How to Help
Whether it be fostering, volunteering, transporting, TNR, or donating, there are many different ways to help support our mission! Learn more about how you can directly help us save the lives of our rescue animals.
Volunteer
Our rescue facility’s day to day operations are almost solely run by our dedicated team of volunteers.
Our volunteers help to feed, clean, and provide attention & love to our rescue cats while they wait for their forever homes. We have volunteer shifts twice a day, every day.
All in-facility volunteers must attend orientation led by our amazing Volunteer Coordinator, Heather, where she will teach you the ins & outs of SDO. Volunteers must be 14 years old or above. Prior to your first shift, all volunteers will be required to sign a release form. For those under 18, we will require the signature of a parent or guardian.
While the majority of our volunteer needs are on-site adoption center shifts, there are many other ways to help as well. We are always looking for photographers to take engaging pictures of our animals for social media and pet profiles, assistance with writing articles for our newsletter, grant application help, transportation for our animals to and from vet appointments, organizing and running fundraisers, and much more.
Foster
Have some extra space in your home and your heart, but not ready to adopt?
Consider fostering! Without our loving fosters, we would never be able to rescue animals at the level we do – saving over 400 lives annually. Fostering is not only the first step in socialization to prepare our animals for their forever homes, it also helps keep our rescue facility at a healthy capacity to ensure every animal we save gets the dedicated care they deserve.
We will provide all necessary supplies, food, and enrichment tools depending on the age of your foster pet. You will also have direct contact with our foster coordinator, Morgan, who will be available for guidance as well as to address any questions or concerns you may have.
Our foster program allows you to set parameters around your capabilities and preferences, such as time frame and animal age range you’re comfortable with. Please submit a cat or dog foster application today and upon approval, our team will follow up via email as soon as possible to get you started!
TNR
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is a humane and effective approach to managing and reducing the population of feral and free-roaming community cats. Here's how TNR typically works:
1. Trap: Volunteers use humane traps to catch feral or community cats. These traps are designed to be safe and non-injurious to the cats. You never want to trap a cat unless you have a plan or appointment in place!
2. Neuter/Spay: Once trapped, the cats are taken to a veterinarian or a clinic where they are spayed or neutered. This helps prevent further breeding and the growth of the feral cat population.
3. Vaccinate: While at the clinic, the cats are often vaccinated against common diseases to improve their overall health and prevent the spread of illnesses within the cat population.
4. Ear-Tipping: As a visual indicator that a cat has been through the TNR process, the tip of one of the cat's ears is typically clipped while under anesthesia. This makes it easy to identify cats that have already been through the program.
5. Return: After the cats recover from the surgery and any additional medical treatments, they are returned to their original location. This is a key aspect of TNR because it allows the cats to continue living in their familiar territory, where they often have established food sources and shelter.
The goal of TNR is to stabilize and eventually reduce the population of feral and community cats over time. By preventing new litters of kittens and addressing the health of existing cats, TNR can lead to a more humane and manageable situation for both the cats and the communities they inhabit. TNR is often carried out by dedicated volunteers and animal welfare organizations to address the challenges posed by uncontrolled cat populations while respecting the welfare of the animals involved.
Would you like to learn more about our Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) efforts? Reach out to us at tnr.santedor@gmail.com to explore various ways of lending your support. Our dedicated TNR volunteers play a crucial role in the process, including trapping community cats for spaying and neutering, maintaining their living spaces post-surgery, and providing transportation to and from appointments.
*Please note that due to lack of accessible low cost appointments, we’ve had to pause more active efforts at this time.
Donate
Consider donating directly to our cause. There are so many ways to lend a 'paw-sitive' hand.
Visit our donation page to view all the ways to donate!