2016 Annual Report

Annual Report 2016

Mission Statement

Animal Friends, a premier companion animal resource community, is committed to promoting the animal-human bond and nurturing relationships with companion animals which are guided by compassion.

It is our mission to: - Reduce the number of unwanted animals through aggressive spay/neuter programs.

- Provide for the well-being of companion animals in need, while adhering to our no-kill tradition and find each a lifelong, loving home.

- Offer affordable wellness services and resources to pets and owners in need, targeting underserved communities, to support whole-life care.

- Promote the animal-human bond through outreach, education and therapeutic programming.

- And, act as an advocate on behalf of animals in crisis and as an enforcer of their rights and protection.

We are deeply committed to these goals while ensuring the financial security and stability of the organization for future generations.

Culture Statement

We choose to work at Animal Friends because of its mission to serve as a compassionate advocate for animals.

And while we spend our time focused on this mission, we also choose to create a compassionate, humane and healthy workplace for ourselves and each other. Toward that end, we endeavor to: - Support a united Animal Friends.

- Practice collaboration and cooperation.

- Embrace diversity and open-mindedness.

- Practice open, direct and prompt communication.

- Deal with conflict proactively and responsibly.

- Promote trust.

- Demonstrate respect.

- Support a safe and healthy workplace.

- Acknowledge the emotional aspects of our work.

- Show appreciation and gratitude.

Vision Statement

To ensure the well-being of companion animals, while ending overpopulation, abuse and unwarranted euthanasia.

2016 Organizational Goals - To facilitate 9,500 low-cost spay/neuter surgeries.

- To facilitate the admission, care, sheltering, and ultimate placement of 2,200 cats, dogs and rabbits into lifelong, loving homes.

- To support the health of pets and our communities by providing 16,000 low-cost vaccines through our various on-site and community-based clinics.

- To assist 7,000 pet owners in need through the distribution of 40,000 pounds of donated food via the Chow Wagon program, providing much needed support to food pantry clients, feral cat colony caretakers, individual families and other shelters.

- To affect the lives of 70,000 individuals through a wide array of supportive programs, services and activities that encourage the community to engage in our work.

- To enhance our ability to serve the community by facilitating 320,000 hours of donated volunteer service while maintaining 100% integration of volunteers into our programs.

- To engage in meaningful, mission-based collaborative efforts with local, regional and national organizations and municipal agencies to address multi-faceted community issues.

- To provide intervention, rescue or safe haven to 2,100 animals through the investigation of 750 cases by our Humane Investigations team.

- To provide necessary financial support and stability for the organization’s operations and programmatic needs by raising a total of $5,850,000.

- To further engage the public in our work by increasing the number of visitors to our center to 55,000 and the number of visits to the organization’s ThinkingOutsideTheCage.org to 775,000.

2016 By the Numbers And, for the People Who Love Them ...

For the Animals ...

Spay/Neuter Surgeries ........................... 10,321

Lives Impacted ....................................... 107,121

Vaccines and Wellness Services (public) ...... 20,068

Pet Therapy (Therapets) .................. 89,747

Animals Admitted .................................... 2,256

Education and Children’s Programs ... 13,545

Animals Adopted .................................... 2,240

Animal Friends University ............... 3,829

Animals Cared for in Foster Homes ............

1,096

Chow Wagon Pet Food Bank

Foster Care Hours ........................ 135,560

Clients Served .............................. 16,203

Live Release Rate .................................... 95.8%

Pounds of Pet Food Distributed ......... 90,366

Euthanasias ................................................ 69

Humane Investigations

Behavior Euthanasias ........................... 12

Cases Investigated ........................... 727

Quality of Life Euthanasias ..................... 57

Animals Involved ........................... 2,306

Natural Deaths ............................................. 29

Volunteer Hours ................................. 372,790 Visitors to Our Center .............................. 48,567 Visits to Our Website ........................... 789,892 Facebook Followers ................................. 61,854 2016 Budget .................................... $5,850,000

Executive Summary Dear Friend, Once again, Animal Friends has had an exceptional year! Through our steadfast commitment to our lifesaving mission, we succeeded in serving the needs of the pet-owning community through unique and countless opportunities.

Not only did we celebrate our 10-year anniversary at our Camp Horne Road location, we also accomplished so much – record numbers of highly demanded, affordable services were provided to the community paving the way for our new Howard Ash Animal Wellness Center; lives were enriched through our meaningful, pet-focused programs; families were made more complete with the addition of a four-legged friend; and most importantly, countless lives were saved from the threat of unwarranted euthanasia.

I am thrilled to share this Annual Report with you. It was through your time, energy, talent and gifts that we were able to accomplish all that we did in 2016. It was truly an incredible year and for that, I thank you.

I encourage you to take the time to read this information-packed report. You will learn about how our progressive approach to outreach took much-needed resources deeper into the underserved pockets of our community. You will better understand the commitment we have to our animals evidenced by our collaborative, holistic network of care. You will be inspired by the sheer number of hours of service our dedicated volunteer corps has given. And, you will be impressed by the record-setting number of lives impacted through our meaningful events, classes and workshops.

I’m proud of how far we’ve come since 1943. And, I’m confident that, together, we’ll be saving, changing and impacting lives for 73 more years to come.

Simply put, it’s what we do … and will continue to do.

In appreciation,

David J. Swisher President & Chief Executive Officer

Clinic Services Department

Altering Lives … It’s What We Do.

In addition to our core spay/neuter programs, we were proud to launch Animal Friends for Life in 2016. This program takes a hands-on approach to tackling pet overpopulation and challenges that pet owners face in underserved communities by offering basic wellness care, food and sometimes just a shoulder to lean on, like we provided for Christina.

Christina met one of our volunteers at a local food bank and confided in her that she needed help or she’d have to give up her beloved Pit Bull, Lucky. This is just the type of owner that Animal Friends for Life was designed to help – committed and responsible, but in need of a helping hand during hard times. Animal Friends did indeed step in and provide the assistance that she so desperately needed for Lucky, including food, vaccinations, a neuter surgery and treatment for a skin condition that had become infected. Now Lucky can remain healthy – and at home – with Christina for many, many years to come.

At Animal Friends, we are dedicated to ensuring that all pet owners – regardless of income – have access to the basic veterinary care their pets, just like Lucky, need and deserve.

Aggressive spay/neuter programming is at the forefront of our mission because needlessly euthanizing pets can never be the solution to the pet overpopulation crisis in our region. We’ve stood by that belief for decades and remain committed to it more than ever today.

Our Clinic Services Department is made up of five core components each uniquely designed to support a targeted population by offering pets high-quality, low-cost

spay/neuter surgeries. They include our In-House Clinic program offering spay/neuter services at Animal Friends; our Mobile program supporting small, rural shelters and community groups where access to low-cost spay/neuter services is limited; our Community program partnering with local veterinary clinics to provide subsidized options for clients in their communities; our Adoptables program ensuring every

animal that comes through our doors is altered prior to adoption; and our Animal Friends for Life program, including targeted Trap Neuter Vaccinate Return projects, meeting struggling pet owners on their doorsteps to better understand the resources and education they truly need.

We finished the year by providing an incredible 10,321 spay/neuter surgeries and 20,068 vaccinations -- significantly more than our budgeted expectations!

And, we can’t forget that in 2016 much time was spent preparing for our highly anticipated Howard Ash Animal Wellness Center – a fully-equipped public spay/neuter clinic and pet vaccination center targeting low-income families and underserved pet populations who aren’t able to afford basic pet care.

Simply put, we cannot wait to open our doors in 2017 so that even more pets and pet owners will be supported with our affordable, soon-to-be expanded services.

Animal Friends for Life

Animal Friends for Life provided 435 spay/neuter surgeries, 1,128 vaccinations and 122 microchips to struggling pet owners in the Perry Hilltop and Observatory Hill areas of Pittsburgh by knocking on doors and building lasting, trusted relationships so that pets can stay right where they belong – happy and healthy in their homes.

While these numbers are nothing short of impressive, it’s what goes into the numbers that really counts – taking help directly into the communities where it’s needed most.

In our time working with the residents of underserved communities we have truly

seen the significance of our presence there.

With our direct outreach approach, we are changing the way people care for their pets while living in resource-starved neighborhoods.

animals and excellent customer service for their owners and caregivers. We know this is the way to forge strong relationships that will continue to grow our client base.

While 2016 was the first year for Animal Friends for Life, our outreach started two years ago through our Pets for Life program thanks to a generous grant from PetSmart Charities. Back then, very few of our clients’ pets had ever seen a vet. But now, mindsets have been changed and lives have been saved. We’re thrilled that our approach is proving its worth year after year.

Through coordinated Trap Neuter Vaccinate Return (TNVR) projects we remain committed to proactively and compassionately controlling the feral and community cat population. This year, more than 350 felines in several targeted communities were trapped, neutered, vaccinated and returned. And, 61 of those felines were not truly feral. So, they were brought in through our Foster to Admit program and were adopted into loving families.

In-House Clinic Program

Each year we see a constant increase in demand for affordable spay/neuter and vaccine services – despite the opening of new clinics in our area. This just further evidences the need for affordable care in our communities and confirms our vision for our Howard Ash Animal Wellness Center.

Through our highly skilled in-house team, 4,973 surgeries were performed for individual pet owners, partner shelters and rescue groups. They also provided top-notch, compassionate care for the

This year was the fifth consecutive year that we were a proud provider of the City of Pittsburgh’s Free Spay/Neuter program.

We completed 505 surgeries in 2016. And since establishing this partnership four years ago, a total of 1,979 surgeries have been provided to City residents.

Mobile Program

Low-Cost Vaccine Clinics

Community Program

On each clinic day, we are pleased to find our Resource Center full of our two- and four-legged community members grateful for low-cost wellness services. And, the experience for our clients continues to improve. This year we further defined separate species areas to reduce stress and anxiety. We also added more service options based on our clients’ suggestions.

Our Mobile Resource Center (MRC) traveled throughout our region bringing low-cost spay/neuter surgeries into the communities without access to affordable veterinary services. Our dedicated MRC team completed 2,228 spay/neuter surgeries in eight counties for 21 partner shelters and rescue groups.

A total of 1,606 spay/neuter surgeries were facilitated through our community veterinarian partners. We have found that this program is not as successful as it once was. As our demand changes and our services evolve, we will continue to find new ways to work together with our community partners – especially as we look toward the opening of our Howard Ash Animal Wellness Center. We will continue to stand with our community’s veterinarians as a voice for animals. We know positive, collaborative efforts will attract more clients seeking care, education and advice for their companion animals, and we look forward to continuing this vital collaboration for years to come.

Vaccination by vaccination, our Low-Cost Vaccine Clinics are providing pets the necessary – yet affordable – services they need to remain safe and healthy members of their families.

In 2016, our Low-Cost Vaccine Clinics once again saw significant growth. An incredible 20,068 vaccines were administered to thousands of pets – a 25% increase over budgeted expectations – providing further proof of the critical need to expand our services through our Howard Ash Animal Wellness Center.

Placement Services Department

Improving Lives … It’s What We Do.

The last month of the year was without a doubt the highlight for the Adoption team – and quite possibly for the entire organization! The month of December set an all-time Animal Friends’ record for animals adopted in a single month.

We placed a whopping 322 animals – attributed to our Best-Gift-of-All promotion when the Fragasso family generously underwrote every adoption donation for the final 17 days of the year.

It took an incredible amount of teamwork for this feat to be accomplished. Not only did our Adoption team work tirelessly to place the animals with caring families but our Admissions staff, volunteers and transfer partners worked together to seamlessly bring in 101 animals. As a result, hundreds of animals found loving homes, and with our partner organizations we were able to save more lives by relieving the burden of full kennels.

What made this especially sweet was that several residents who had been with us for a long time found homes – including Marie, who had been at Animal Friends for 2½ years; Silver, a shy, 10-year-old tabby; and Univers the rabbit, who had come in almost two years earlier. Actually, Silver was the last cat remaining in our Free Roam Room on Dec. 23 until her new family took her home, leaving us with an empty room but very full hearts.

Our Placement Services Department works collaboratively with all departments to prepare each animal for adoption. By coordinating staff and volunteer schedules, medical examinations, spay/neuter surgeries and behavior evaluations, the process of getting our animals adoption-ready is becoming increasingly more efficient.

Our Placement Services team continued to cross state lines to admit animals in need of a second chance from partner shelters in West Virginia and Ohio. This national trend helps to relieve rural shelters from overcrowding and brings more diversity to Animal Friends’ kennels – attracting more families in our community to Animal Friends to adopt. We are continuing to grow this program and look forward to building new partnerships in the coming year while still staying committed to the homeless animals in our local communities.

Admissions & Foster Care Program

In 2016, 2,256 dogs, cats and rabbits were admitted to Animal Friends. Owner surrenders, transfers from other shelters and animal control facilities, Humane Investigations confiscations, strays and animals abandoned on our doorstep require the Admissions team to always think outside the cage when it comes to balancing the ever-existent need for space and creative kenneling.

Our Foster Care program enables Animal Friends to provide for more animals by extending our care beyond the walls of our shelter. Our foster families also permit us the flexibility to offer specialized types of care that are often not possible in a shelter environment. Thanks to their dedication, our animals benefit from behavioral training, around-the-clock medical attention and, when necessary, hospice care. This year, our foster volunteers provided an astounding 135,560 hours of diligent and loving care to 1,096 animals.

In 2016, much effort was put into revamping our Cat Foster Care program with a concentrated effort to provide more education and resources to our existing foster families while also engaging more staff and volunteers to become foster guardians. Not only did these critical changes allow us to expand our foster network but we were able to care for – and find homes for – 786 kittens this year alone.

Adoption Program

Each and every day we are so grateful that families come to Animal Friends to adopt. Because so many of our community members opened up their hearts and homes to pets in need, an incredible 2,240 dogs, cats and rabbits were placed into loving families this year – surpassing our budgeted expectations.

Early in the year, Animal Friends for Veterans was created – a series of new veteran-focused adoption programs that brought Animal Friends back to the heart of our founding. An emphasis was placed on reviving the priceless adoption policy for all veterans and active duty servicemen and servicewomen thanks to the generosity of the Major Ben Follansbee Memorial Fund. Our Pittsburgh chapter of the national Pets for Vets program – which individually selects, trains and places companion animals to meet the needs of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and other unresolved issues – was also

integrated this year. And, we are proud that we had our first placement in September. In total, Animal Friends for Veterans matched 53 vets with pets.

Bunny Yoga also found incredible success in 2016. Monthly sessions brought yogis from all over the region toting their mats and donning their yoga pants in eagerness to Sasangasana (or rabbit pose!) with our homeless hoppers. Not only did each session sell out within days but we also discovered a fun, engaging way to showcase our rabbits.

In 2016, we were thrilled to find homes for 13 FIV+ kitties. We are also grateful to our Petco satellite adoption center for placing an astounding 121 cats last year.

Animal Wellness Department

Saving Lives … It’s What We Do.

The Animal Wellness Department is entrusted with the overall health and well-being of the animals in our care. Upon admission, animals immediately journey through a compassionate network of assessment, supportive care and treatment.

This collaborative approach to our residents’ well-being was especially critical when a total of 38 fearful, under-socialized dogs living outdoors were confiscated from one residence and brought to Animal Friends. But it’s what happened after the dogs arrived that makes this situation so special.

For months, we tirelessly provided thousands of hours of counter-conditioning, positive reinforcement and a lot of patience from dedicated and compassionate staff and volunteers. This was just what these dogs needed to succeed. We celebrated victories big and small and will continue to provide care for them as long as it’s needed. It is this holistic approach to our residents’ wellness – medically, environmentally and behaviorally – that makes Animal Friends so progressive.

In 2016, the Animal Wellness Department provided daily care for more than 2,300 homeless animals in need. From initial physical exams and complex medical treatments to daily training plans and enrichment, we strive to provide the best care possible for our residents. Working collaboratively, this department has placed a high priority on monitoring the health of our entire kennel population while implementing processes and procedures to contain and minimize the spread of infectious diseases.

Animal Care

The Animal Care team continues to be one of the busiest departments providing around-the-clock daily care for every animal that comes through our doors. Each Caregiver adheres to behavioral, medical and dietary policies and procedures to ensure the highest possible quality of life for each dog, cat and rabbit. The Animal Care team provides the groundwork for our animals’ holistic well-being while giving gentle pets, coos of affection and a lot of love.

Medical Wellness

The Medical Wellness team works to ensure the overall daily health and wellness of more than the 250 animals that fill our on-site kennels and an average of 100 animals in foster homes. Supporting neo-natal kittens, identifying wounds of unknown origin, setting broken bones, caring for advanced tumors and battling infectious diseases are part of their daily diagnoses and treatments.

Whether a basic physical examination or an advanced treatment protocol, Animal Friends’ commitment is to provide our animals the highest-quality, comfortable, healthy experience while in our care.

Like never before, the year was defined by the distinct long-term care needs of particular animal populations and the diagnosis, remediation and management of infectious diseases – including canine distemper and feline ringworm. This challenged our team to be creative in their approach to the housing, daily care, medical and behavioral needs for these special-needs groups. New procedural documents, instructional signage and staff training resulted from successfully meeting these challenging situations.

Behavior Wellness

The Behavior Wellness Department is charged with the overall social and behavioral health of our resident dogs, cats and rabbits. Through behavior modification plans, enrichment, scheduled down time and training sessions, we’re finding that our animals are happier, healthier and less stressed as they wait to find loving homes.

A corps of trained and experienced dog behavior evaluators was reestablished to assist with the flow of adoption-ready canines. To support this team, a group communication system was created which shared information regarding dogs who needed to be evaluated, the schedule of evaluator availability and upcoming transfers or special adoption events.

This new system helped to continuously move adoptable dogs to our adoption floor – ensuring the highest level of visibility for adopters.

And, our Cat Open Paw program is finding more success as we commit to teaching our dedicated volunteers on an individual basis. They are learning to read feline body language while executing positive behavior modification techniques. And, our cats are now recognizing friendly behaviors from people – making them more adoptable.

The Animal Friends’ Enrichment program continues to provide fun and creative activities that get our homeless residents to play, explore and, ultimately, relax. This year the Enrichment team was proud to increase volunteer participation in the program and to provide more resources to our community. The team placed how-tos on our website, presented in schools across the region and provided adopters with enrichment starter packs so that the lives of beloved pets in homes could also be further enriched.

Evaluation Committee

The Evaluation Committee is comprised of a diverse group of staff who were designated to evaluate and seek solutions for medical and behavioral concerns to ensure overall animal wellness. The primary mission of the committee is to provide multidisciplinary oversight and direction for animals with challenging or unique needs, backgrounds and conditions. The committee also makes euthanasia recommendations only after all reasonable options have been exhausted by conducting a thorough review of each case within the context of Animal Friends’ no-kill tradition – specifically with regard to quality-of-life medical conditions and behavior that threatens public safety.

After tireless solution-seeking and careful consideration, Animal Friends’ Evaluation Committee agreed to humanely euthanize 69 animals at Animal Friends in 2016 for severe behavioral or quality-of-life issues. While these animals found an ending that is not typical of the majority of the animals at Animal Friends, it certainly does not mean that they were any less fortunate or certainly not any less loved. These few were blessed with a compassionate and humane release from their troubled or ailing bodies.

Outreach & Therapeutic Services Department

Impacting Lives … It’s What We Do.

Animal Friends is always seeking ways to build and nurture the animal-human bond. Needless to say, we were thrilled when a University of Pittsburgh professor (and Chow Wagon volunteer!) conducted a survey to formally assess the value of providing pet food to food bank clients.

The survey uncovered that food pantry clients truly value the pet food that Chow Wagon provides because it helps them to cope with food insecurity. The chance that families would share their own food with their pets decreases when pet food is available to them – which results in both people and their beloved pets getting the necessary nutrition to stay happy and healthy. The study also found that clients view pets as family members and would not consider surrendering them, regardless of the lack of food.

This research will continue in 2017 and we look forward to learning more about the relationship between human and animal food insecurity, and the benefits of pet ownership.

We are eager for the results as the study will help Animal Friends continue to provide more relevant and impactful resources to the pets and people in our region.

In 2016, a record-setting 123,000 lives were impacted through an extensive assortment of educational, therapeutic, supportive and social programs and activities. Our programs continue to grow and evolve, and we couldn’t be more pleased to know these services truly make a difference in our community.

Animal Friends University

Animal Friends University offers an array of meaningful programs that strengthen the bond between our community and their companion animals. More than 4,300 people participated in dog socials, behavior classes and educational workshops with, for and about their pets. Our dog sport, nosework and shy dog offerings continue to be extremely popular. And, we were pleased to expand our cat and rabbit classes late in the year. We look forward to the success that our new classes and old favorites will bring in 2017.

Humane Education

Humane Education is an approach to teaching that fosters an appreciation for living creatures in all forms.

It is fundamental to the prevention of violence against both animals and humans. While Humane Education teaches the basics of responsible pet care and proper treatment of animals, the underlying concept promotes the development of empathy, compassion and respect for all living things. From preschool to high school, a total of 6,175 students learned how to properly care for

and respect our animal friends through 341 shelter tours, classroom presentations, summer camps and workshops.

Each year Animal Friends participates in Make a Difference Day, hosted by USA Today and Newman’s Own. This is a national opportunity for volunteers to come together and improve the lives of others. In 2016, Animal Friends received an award and a $10,000 prize in recognition of the outstanding service projects conducted on Make a Difference Day in the previous year. Our continued participation will put us in the running for yet another $10,000 prize for 2016.

Literacy Services

It was a record-breaking year for our Literacy Services. The Reading with Rover and Pet-Assisted Literacy Services (PALS) programs both saw significant increases in interactions from 2015 with 7,370 students who experienced the joy of reading with animals.

One high note this year was the creation of Singing with Rover, an adaptation of Reading with Rover for music classes. The concept is similar to the foundations for our traditional reading programs – animals make any task

more fun. Individually, or in pairs, students sing a short song aloud to a dog to gain confidence in performance. Our first session was so well-received that we are excited about the success it will find in 2017.

Our PALS volunteers were enthusiastic about exploring new venues to spread the word about our literacy services. We were especially excited to partner with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust when they offered the Dogs Love Books musical in the fall. The staff at the Cultural Trust was thrilled with our attendance, and we look forward to future collaborations.

Therapeutic Services

Therapets, Animal Friends’ exclusive pet therapy program, had yet another explosive year in 2016 by touching 89,747 lives. Our 155 active Therapets teams brought the healing power and comfort of companion animals across the region to those in hospitals, hospices, schools, airports, college campuses, continued-care facilities and just about any place that you can imagine.

We increased the number of events that our therapy teams attended, particularly

at many college campuses. We visited Carnegie Mellon University multiple times each week. And, a tragic a string of student suicides at local universities resulted in numerous requests for therapy dogs to visit campuses. Many teams participated and visits extended for several days in each instance. We were deeply saddened by these events but glad to provide some comfort to our community during such a difficult time.

The increased demand for our Therapets continued to demonstrate the importance of training and certifying more visiting teams. Another exciting development for the Therapets program this year was an expansion to a second training location in the South Hills. Not only does this make the training process easier, but also builds a new volunteer pool to accommodate even more visit requests.

After evaluation, course work and testing, 53 new Therapets teams were welcomed to the program – including one therapy cat and five therapy rabbits. Our program graduates are now fully insured and exploring a variety of visiting options.

Our ongoing relationship with UPMC contributed significantly to our program‘s successes. Animal Friends’ Therapets teams touched the lives 15,077 patients, families and staff in 11 UPMC facilities. And, we are pleased to continue our relationship with UPMC Cancer Centers by adding eight new locations this year. We are continuing to work with the Cancer Center to expand our reach into their off-site locations.

At Animal Friends, we truly believe our animals are our friends. We understand the joy that comes with pet ownership and the pain that occurs when an animal companion passes away. In 2016, comfort was provided to 137 grieving pet owners through our Remembrance Services and Pet Loss Support Group.

Chow Wagon Pet Food Bank

Now under the charge of a full-time staff member, the program saw explosive growth.

A concentrated effort was placed on building relationships with each food pantry partner and Chow Wagon volunteer. The frequency of loads delivered to our partners increased – with shorter periods of time in between each load – allowing for more

much-needed pet food to be distributed into the community and less hungry families as a result.

Our Chow Wagon Pet Food Bank received, organized and redistributed 90,366 pounds of pet food to 29 local food pantries. A total of 16,203 clients – including individual families, feral cat colony caretakers and other shelters – were supplied with much-needed pet food for their beloved four-legged friends. This program was supplied by 11 corporate pet food donation drives, Boy and Girl Scout troops, individual donors and school groups.

Humane Investigations

The Humane Investigations Department serves as a valuable resource for citizens to report animal abuse and neglect.

Investigative and law enforcement support is provided to all of Allegheny County to ensure all animals are given the protection they are due by law.

Our officers always try to use education, supplies and service referrals to help animals in need before conditions deteriorate to a level requiring legal

intervention. But when the situation demands, action must be taken. In 2016, 727 cases involving 2,306 animals were investigated.

Once again a great effort was made to engage other agencies to bring even more resources to combat violent crimes against animals. A working group of law enforcement officials was established to focus on information sharing and collaboration so that the critical issues plaguing the animals in our community can be more readily addressed. We look forward to the future success and expansion of this group so that the lives of more animals in distress can be positively impacted.

Changing Lives … It’s What We Do.

As expected, a great number of volunteers dedicate their time with our resident animals ensuring the highest level of care, enrichment and training during their stay with us. But there are so many other ways that volunteers support our work. From pet therapy and public vaccine clinics to special events and administrative support, Animal Friends simply wouldn’t be where we are today without our committed volunteers.

And, this year, the Volunteer Department focused on enhancing the volunteer experience to increase retention; expand volunteer support deeper into our programs and services; and provide more personalized support for both volunteers and staff.

Volunteer Services Department

Additional training and informative sessions lead to even further integration of volunteer support organization-wide. These programs were highly praised with feedback like this, “Love, love, love these opportunities! This is great! Thank you for all of the work that you do!” We truly hope that our volunteers understand how much they mean to us and we are proud that they’re woven into the very fabric of Animal Friends.

In 2016, 3,000 active volunteers logged an impressive 372,790 hours. And, another milestone was reached since opening our Camp Horne Road location – 2 million hours of volunteer service.

Our reliance on our valued volunteers will only continue to grow as we open our Howard Ash Animal Wellness Center in 2017.

Our Day of Service program saw participation double again this year. And, we were pleased to expand this program to include opportunities for special needs groups. A total of 136 businesses, schools and community groups spent a day at Animal Friends to learn about – and actively support – our work in 2016.

Through the 5,126 hours given, these groups not only made a tremendous impact on our organization but Animal Friends gained hundreds more ambassadors as well.

Our Court-Ordered and School-Mandated Community Service program underwent an overhaul this year that resulted in a 25% increase in participation in 2016. The program truly resonated with our community as it lead to numerous referrals and total of 3,085 donated hours.

Our Volunteer team also partnered with Abraxis Workforce, a group that provides job training for students who need to complete community service. This new partnership provided these students with an opportunity to learn a skill-set that they can utilize in the future.

Affecting Lives … It’s What We Do.

The work done at Animal Friends is made possible by compassionate and generous donors who believe in the programs and services we provide for the animals and people of our community. Our financial contributors are truly at the heart of our organization making so many lifesaving programs possible. And, you never know how or when another’s life will truly be affected through our work, like one day last year …

Individual & Foundation Giving Department

During the holiday season, a woman stopped by to drop off a very unexpected gift. She had adopted one of her dogs, Archibald a few years prior. And, she was so grateful for the love and care we provided for Archie before she adopted him that she wanted to return the favor.

We were truly humbled that we impacted her in such a meaningful way. Simply put, it’s moments like these that empower us to keep doing what we do.

Individual Giving

Animal Friends is fortunate to be supported by nearly 25,000 annual donors who give the necessary funds to provide the daily care of our homeless residents, and expand programming that reaches into the community. In total, more than $6.4 million was raised in 2016 – $940,000 of which was given by our individual donors in support of our operations and programming.

And, as we look toward the future and the potential it holds, we recognize that the expansion of our development program and its full engagement across every aspect of our organization is critical to our continued success. So late in the year, this team underwent a significant staffing transition and we look forward to the vision and success of our new team.

One notable individual campaign ran in conjunction with Black Tie & Tails – our Second Chance Challenge. This matching opportunity focused on our Humane Investigations program, and its poignancy truly resonated with our donors. Through

a 50-cents-on-the-dollar match, up to $100,000, extended by long-time animal lover, Imogene M. Shelly, $143,000 was raised.

As part of our efforts to enhance the donor solicitation process, Animal Friends implemented a number of back-to-basic approaches throughout the year. Phone calls, handwritten notes and one-on-one meetings were an opportunity to provide a personal touch for our current donor base while also engaging new donor prospects to the organization’s work.

Foundation Support

Whether for general operating funds or to support our line-up of community-based programs and services, Animal Friends is fortunate to receive the support of many local and national foundations. We deeply appreciate the foundation community who, in total, gave more than $172,000 in support of Animal Friends’ mission.

Planned Giving

Planned giving – bequests, charitable trusts, gifts of stock and gifts of life insurance – accounts for a vital part of our success while giving donors the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy to the organization. In 2016, Animal Friends received more than $2 million in planned gifts from incredibly generous and forward-thinking donors.

Events & Corporate Giving Department

Enriching Lives … It’s What We Do.

This year our signature gala, took on an “Art with Bite” theme which gave our guests an opportunity to truly paint the town red. For two nights our campus transformed into a unique gallery that featured some … tasteful ... art created by in-house, master artists – our residents.

Not only did our guests enjoy savory spreads, intriguing libations and lively auctions, they enabled us to set records across the board for this event. Black Tie & Tails 2016 was the highest attended and highest grossing in Animal Friends history.

A total of 650 guests helped us to raise an incredible $702,000. Of that, $248,500 was from our corporate partners alone – yet another record for Black Tie & Tails.

We are thrilled to have such dedicated supporters who are committed to making our region a more compassionate and humane place.

Coordinating top-notch events and establishing corporate partners are an integral part of our fundraising but they also play a key role in donor cultivation, audience development and public awareness. Overall, our special events and corporate sponsorships maintained strong support and engaged the community in both fun and meaningful ways in 2016.

Changes came to one of our pledge walks – Mutt Strut – with promising results. It took on a Halloween theme to become Muttster Mash – and our two- and four-legged guests thoroughly enjoyed it. On this beautiful day in October we engaged more than 200 attendees and raised more than $22,000 in support of our programs.

Special Events

In addition to tried-and-true events like Alley Up and Holidays with Heart, the popularity of our smaller events is undeniable. From Mutts

Our major events continue to establish a strong community presence through our very busy calendar. For the third year, we celebrated 31 Days of Compassion during the month of May. Donors were engaged through off-site events, a 3-hour live radio broadcast at Animal Friends and online giving. In total, $205,000 was raised from this month-long event.

and Mingle to Breakfast with the Bunnies to Pet Photos with Santa, companion animals and their humans enjoyed the company of each other while participating in a wide variety of activities at these events.

Corporate Giving

Animal Friends’ corporate partnerships continue to grow every year and 2016 was no exception. Once again, we are incredibly grateful for the support of Ainsworth Pet Products. The continuity of their in-kind support fills our residents‘ bowls and provides healthy, consistent diets. Other key, corporate partners included Day Automotive, FedEx, Fragasso Financial Advisors, PNC, United Way, UPMC and UPMC Health Plan – just to name a few.

Third-Party Events

Third-party events have proven to be an area of continued growth for the department, and in 2016 more than $163,000 was raised. These events are organized and coordinated by outside individuals or businesses with the purpose of fundraising for Animal Friends’ mission. These events continue to be an invaluable way to engage the community, build new partnerships for our organization and raise needed funds for our work.

Some notable third-party events included the Hundred Acres Manor Haunted House, Hope-in-One Golf Outing and the WISH Purse Party. These community partners continue to provide incredible support and generosity, for which we are extremely grateful.

Communications Department

Engaging Lives … It’s What We Do.

Animal Friends has been doing incredible work since 1943. And thanks to a talented Communications team, our efforts and programs are easily recognizable throughout the region and capture the full spirit of our dynamic organization.

Every day the Communications team works hard to find new outlets to further promote our programs and services but sometimes the powers of social media are undeniable. This was especially true when it came to finding a home for Stella, a Pit Bull with a guarded prognosis.

Stella was an incredibly sweet dog who came from an animal control facility with a broken leg. Our vet needed to amputate and in the process she found that it wasn’t just a broken bone but cancer. At just 3-years old, Stella was only given a few months left to live. We were all devastated but even more determined to find her a home so she could spend her final days surrounded by a loving family of her own.

What we did not expect was how strongly our followers would respond.

The tens of thousands of supporters in our social network shared (and shared and shared!) Stella’s story exposing it to more than 251,000 people. We received a landslide of Facebook messages and phone calls inquiring about her. So not only did we expose Animal Friends’ commitment to hundreds of thousands but we found dear Stella a very special home.

As the Communications team completed a creative and fulfilling year, we attracted 789,982 visitors to ThinkingOutsideThe Cage.org, 61,854 Facebook followers, 48,567 visitors to our Center and 7,716 Twitter followers. Clearly, our social media stories and posts are resonating with the public.

In 2016, we were thrilled to partner closely with Q92.9 and BOB-FM to tell stories of our adoptable animals over the air waves each week. We were also approached by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to be the shelter partner of their new initiative called Pets-Gazette, a 4-page spread in the weekend edition featuring content on pets.

And, of course we can’t forget our friends at WTAE, WPXI, KDKA, the Tribune Review, City Paper, Whirl Magazine, North Hills Monthly Magazine, KQV and WDVE – just to name a few – who help us to engage our region. It’s because of invaluable relationships like these that we’re building a community that knows and supports Animal Friends.

Additionally, our team worked side by side with all of the departments to produce and promote content that was branded in a professional, appealing and recognizable way.

Retail Store

Our Retail Store had a strong year and brought in a total of $202,016. Not only does the Retail Store support the organization with a much-needed revenue stream but it also serves as the last critical step in finalizing our adoptions by ensuring that new adopters have access to important resources and tools – which helps to ensure more successful matches.

In 2016, much time and energy was spent making our retail space more customer-friendly. This included everything from carrying even more pet-related products to creating directional signage to installing new fixtures that helped organize our inventory. And, even overstocked products were rearranged and promoted more efficiently to open up space so that we could stock our shelves with more reasonably priced items.

We were also dedicated to bringing back our ever-popular Grooming program. Our Retail team worked hard to bring high-quality, affordable grooming to our clients – which included adopters, staff and volunteers alike. Our attention to detail, excellent care for the animals and upbeat attitudes quickly made this Retail program a customer favorite.

Finance & Administration Department

Supporting Lives … It’s What We Do.

The Finance & Administration Department provides administrative support to the organization and is comprised of the accounting, finance, human resources, maintenance and administrative departments. This busy team may appear to take a backseat to our mission-focused departments, but that’s simply not true. This department plays a critical role in ensuring that Animal Friends remains on solid ground – especially when we’re serving our region in a great time of need.

Without the support of our Administrative and Maintenance teams, we wouldn’t have been able to sustain the outpouring of support from hundreds of community members when they responded to our pet food and supply drive for the residents of flood-stricken West Virginia.

The teams worked diligently responding to calls and keeping up with the steady flow of donations while supporting the daily operations of Animal Friends.

Once the supplies had been collected, this diligent team led the efforts to pack two 20-foot long trucks full of thousands of pounds of goods to be delivered to the Humane Society of Greenbrier County, Fayette Animal Control and New River Humane Society that were serving as distribution centers.

From this supply drive, we were able to further support our new friends when they became quickly overwhelmed with animals displaced by the flooding. We forged such great, new partnerships through these successful emergency animal transfers that it spurred the formation of our Shelter Liaison program.

Human Resources

As Animal Friends continues to grow the need for strong human resources support is ever-existent. The transition to a fully automated payroll system was rolled out this year. The new system provides a platform for each employee to access payroll information, time off and training videos. But it also significantly decreases staff time required to process the information – making Animal Friends an even more efficient, well-run organization.

A state-certified Safety Committee was also reestablished. The Committee meets on a monthly basis to discuss workers’ compensation incidents and provides recommendations to improve safety for our Center visitors, staff and volunteers.

Maintenance

In 2016, two additional staff members were added to the Maintenance team to enable us to maintain our bustling 75-acre campus. And, the results are obvious. Our facility and grounds are in great shape – if we do say so ourselves.

This hardworking team continues to utilize creative solutions and critical volunteer support from individuals, corporate groups and community service volunteers to keep up with day-to-day demands while juggling capital improvements and other projects that ensure our Center runs safely and properly.

Administrative Support

Being the first contact many customers have with Animal Friends, our receptionists continue to field questions and route all incoming calls with the highest level of customer service in mind.

We know that the demand for our programs and services only continues to grow so an effort was made to streamline and refine the timeframe in which our customer calls and messages were responded to. Numerous departments worked collaboratively with the

Administrative team to provide estimated response times so that callers could be given an expectation of when their inquiries would be resolved. This resulted in more satisfied callers and a more fine-tuned way for requests to be processed.

In addition to the daily tasks of answering the phones, ordering supplies and disseminating the mail, the Reception team also manages the demanding task of scheduling rooms and spaces in our busy facility.

Howard Ash Animal Wellness Center Far too often we see pets relinquished to Animal Friends simply because their owners couldn’t afford basic vet care or food. We receive call after call about stray and feral cats who are relegated to a life on the streets fending for themselves and continually adding to the pet overpopulation problem. Or, sadly, our Humane Police Officers are called to rescue pets who have become victims of neglect and abandonment because their owner didn’t know where to turn for help.

We believe affordable and accessible resources are the answer. And, that’s just what our new Howard Ash Animal Wellness Center will provide.

With a grand opening scheduled for mid-2017, we will soon be able to increase affordable spay/neuter from 10,000 surgeries each year to 15,000 surgeries. We will be able to further reach into underserved communities to provide wellness services along with education and, when needed, transportation to our clinic.

Our heavily demanded Chow Wagon Pet Food Bank will be able to distribute pet food to regional food pantries where it is needed most.

And, our Humane Police Officers will have the space they so desperately need for evidence storage, case management and review and animal holding.

Let’s be clear, we are not trying to undercut private veterinary businesses in our region.

Rather it is our intent to complement private clinics by offering support to those who may not be able to afford care any other way and referring clients to full service veterinary clinics for a proper continuum of care.

Every day brings more progress and the realization that in just a few short months we will be open and, quite literally, operating. The expanded services and resources the Howard Ash Animal Wellness Center is going to make possible will allow us to deliver on our commitment to keep pets in their homes – healthy and supported – where they belong.

2016 Operating Activity (Unaudited)

Donations

Donations (% of budget)

Bequests Special Events Annual Giving Program/Services Grants Other MRC Campaign Capital Campaign - Ops Miscellaneous Income

2016 Projected Budget

2016 Actual Activity

Variance

22.20% 24.92% 16.41% 15.49% 3.68% 5.32% 8.55% 3.40% 0.00%

$1,300,000 $1,458,000 $960,000 $906,000 $215,000 $311,000 $500,000 $200,000 $0

$2,002,875 $1,264,285 $937,860 $1,003,537 $172,606 $328,437 $512,648 $200,000 $3,540

154.00% 86.70% 97.70% 110.80% 80.30% 105.60% 102.50% 100.00%

Total Donations

$5,850,000

$6,425,788

109.80%

Expenses

Expenses (% of budget)

Camp Horne Mortgage Capital Improvements Payroll & Related Direct Animal Care Insurance Utilities Events Printing & Postage Programs Publicity Facilities Computer Office Costs Human Resources Vehicles Professional Fees Other

Net Operating Activity

2016 Projected Budget

2016 Actual Activity

Variance

1.00% 1.00% 51.36% 16.26% 7.15% 3.07% 4.42% 2.67% 2.17% 0.17% 1.71% 2.10% 2.09% 0.74% 0.51% 0.26% 1.38%

$44,093 $50,000 $3,014,582 $951,040 $418,385 $179,500 $258,800 $156,000 $126,900 $135,000 $100,000 $123,000 $122,000 $43,000 $29,700 $17,000 $81,000

$59,895 $188,641 $3,162,307 $845,721 $289,048 $187,062 $272,263 $141,893 $124,395 $152,159 $121,755 $70,389 $139,182 $32,079 $15,363 $29,850 $91,373

135.80% 377.30% 104.90% 88.90% 69.10% 104.20% 105.20% 91.00% 98.00% 112.70% 121.80% 57.20% 114.10% 74.60% 51.70% 175.60% 112.80%

Total Expenses

$5,850,000

$5,923,375

101.30%

$0

$502,413

Board of Directors Marleen Ashton, Esq. – Chair Howard Loevner – First Vice Chair Stefania Romoff – Second Vice Chair Gina Carlos – Secretary John Weinstein – Treasurer Brooke Anderson Richard Applegate Howard Ash Mary Ann Bogosta Michelle Bartlett Dorothy Boyer Debbie Campbell

The Honorable Tom Corbett Jeff Dutkovic Robert Fragasso Paul Gitnik Sheri Levine-Everett Sarah McKean Matthew D. Monsour, Esq.

Gina Pferdehirt Betty Rich Cindy Russell Cris Winter Stephen Zappala, Jr., Esq. In Memoriam Alice Richardson, Founder Lloyd Gluck, Esq. David J. Swisher President & Chief Executive Officer

AnimalFriends

562 Camp Horne Road Pittsburgh, PA 15237 412.847.7000 ThinkingOutsideTheCage.org