2023 Impact Report
Published: January 15, 2025 | Updated: January 17, 2025
Thank you for the lifesaving work that you made possible through your friendship and generous support this past year.
Click here to read our Impact Report.
2023 By the Numbers
Our lifesaving work touched more than 200,000 animal and human lives in 2023 as the need for our programs and services grew significantly. Because of you and your commitment to our mission and vision of a humane and compassionate future for every animal friend this past year, Animal Friends …
- provided affordable and accessible resources including spay/neuter, vaccines, wellness and specialized procedures for 20,162 animals and the people who love them
- distributed 205,222 pounds of free pet food to support 36,056 pet owners who had fallen on hard times
- rescued 1,232 animals through transport and admissions while matching 1,228 pets with adoptive families
- supported 710 foster animals by providing temporary homes … 110 of which turned into permanent adoptions
- improved 3,065 lives through 561 Humane Investigations cases
- strengthened the animal-human bond for 4,184 pets and families through positive reinforcement training during Animal Friends University classes
- educated 3,564 young animal lovers about the importance of humane and compassionate treatment of animals
- served 1,100 veterans and active military members through specialized adoptions and other supportive resources
- touched 84,000 lives through the healing power of our Therapets pet therapy teams
- contributed 345,962 volunteer hours of service toward our lifesaving mission
- positively impacted 95 percent of the animals who came through our doors through successful placements
- engaged 15,400 Instagram followers, 11,200 TikTok followers, over 92,9000 Facebook followers and thousands of website visitors while sharing our vision with the community
- directed 84 cents of every dollar raised toward lifesaving care, programs and resources
We invite you to read on to learn more about some of our 2023 successes . . .
Free Roam Rooms for Cats Furnished to Purrfection!
Thanks to our friends at IKEA Pittsburgh!
Early in 2023, IKEA Pittsburgh generously offered to design, install, decorate and furnish our two free roam cat suites. Their donation of time, teamwork and inspired ideas resulted in a healthy, sustainable living space made to soothe and exercise the minds and bodies of our inquisitive cats.
The space allows cats to roam and play in an environment that more closely matches a real home, with cubbies for hiding, lounge areas to sprawl out and relax and plenty of space to socialize, play and interact.
Free roam rooms help give cats a sense of control over their environment, thereby eliminating a major source of stress. As we watched our resident cats get acquainted with their new surroundings, their contentment seems to have grown exponentially as they meander through the cat tunnel and jump from platform to platform on multi-level play areas. They can sit up high on a pillow by the window and stare intently at the birds at their feeders and our resident dogs and walkers strolling past. The suites are stocked with plenty of cat toys to bat around too!
The rooms were truly designed with the well-being of the cats’ top-of-mind and they’ve gotten rave reviews from staff, volunteers, the public . . . and of course the cats! We invite you to visit Animal Friends and see for yourself. You might find a playful feline friend to make part of your family and to roam around your home!
Sam Finds a Home of His Own
It was a long journey, filled with love every step of the way.
Animal Friends is fully committed to every animal who comes through our doors. This means we often must “think outside the cage” to ensure each animal is given the best possible care, either behaviorally or medically. One of the best examples of Animal Friends’ fulfilling our vision and mission is Sam, our 2023 Impact Report “cover dog.”
Read Sam’s love story here.
Sharing the animal-human bond within the community
We have always placed a tremendous emphasis on the animal-human bond and conducting pet therapy visits through our Therapets program is one way to share that connection outside our walls. Pet therapy truly does have a positive impact on those we visit. From lowered blood pressure to a decrease in anxiety and improved mobility, there are numerous benefits to therapeutic animal interactions.
Our Therapets program grew considerably in 2023 in both the number of new teams and number of community members impacted by the program. We welcomed 55 new dog teams, six new cat teams and one new rabbit team in 2023. At of the end of the year, Animal Friends had a total of 137 active Therapets teams who encountered over 84,000 people in the Pittsburgh area – over 40,000 more than in 2022.
Word of mouth praise of Therapets keeps the program in incredibly high demand and is an acknowledgement of the important role that animals play in enhancing the quality of life for all humans.
From trauma responses to local schools in the face of student loss to regular visits at nearly all the major hospitals, school districts and universities, the Therapets program has become so well known that we continue to have a waiting list of teams who want to join the program.
Animal Friends for Veterans (AFFV) Provides Those Who Served
with a Safety Net of Services
From covering the costs of veterinary care, to providing pet food, to providing connections to trainers and assisting with the costs of dog training, this program’s usage grew considerably in 2023. While we are also proud of the 32 veteran adoptions last year, the ability to help veterans remain with their companions is where we saw the most impact.
The AFFV program had over 1,100 veteran contacts in 2023, including those encountered at outreach events and those who utilized Animal Friends’ Chow Wagon, Animal Wellness Center, dog training options, emergency boarding, and AFFV support connecting to resources for housing issues, finding veterinary care for species not treated at the Animal Wellness Center and much more. We are now working with the Veterans Leadership Program (VLP) to assist veterans in a few surrounding counties with pet food needs based on information from those areas demonstrating the need for such assistance.
Much of the program’s growth can be attributed to the Veterans Ambassador Council’s (VAC) intense focus on getting the word out about the AFFV program in a variety of ways last year. The nine veteran volunteers and AFFV staff were very busy attending events in the second half of 2023.
Animal Friends also launched some new media efforts for AFFV in 2023 including a digital ad campaign, a Public Service Announcement (PSA) running on all four local television channels, an appearance on Talk Pittsburgh, a presence on the podcast Restore22 and an article on NEXTPittsburgh.
2023 Events Recap
Because Animal Friends operates solely on contributions from individuals, foundations and corporate supporters, our special fundraising events are vital to keeping our lights on and our doors open to animals in need.
It’s always heartwarming to see the community come together to support the lifesaving work of Animal Friends. Last year, our annual events calendar was filled with fun and innovative activities including Bow Wow Bingo, Alley Up Bowling, Animal Friends’ Golf Open, Pittsburgh Marathon team and Jam on Walnut to name a few favorites.
The highlight of our event season each year is Black Tie & Tails.
In 2023, due to an unprecedented level of need in our region for pet-related support, we knew we needed to change things up. We decided to unleash the power and impact of Animal Friends directly into the communities where it was most desperately needed. Throughout September and October, we took to the streets in neighborhoods across the city with free pet food distributions, vaccine clinics, spay/neuter specials and more. The communities we supported included Mt. Oliver, Braddock, Allentown and McKeesport.
It was an awesome success.
During the four Unleashed community events 477 animals received a total of 1,331 vaccinations, 125 were microchipped and almost 1,300 pounds of cat and dog food was distributed along with hundreds of dishes, collars, harnesses, bows and toys.
Then in November, we celebrated what we accomplished together in true Black Tie & Tails style. We gathered at a new venue, Rockwell Park, where the” urban chic” vibe also included many of our traditional fun and fundraising activities.
Animal lover and long-time Animal Friends supporter and presenting sponsor, Bob Fragasso, challenged us to help even more pets and people in need by challenging us with a generous match donation of $150,000.
The successful affair was produced by the creative team at LUXE and Twin Pine.
As we look forward to the events of 2024, we thank you for helping make the successes of 2023 possible and for committing to the lifesaving work we have ahead. There is still much to do.