge. In order to find adopters for pets with long shelter stays and compete in the Get ‘Em Home Challenge, Young-Williams Animal Center in Knoxville, TN, developed progressive programming that involved many different areas. Their plan involved the creation of a field trip program, an innovative foster-to-adopt program, marketing pets heavily on social media, increased use of play groups and training for dogs and cats who...
120+ Pets Facing Euthanasia
Dec 18, 2023 24 pets facing euthanasia are arriving at APA! now as their originating shelter was presented with a potential eviction. The 90+ remaining animals in the No Kill shelter hold the same fate if they can’t be moved to other places. Here’s how you can help: The more fosters can sign up, the more pets we can place into homes to ensure they don’t face euthanasia. If you’re able to open up your home to one of these pets in need, please apply to foster here. It costs $7,000 just to bring these pets into our...
Maddie’s Weekly Roundup: Austin Pets Alive! courses, housing rights webcast and more!
Happy Monday! Below is a brief roundup of resources added over the past week. Dr. Kwane Stewart is CNN’s Hero of the Year!Dr. Kwane Stewart, veterinarian and co-founder of Project Street Vet and a Maddie’s Fund® grantee, has been named at the 2023 CNN Hero of the Year for his incredible work with pets and people. As CNN Hero of the Year, Dr. Stewart will receive $100,000 to expand his work. During his acceptance speech, he promised to… Learn More Short and digestible online courses for animal organizations...
Winter Skin Care for Dogs
Winter skin care for dogs involves keeping their skin moisturized, avoiding chemical burns and frostbite, and addressing allergies. Follow these tips to keep your pup’s skin in tip-top shape in winter! Dry skin, flaking, itching, cracked paws. Winter can wreak havoc on your dog’s skin, including their nose and paws. Dry air, ice melt chemicals, allergens, wind, and cold can all take a toll. Luckily, there are things you can do to keep your pup safe! Here are some tips about winter skin care for dogs from Dr. Ian Spiegel and Dr....
The Art of Caring for Senior Pets
As any number of Instagram memes attest to, getting old is no joke. What’s even worse than our own creaking, croaking head, shoulders, knees, and toes though? Watching our pets age. Rusty, aching joints, struggles eating, wandering focus, lack of joy… All common to the aging process, but heart-rending nonetheless as we see their quality of life slowly go downhill. But there are ways to help your aging pet go gracefully into their golden years! The art of caring for senior pets involves prioritizing joint health, vitality, brain...
How to Keep Your Dog Fit and Active During the Winter
Depending on where you live, winters can be harsh, which means you and your dog spend a lot more time indoors. Here are some tips for keeping him fit, active and safe during the cold weather months. Once the weather turns colder and the days get shorter, most of us spend more time inside — and so do our dogs. Whatever the season, however, regular exercise is important for maintaining your canine companion’s health and fitness. This means getting him outside when conditions and temperatures allow, and finding ways to give him...
To Grain or Not to Grain: Choosing Between Grain and Grain-Free Diets
Trying to find the best food for your dog or cat but stuck on the grain versus grain-free hamster wheel? Come along for the ride and find out what grains you’ll find in dog and cat foods, why they’re included, and when to pick grain-inclusive or grain-free diets for your fur baby! Look at any bag of dog or cat food these days and you’re just as likely to see “Grain-Free!” as you are to find grains in the ingredients. The debate between grain-inclusive and grain-free diets for dogs and cats is ongoing, leaving...
