Animal Defense League of San Antonio, TX.

photo courtesy of ittybittiesforyou

Animal Defense League of San Antonio, Texas.

In light of my recent posting about the stray cat living under my deck and the response to it, I thought I'd write a little about my favorite place in San Antonio for pets and the care for the animals that get left behind.  I'm speaking of the Animal Defense League.  I had never heard of the ADL when I moved to San Antonio, but thanks to Mike Osterhage and KSAT12 News, I quickly became familiar with them.  Every Thursday morning on "Good Morning San Antonio" at around 6:15AM, Mike sits down with Ian and his furry friends from the Animal Defense League and pulls at my heart strings with the various animals looking for a loving home.  Its really hard to get dressed for work when you're dreaming of home much fun you could have with the collections of dogs and cats paraded on your television screen at that hour.

A bit of history.

The Animal Defense League came to be when a group of individuals decided in 1934 to open a place "for the prevention of cruelty to animals; to promote kind and humane treatment of animals; and to aid and assist the enforcement of laws enacted for the prevention of animal cruelty."  From humble beginnings and a few chicken-wire cages, the ADL has become a big name in San Antonio's pet adoption, protection, and care.  They currently are located on twelve acres on Nacogdoches Road just north of Wurzbach Parkway.  The complex includes a two acre pet park, a clinic, and an adoption center.  They've been running a "no-kill" shelter since their inception and I applaud them for their efforts in pushing all of San Antonio to become "no-kill" as well.

My personal experience with them.

After my last cat, The Molly, passed away, my wife and I decided to drop off her unused food, toys, bedding, litter, and medicine at the Animal Defense League.  We thought it might help another stray out in their quest to find a loving home (she was a stray as well).  When we stopped in the ADL after work one night, the staff were very helpful and even helped us carry some things from the car.  They were so thankful and appreciative of the donation and stopped to chat with us for a moment about our cat and why we had come.  We even met Ian, who is the public face of the ADL on KSAT12 News' adoption segment.  He's English (I seem to remember he's from Wolverhampton) and my wife an him chatted for a few moments (she's English as well) about life in the States.  Everyone was friendly and seemed to really love what they do, which is important when dealing with so many animals who need loving homes - I remember being in a shelter once where everyone seemed miserable and the pets seemed depressed and miserable too.  I left there feeling great that not only had I done something good, but that the people there were doing great things and loving what they did.

Thinking of how you can help?

There are many ways you can help the Animal Defense League in their mission to continue to provide quality care, love, and homes to the animals of San Antonio.  They are always appreciate of gifts and donations, whether monetary or material items.  You can check this page on their site to see what they need and are always looking for.  The ADL also relies heavily on volunteer time to take care of the animals and perform the office duties.  I'm actually considering some volunteer work there in 2009, as I really want to get more involved in the community and give back where I can.  If you're interested in volunteer opportunities check this page for a list of some of the things they need help with and then contact Laura Richter, Volunteer Coordinator at (210) 655-1481, ext 110, or email her at lrichter@adltexas.org.

Contact information for The Animal Defense League:

11300 NACOGDOCHES ROAD - SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78217-2318
Information: (210)655-1481 - Fax: (210)655-4498
Winter Hours: MON - FRI, 11:00AM to 6:00PM . SAT - SUN, 10:00AM to 5:30PM