ASPCA Shelter Outreach

The ASPCA’s Shelter Outreach team focuses on hands-on work and initiatives to help shelters and organizations across the U.S. achieve long-term success in their communities. Its work consists of three main components:

Animal Relocation Initiative

This program gives shelter pets the best chance of finding loving homes by transporting them from areas of oversupply—where the likelihood of adoption is slim—to locations where the chances of adoption are greater.

As part of this work, Shelter Outreach also provides mentoring to source and destination shelters, shelter medicine support and grants to help shelters meet the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ shelter guidelines.

There are three main relocation routes:

• Los Angeles Relocation Program – In 2014, the ASPCA launched a Southern California relocation program as part of a multi-faceted effort to help at-risk animals in the Los Angeles area.
• The Nancy Silverman Rescue Ride (NSRR) – Starting in 2015, NSRR began relocating dogs from shelters in the Southeast to locations in the Northeast where they may have a better chance at being adopted.
• Watershed Route – 2017 marked the beginning of this route, which originates in the South and transports dogs and cats to their new homes in the Midwest.

In 2016, 16,776 animals were relocated and $400,000 in ASPCA grants were distributed for relocation efforts

Shelter Medicine Services

By promoting science-based shelter medicine, the team improves the health and welfare of shelter animals and their communities. This includes consulting, creating and disseminating resources that are shared with the sheltering field.

Northern Tier Initiative

Through the generosity of a donor, the initiative provides on-site shelter health and operation consultations, grants and training in the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Alaska.