Social Tees Animal Rescue is a non-profit (501c3 ) no-kill rescue in NYC finding forever homes for abandoned dogs and cats. We are a foster-based, community oriented organization founded on the principles of responsible pet ownership and creating a supportive environment for our staff and volunteers. Ensuring access to thorough veterinary treatment and the wellbeing of our animals are our highest priorities, and we pride ourselves in matching each animal with the family best able to meet its needs for life.
All animals we rescue are in foster homes, we do not keep any dogs or cats onsite. (See who’s up for adoption here.) We firmly believe that when possible and done responsibly, a foster based system is the healthiest option: The animals receive one-on-one care and training, and prospective adopters get a much clearer picture of what kind of lifestyle that animal is likely to require long term. Animal behavior and needs can change dramatically between a kennel and a home setting.
We provide all animals we rescue with exceptional veterinary care. We ensure that each is neutered; up to date on core vaccines at the time of adoption; microchipped; treated with defleaing, deworming, and demiting medication as necessary; and more. Additionally, most of our animals see our private veterinarian as is necessary either for everyday health concerns (skin infection, URI, etc.) or for less common issues (tumor, dental disease, etc.). You may have heard the term “shelter medicine,” which generally means bare bones veterinary care — it’s incredibly difficult for shelters and rescue orgs to afford more than the basics as they struggle to save as many lives as they can. Social Tees has made it a priority to direct a large portion of our funding toward medical care so that we can get each animal’s time sensitive needs met and so that we can do our best to give each prospective adopter a clear idea of the commitment they’re making to their future family member.
We focus on education in order to affect long term, sustainable change in the rescue world. While the number of animals we take in each year may not be as high as those you’ll see at other organizations, we put a tremendous amount of time and energy into each animal’s adoption so that we can teach foster parents, adoption applicants, and adopters about realistic pet ownership expectations and responsible pet care along the way. To oversimplify, we believe that quality over quantity will help reduce nationwide euthanasia rates in the long term. Unfortunately, many adoptions don’t work out and animals end up back in the shelter system when adopters are not prepared or qualified. We are currently working on developing broader reaching education opportunities such as classroom visits, corporate “puppy therapy” events, dog training workshops, and more.
We value our unique position to help build relationships — not just between animals and humans, but among people. We love seeing friendships form and grow between our volunteers, foster parents, and adopters. Using our storefront office in the East Village to connect more closely with the local community and animal lovers across the city is one of our current primary goals. Stay tuned, we’ve got hang out nights, adoptable pup meet-and-greets, and more in the works.
We strive to create and maintain a healthy environment and work-life balance for our team. Rescue is very emotional and demanding, and its non-stop nature can be completely draining. We try very hard to take on only as much as we’re gracefully able to handle in an effort to prevent burnout among our small group of staff and volunteers.
A note on our in-person hours:
As per the goal above, we have limited availability at our office for foster switches, adoption meetings, and foster supply pickups. (Please be patient with us as we train more volunteers!) Office hours change each week — in general, we have availability two weekday early evenings, two weekday mid mornings, and occasional Saturday mid mornings. We do not have Sunday hours. (Your foster or adoption coordinator will work with you to arrange visits as necessary.) We are stretched very thin and try to be as supportive and flexible as we can, but we ask that you please prioritize your adoption meetings etc. the same way you would a doctor appointment. Welcoming in a new family member or taking care of a dog whose life you helped save will require some scheduling sacrifices. We are so grateful for your understanding, patience, enthusiasm, and help as we all work together to rescue these innocent animals!
A quick history lesson:
Started in 1991 as a tee shirt company, Social Tees transitioned into Social Tees Animal Rescue 10 years later in 2001. We are a longstanding member of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC Animals and a participating shelter under the City of New York’s Animal Care Centers New Hope Program, which places animals in local no-kill shelters. We have partnered with rescue groups in Tennessee, Texas, New Jersey, and many other locations where the euthanasia rates are higher than they are in the northeast, via which we rescue and find forever homes for hundreds of animals annually. We also work closely with many awesome animal loving companies that help us raise awareness about dogs and cats in need.
Board of Directors
President and Executive Director:
Samantha Brody, samantha@socialteesnyc.org
Secretary and Director of Programs:
Julie Ainsbury, julie@socialteesnyc.org
Treasurer and Director:
Marisa Adler, marisa@socialteesnyc.org
Check Us Out!
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Our Office
443 East 9th Street
storefront west
New York, NY 10009
contact@socialteesnyc.org
Material Donations Mailing Address
c/o Julie Ainsbury
51 Irving Pl #7R
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Hours
We don’t have regular hours. Adoptions etc. are by appointment, but please knock and say hi if you’re passing by and we’re there! We’re often doing admin stuff.
Social Tees Animal Rescue relies almost entirely on benevolent donations from the public, 100 percent of which are used directly to save animals’ lives. Click here to make a donation!