February 2015 by Lexy Bonge & Deaven Wilson

Audience: Executive Leadership, Shelter/Rescue Staff & Volunteers

Video Length: 36 minutes

As an organization grows, the complexity of operations grows too. Adoptions are the #1 objective in a no-kill city and Austin Pets Alive! (APA) still saves the dogs most at risk for euthanasia. As more and more dogs are saved by the city shelter and the community, the pool of dogs still in need gets more and more narrow and eventually is mostly comprised of adult (or teenager) large breed dogs with generally poor manners and a lot of energy. This program talks about how APA! manages that population and how the team balances that with other types of dogs. See how a "day in the life” shows how offsite adoptions are deployed from the home base of a shelter. This presentation was part of the American Pets Alive! 2015 No-Kill Conference.

About Lexy Bonge

Lexy Bonge is a homegrown Austinite. She is a graduate of Lake Travis High School. Her passion for animals brought her to Austin Pets Alive! in 2010 when she got her start working as a cat volunteer. She worked her way up being a dog adoption counselor for three years, assistant dog adoption manager last year and is currently the dog adoption manager. Lexy specializes in the scared and shy dogs (and kindly refers to them as "gremlins"), but loves them all. She is a proud parent of two "gremlins" herself as well a couple reptiles. She is the go to girl for dog grooming, nail trims and when unwanted scaly creatures unexpectedly come to visit APA. Lexy's 5 year mark with APA! will be coming up in April.

About Deaven Wilson

Deaven Wilson started at APA in January 2012 as an offsite dog adoption counselor without any previous animal experience. Through her dirve to learn and improve she quickly became a leader. She was an adoption counselor for 7 months before her she took on the role of Lead TLAC counselor for 2 years. She is now the Assistant Dog Adoption Manager. Deaven is also a college student and now has "Bassador" fur-child of her own who keeps her very busy when she is not working at APA.