Now More Than Ever We Are Called To Make A Difference
Because of YOUR donations I am now heartworm negative
-Vaughn
Because of YOUR donations I was able to get insulin for my diabetes.
-Rose
Because of YOUR donations I have my seizure medicine everyday.
-Snowball
As 2022 comes to a close we reflect back on the last year and think about the future of animal welfare. SFAR had a lot to be grateful for.
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We rescued twenty-three animals
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celebrated our one year anniversary in July
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twelve dogs their adoptive homes
We also said goodbye to six of our beloved rescues and one of our founding members.
Marigold, Rose, Duke, Bowie, Rusty, Ryder, Toby, Charlie, Fiona, Elba, Harley and Frankie all made it to their adoptive homes.
Vaughn, Sheba, Hamlet and Ruby are still waiting to find their families.
Sugar, Sammy, Missy, Snowball, Molly and Churchill are all in foster homes. Some of them will be in foster care for the rest of their lives and some of them will go on to be adopted.
We lost Harbour, Misha, Clarabella, Delilah, Honey and Molly this year. We had all of them only a short time but they all got to experience love and comfort before we had to help them cross over. To make a difference in the life of even one animal is worth every moment.
As 2022 comes to a close we reflect back on the last year and think about the future of animal welfare. Strawberry Fields had a lot to be grateful for.
We rescued 23 animals
We celebrated our one year anniversary in July.
We found 12 dogs their adoptive home.
To Those That Found Their Homes......
To Those We Lost.......
Honey
Harbour
Misha
Clarabella
Delilah
Molly
In the last few months we have seen animal sheltering take a drastic turn.
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shelters are overflowing
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foster homes are sparse
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adoptions are down
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donations are down
The current model of animal sheltering is NOT WORKING.
Animal shelters and rescues should be a resource for our community, not just a depository for unwanted pets. It’s not about how we can bring more animals in but how can we keep more animals out of the shelter system.
We have to keep evolving and look at what’s working and what’s not working. It’s not about how we can bring more animals in but how can we keep more animals out of the shelter system.
Solutions NOT Excuses: Pet Mutual Aid and One Health
Pet Mutual Aid
What is pet mutual aid? Mutual aid is when people get together to meet each other’s basic needs. Pet mutual aid is when people help each other with pet-related challenges—and in so doing, keep families together and pets out of animal shelters.
For example:
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Lost pets can be returned home by their finders.
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People can rehome their own pets with a little support.
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Pet owners can get help with medical bills and even rent deposits, in order to be able to keep their pets.
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Helping people with emergency fostering that are homeless, needing to seek treatment, people that are sick and in the hospital.
To learn more about mutual aid please watch this short video.
Why Mutual Aid Now?
Most of the pets who enter shelters can instead be helped in their communities. Always important, there’s a special urgency when animal shelters are stretched for space and other resources.
Mutual aid lets us harness the will of our communities to help, and the result is fewer pets entering shelters and more families staying together.
One Health Integration
What Is One Health?
One Health Integration focuses on highlighting the Human-Animal Bond (HAB) when considering how to best support the health and well-being of humans, animals, and their communities. To achieve the best outcome for people, animals, and the environment in a shared ecosystem we need to offer successful public health interventions with cooperation between professionals in all three sectors.
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human health/welfare professionals
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animal health/welfare professionals
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environmental health/welfare professionals
Historically, animal shelters and animal services agencies have operated largely in isolation, cut off from larger community conversations about human health and environmental well-being.
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Animal welfare and human services have historically created barriers to accessing care for humans and their animals by not offering an integrated model.
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Low-income families face similar issues for themselves and their animals needing healthcare, resources, and support.
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The culture of human services, animal welfare, and environmental agencies needs to shift from the deeply ingrained approach of addressing the problems of their sector only.
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Animal welfare has been focusing on animals without a people-centric approach.
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The environmental factors that affect the welfare of people and animals in communities are not often considered in a proactive approach.
When we consider animal shelters through a One Health framework, the health of animals is connected to the health of people and our environment. In other words, to address the root causes that lead to animal welfare issues, we need to connect to and collaborate with organizations outside of the animal world.
Historically, animal shelters and animal services agencies have operated largely in isolation, cut off from larger community conversations about human health and environmental well-being.
-
Animal welfare and human services have historically created barriers to accessing care for humans and their animals by not offering an integrated model.
-
Low-income families face similar issues for themselves and their animals needing healthcare, resources, and support.
-
The culture of human services, animal welfare, and environmental agencies needs to shift from the deeply ingrained approach of addressing the problems of their sector only.
-
Animal welfare has been focusing on animals without a people-centric approach.
-
The environmental factors that affect the welfare of people and animals in communities are not often considered in a proactive approach.
When we consider animal shelters through a One Health framework, the health of animals is connected to the health of people and our environment. In other words, to address the root causes that lead to animal welfare issues, we need to connect to and collaborate with organizations outside of the animal world.
if you’re not willing to look at the problem you’ll never be able to fix it. We have to stop looking at people as the problem and start looking at people as a solution.
Animal Rescue
Strawberry Fields will still do senior animal rescue but on a limited basis. In our first year we strayed from our senior mission by taking in some younger animals that were urgent cases. They were either up for euthanasia or had medical issues. The animals we take in will strictly be seniors (7+ years and older) in need of critical help. We also plan to take our hospice program to new heights as well as take in more senior kitties.
Get Involved
We look forward to integrating pet mutual aid and One Health in 2023. We encourage people to volunteer with Strawberry Fields in order to learn about mutual aid. The more people we have to get involved in mutual aid the more animals and people we can help.