2020 has been a wild adventure. We have seen many changes in the world and within the rescue community. AZCARE has rolled with the punches and made our own changes to continue our mission to help animals and educate the community.

No one told the cats that the world has been put on hold, so they are still getting their groove on, which means the pleas for help with kittens this season are as great as ever. Our foster homes have been full of fluff for months now. So much so that even some of the local dog rescues ended up with kittens this year! With a steady count between 160 and 190, we find ourselves having to turn away some of these animals from time to time. This is never something we want to do, but there comes a point when there is not enough room and not enough resources. Through some networking and facilitators, we have been doing our best to find some sort of placement even if it is not with us.

We need help from the community now more than ever. With the setup of an Amazon Wishlist, donations of food and litter started pouring in and we are keeping our babies fed.

Our normal Saturday adoption events at PetSmart were cancelled so we scrambled to find a different venue. We are truly thankful to have some big brains on our team with a lot of technical skill. We went VIRAL (and not the Covid kind!)  Switching all our adoption events into the AZCARE Live Pet Fair that runs on Facebook every Saturday, changed our entire rescue.

Not only is it keeping our people safe and healthy, it is also giving us more exposure. People who did not know we existed are jumping up and down to adopt and get involved, and our new adoption process has taken off. We held our breaths the very first Saturday and prayed it would work, and boy did it! Friday at midnight, babies go live, and adopters go crazy. Everyone wants to have the first slot for a meet and greet on “their baby”.  Our rule of – first come, first served – is still in place like it was at PetSmart, but now it is all online. Our foster families have taken the lead in the adoptions and are meeting with potential families and getting the job done. We appreciate our Rescue Family more than words can say. Without them we could not save all the lives that we do.

In gathering the information for this quarterly report, I was shocked at our numbers. Not only did we not have a dip in our adoptions since the quarantine began but DOUBLED them! In our first quarter, we had 87 adoptions. Our second quarter total is 169. This is so outstanding not only for our rescue, but for those little lives that now have a forever family. And this is not just kittens. All our adults have been flying out the doors as well.

We are so grateful to the community that has stepped up, volunteered, and donated during this time. We are fully foster and donation based. Without your support, we could not keep going.

We do still have some ongoing needs:

• Wet cat/kitten food – to feed all these little ones. We go through close to 100 cans of kitten food DAILY! We run out often, so this plea is a constant.
• Litter – What goes in, must come out
• Funds – Each kitten we take in costs us around $130 in medical costs. This does not include any addition medical needs beyond vaccines and spay/neuter. One sick animal can cost the rescue hundreds of dollars in vet fees. And if one needs surgery, that can be thousands. Every dime donated makes a difference and can save a life. Plus, because we are a non-profit, your donation is always a tax write off!
• Volunteers – We are looking to fill a few slots in the habitat at PetSmart. 
• Dog Fosters – We love our kitties, but love dogs too.  The problem is, we have 45 cat fosters and 3 dog fosters.  If you are interested in fostering dogs, please let us know!

Although our process may have changed, we are still here fighting the good fight and saving lives.  We could not do it without you, and we thank you!

Best,

–Kaylene Pearce

President |AZ Center for Animal Rescue & Education |AZ CARE