NEWS RELEASE
February 12, 2020
Media Contact: Mike Bricker, Executive Director – [email protected], (C) 609-213-2665
Palm Valley Animal Society Announces 11th Annual Puppy Love Gala “Leap into Lifesaving”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Edinburg, Texas – Palm Valley Animal Society’s 11th Annual Puppy Love Gala will take place on February 29, 2020 starting at 6PM at the Mission Events Center in Mission, TX, featuring live and silent auctions, raffles, entertainment, a fully catered meal, one-of-a-kind auction treasures, and the first-ever Puppy Love After Party, all to support the organization’s lifesaving work in the Rio Grande Valley.
In 2019 PVAS was one of the most-improved animal shelters in the entire country, saving almost 20,000 lives. The public is invited to join together as a community to celebrate the lives saved and the many hearts, hands and minds that helped to make this happen.
The Puppy Love Gala is Palm Valley Animal Society’s largest fundraising event of the year. Proceeds from the event support operations at the organization’s two facilities and directly help to save the lives of homeless animals in Hidalgo County
More information about the event, tickets, and sponsorship opportunities can be found here: pvastx.org/puppylove
Palm Valley Animal Society is the shelter of record for Edinburg, Hidalgo, Hidalgo County, La Joya, McAllen, Palmhurst, and Palmview, serving approximately 750,000 residents and 30,000 animals each year. More information on the organization’s programs, services, and impact can be found online at pvastx.org.
NEWS RELEASE
February 3, 2020
Media Contact: Mike Bricker, Executive Director – [email protected], (C) 609-213-2665
Palm Valley Animal Society Announces 90.39% Save Rate for Month of January
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Edinburg, Texas – In January 2020 Palm Valley Animal Society reached a save rate of over 90% for the first time in its over 30-year history.
In the month of January:
335 dogs and 63 cats were rescued by 37 different organizations including new partners such as Best Friends Animal Society - New York City and Clermont Animal CARE Humane Society, and old friends like Austin Pets Alive!
112 foster families provided loving temporary homes
511 cats and dogs were adopted
188 pets were reunited with their owners
762 animals spayed and neutered
34 Animal Control Officers from 7 municipal partners served an area of over 1,500 square miles
7 veterinarians from 4 different organizations provided medical care for our shelter animals and for our community. One of those organizations was our amazing partners at Animal Balance.
26 “Pawjama Party” sleepovers gave our dogs a break from the kennel
Volunteers logged 3,265 hours in the rain, heat, and cold
PVAS formed new lifesaving partnerships with Humane Society of Harlingen and Isabel Y. Garcia Animal Shelter
Maddie's Fund™, Petco Foundation, Best Friends Animal Society, and thousands of individuals from the Rio Grande Valley and beyond provided critical support
98 of the bravest, toughest, kindest, most compassionate, resourceful, and resilient employees in animal welfare went to work and saved lives.
There’s more work to be done, but now we know it’s possible, and that working together we can save every animal that can be saved in the Rio Grande Valley. Follow our journey on Facebook (facebook.com/pvastx), Twitter (twitter.com/pvastx) or on our website PVASTX.ORG.
Palm Valley Animal Society is the shelter of record for Edinburg, Hidalgo, Hidalgo County, La Joya, McAllen, Palmhurst, and Palmview, serving approximately 750,000 residents and 30,000 animals each year. More information on the organization’s programs, services, and impact can be found online at pvastx.org.
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NEWS RELEASE
January 20, 2020
Media Contact: Mike Bricker, Executive Director – [email protected], (C) 609-213-2665
Palm Valley Animal Society Announces Need for Short-Term Foster Homes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Edinburg, Texas – Palm Valley Animal Society has an immediate need for short-term foster homes to prepare for multiple rescue transport operations that will be transferring dogs north to partner rescues in February 2020. Rescues require a 2-week quarantine period for transported animals, and providing time for the dogs in foster homes helps reduce stress prior to the trip. Also, due to high intake numbers at the Trenton Center, finding temporary placement outside the shelter prior to transport opens up much-needed space for incoming animals – fostering one dog saves two lives, the one in your foster home and the one taking its place at the shelter.
Who: Anyone can foster!
How Long: 2-3 weeks
Contact the Foster Team via email ([email protected]) and phone (956-686-1141 x33)
Palm Valley Animal Society is the shelter of record for Edinburg, Hidalgo, Hidalgo County, La Joya, McAllen, Palmhurst, and Palmview, serving approximately 750,000 residents and 30,000 animals each year. More information on the organization’s programs, services, and impact can be found online at pvastx.org.
Images Attached
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NEWS RELEASE
January 13, 2020
Media Contact: Mike Bricker, Executive Director – [email protected], (C) 609-213-2665
Palm Valley Animal Center Announces Increased Save Rates in 2019
FOR RELEASE 01/13/2020: Edinburg, Texas – Palm Valley Animal Center (PVAS) is the shelter of record for Hidalgo County and 6 municipalities. Their intake is one of the highest in the US, but recent efforts at improving services and outcomes, supported by the local community and national partner organizations, have increased lifesaving outcomes at the agency. PVAS saw real progress in their journey to a 90% save rate in 2019, saving 7,251 more animals than in 2018.
2018 2019
Adoption 4,874 7,390 +51.6%
Spay/Neuter/Return-to-Field 0 1,378 N/A
Euthanized 12,725 5,340 -58.0%
Spay/Neuter Surgeries 1,596 6,644 +316.3%
Overall Live Release Rate 54.2% 72.0% +17.8%
PVAS is grateful for the support of the community and their local and national lifesaving partners in working to save and change lives for good in the Rio Grande Valley. Best Friends Animal Society (bestfriends.org) has had staff members on-site in Edinburg since July 2018. They’ve provided support for shelter operations and development planning, as well as funding for supplies, equipment, vehicles, and programs, including PVAS’ Community Cats Program. Maddie’s ® Shelter Embed Project in the Rio Grande Valley (maddiesfund.org) provided the grant that is funding Best Friend’s work through the end of 2020 and is the primary resource for PVAS’ efforts in the region since July 2019. Petco Foundation (petcofoundation.org) provided a grant of $1M ($500k/year in 2018-2019) in 2018 that jumpstarted and sustained PVAS’ initial efforts toward achieving no-kill. Their commitment to Palm Valley helped us transform from the organization with the highest lifesaving gap in the nation to an organization with one of the most improved lifesaving rates in the US.
Mike Bricker, PVAS Executive Director, writes: “With the help of community and agency partners we’ve achieved significant positive change for the pets and people we serve in 2019. We know there’s more work to be done, and we’re committed to continuing our efforts to save every animal that can be saved in the Rio Grande Valley.”
Palm Valley Animal Society is the shelter of record for Edinburg, Hidalgo, Hidalgo County, La Joya, McAllen, Palmhurst, and Palmview, serving approximately 750,000 residents and 30,000 animals each year. More information on the organization’s programs, services, and impact can be found online at pvastx.org.
PVAS Impact Statement for 2019
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NEWS RELEASE
December 3, 2019
Media Contact: Rebeca Villanueva 956-369-6064 (cell) or [email protected]
Palm Valley Animal Center Announces Historic Name Change,
National Partnerships, Significant Lifesaving Increases
Edinburg, Texas – Palm Valley Animal Center is the shelter of record for Hidalgo County and 6 municipalities. Their intake is one of the highest in the US, but recent opportunities for development have helped the organization turn a new page.
Palm Valley Animal Center is pleased to announce a name change! In keeping with a renewed commitment to be the standard-bearer for lifesaving in the Rio Grande Valley, the organization will now be known as Palm Valley Animal Society (PVAS). Its two facilities, located on Trenton Rd and Expressway 281 in Edinburg, will now be known as PVAS Trenton Center and PVAS Laurie P Andrews Center. Changes to their website and social media are forthcoming.
In July 2019 PVAC entered into a formal partnership agreement with Best Friends Animal Society (bestfriends.org). Supported by funding provided by Maddie’s® Shelter Embed Project in the Rio Grande Valley (maddiesfund.org), the partnership provides staffing, equipment, and supplies for the organization to advance its mission to reach a 90% live-release rate, or “no-kill.” Efforts have been informally underway with Best Friends staff working on-site in Edinburg since 2017 and will continue through 2020. PVAS’s live release rate has grown from 34% to 69% since Best Friends’ arrival, one of the highest increases in the nation.
PVAS also recently partnered with Best Friends Animal Society to implement a Community Cat Program that includes staffing, equipment, and vehicles in support of organized trap-neuter-return efforts for the purpose of reducing community cat populations and feline shelter intake. Goals include achieving a 90% save rate for cats and spay/neuter and vaccinations for 16,500 cats. The program is funded through 2022, after which PVAS will assume operation.
Mike Bricker, PVAS Executive Director, writes: “We’re thrilled with the positive changes we’re seeing at PVAS and the communities we serve, and proud of the hard work of our staff, volunteers, and board members. We’re confident that by working together we’ll reach the point when we can save every animal that’s able to be saved and look forward to the day when the Rio Grande Valley is a strong example of responsible, sustainable lifesaving for Texas and the rest of the country.”
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NEWS RELEASE
August 6, 2019
Media Contact: Michael Bricker 609-213-2665 (cell) or [email protected]
Palm Valley Animal Center Needs Foster Homes for 100 Dogs for 10 Days
Animal Balance to Provide 600 Spay/Neuter Surgeries for the Shelter
Edinburg, Texas – Clear the Shelters (cleartheshelters.com) is a nationwide adoption event hosted by NBCUniversal, and Palm Valley Animal Center will be participating again in 2019. The event takes place on August 17 from 9AM to 4PM, with the goal of adopting every dog and cat in every participating shelter.
Although PVAC is currently working with a veterinary team from the University of Florida to address a recent increase in distemper diagnoses in the community, there are a number of dogs who are symptom-free and could be available for the Clear the Shelters event. Dr. Lisa Rodriguez, lead veterinarian at PVAC, writes:
“We are currently in the process of distemper testing dogs for Clear the Shelters. Dogs that test negative can be placed in foster care for 10 days, returned to the shelter for spay-neuter, if needed, and then placed on the adoption floor for the event on 8/17.”
Animal Balance (animalbalance.org), an international animal welfare organization that specializes in providing veterinary care to animals across the globe, has chosen Edinburg as the location for their first large-scale spay/neuter project inside the US. Funded by Best Friends Animal Society® (bestfriends.org) #SaveThemAll and Maddie’s Fund® (maddiesfund.org) #ThanksToMaddie, Animal Balance will arrive in Edinburg on August 8th with a team of veterinarians and support staff whose goal is to provide 600 spay/neuter surgeries in 4 days in preparation for Clear the Shelters.
In order to maximize this lifesaving opportunity, Palm Valley Animal Center is asking community members to open their homes to foster. If you have a home without any dogs – or have fully-vaccinated, adult dogs in your home – and would like to help – please contact the shelter at:
Main Number: 956-686-1141 Ask for the foster department
Email: [email protected]
Website: pvactx.org/foster Complete the foster application online
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NEWS RELEASE
August 2, 2019
Media Contact: Rebeca I Villanueva 956-369-6064 (cell) or [email protected]
Community Shelter, Palm Valley Animal Center, to Halt Dog Movement
and Reduce Intake to Combat Spread of Distemper
Edinburg, Texas - Palm Valley Animal Center (PVAC), the community’s shelter, will halt movement of dogs between their facilities, Palm Valley Animal Center and The Laurie P Andrews PAWS Center, and is reaching out to municipal partners for help in reducing intake to address their animal flow process.
The movement of animals between PVAC facilities has been halted. PVAC & PAWS continue to partner with rescue organizations and encourage local residents to foster or adopt to protect the shelter’s animals from illness or exposure.
Adoption, foster, return to owner and rescue activities will continue, though with precautions, Executive Director Mike Bricker said.
“Out of concern for the hundreds of animals who are currently under our care, PVAC has decided to take immediate, preemptive measures to isolate the issue,” he said.
“Temporarily halting the movement of animals between facilities will allow for us to create two independent populations and reduce disease transmission. Getting adoptable animals out of PVAC and PAWS and into foster, rescue or adopted homes is also essential.”
Although PVAC has seen a huge improvement in lifesaving, increasing its live release by 30% in the first six months of 2019, the community continues to see the same challenges that increase the risk of illness out in the streets and that illness is introduced in to the shelter. The vast majority of the animals surrendered to PVAC have never received any kind of preventative care or vaccines, which poses the biggest challenge to the shelter in keeping animals healthy until a live outcome is found.
PVAC staff have been trained to identify symptoms and protocol has been reviewed for distemper, an illness that typically produces thick nasal discharge, coughing and sneezing, but can be fatal or cause seizures in severe cases. Less severe cases are manageable and dogs may recover so they can be saved, however our community’s shelter is unable to currently support lifesaving treatment or quarantine.
“It’s not an epidemic or an outbreak. Distemper is endemic in the shelter and in our community,” Bricker continued. “Distemper is just like the flu, in a sense. It’s something we want to get ahead of. There is currently a higher rate of disease in the shelter than we would like, though, and these measures will allow us to reduce the disease incidence, creating a healthier environment for all the dogs in our care. Increasing the health of the population will ultimately allow us to save more lives.” He added that adoptions will continue. Only animal control activities and voluntary surrender of animals by their owners or community will be heavily impacted.
Best Friends Animal Society is deploying an experienced staff person to help support animal control officers in the field with identifying what animals need to come in and finding alternative solutions for those that don’t. Animal control officers still will bring an animal to the shelter, he added, in emergency cases, or if a stray animal poses a threat to those around it or is itself in danger. The community can help by limiting calls to Animal Control in emergency cases, such as bites or aggressive dogs.
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NEWS RELEASE
August 1, 2019
Media Contact: Michael Bricker 609-213-2665 (cell) or [email protected]
International NGO Animal Balance to Spay/Neuter Hundreds
of Cats and Dogs at Palm Valley Animal Center August 8-12.
International animal welfare NGO Animal Balance is coordinating a high volume spay/neuter event for homeless pets at the Palm Valley Animal Center prior to the nationwide Clear the Shelters adoption event on August 17, 2019. Through a grant from Best Friends Animal Society, made possible #ThanksToMaddie, and utilizing surgical facilities at the PVAC shelter in Edinburg, Texas, volunteer veterinarians, vet techs and a community-based ground team will be mobilized for this mission. Through the cooperation of Animal Balance, Best Friends and PVAC, as part of the Maddie’s® Shelter Embed Project in the Rio Grande Valley, the goal is to ready hundreds of dogs and cats for adoption between Aug. 8 -12, 2019.
Known for their international work coordinating MASH (Mobile Animal Sterilization Hospital) clinics, Animal Balance recognized an urgent need in the Palm Valley area, where spay and neuter resources are scarce. They reached out to PVAC and BFAS to determine whether their experience could be utilized to help with the shelter population in Edinburg. Short term missions like this help alleviate resource gaps by providing necessary services to animals that are currently in the shelter, while allowing more time to put long-term solutions in place. This mission dovetails with the ongoing multi-year partnership between Best Friends® and PVAC, known as the Maddie’s® Shelter Embed Project. The goal of this project is to improve shelter operations, implement a community cat program, and help take the shelter and the community to no-kill.
Animal Balance missions rely heavily on a team of volunteers who will be traveling from across Texas and the country to provide medical care to the animals by providing high quality, high volume spay/neuter surgery, monitoring them pre- and post-surgery, and performing critical tasks related to ensuring that all animals in care are safe and comfortable, that the clinic runs efficiently, and the maximum positive impact possible is made on the community and its animals.
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