November 2016 Volunteer of the Month!

Beyond late... may we very enthusiastically introduce you to our November 2016 volunteer of the month!!! He is one of those humans we strongly suspect is actually an angel, and his name has become a label we now use to describe INCREDIBLE foster parents -- as in, "Gosh, thank goodness for Fuzzy's new foster dad, he's a real Dimitry." We first met Dimitry a few years ago when we desperately need a foster for a blind senior pit bull. Nobody stepped up to the plate for this girl (on the right) until Dimitry came along. He had never even owned a dog, let alone a blind old pit bull, but he was radiating patience and generosity when he arrived and was eager to learn. Dimitry hung in there while she learned her way around and has helped her through a tough diagnosis involving deteriorating mobility that may make humane euthanasia necessary at some point in the future... but she's outlived the estimate so far and is going strong! (Thanks to Foster Dogs NYC for their fospice help!) THEN another senior pit bull popped up in desperate need of a foster home... Denali (on the left). Who picked him up in a jiffy? DIMITRY. Fast forward a few months, and the three of them are now permanent family -- he adopted both! He's also helped us transport other pups here and there, and we thank the universe we met him. This award is designed to show how much we truly appreciate the hard work of our crew, to draw attention to a volunteer who has gone above and beyond, to encourage others to join the rescue world, and to spread stories of positive energy and compassion.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, Dimitry!!!! Keep an eye out, we're sending a $50 gift certificate for a cool tee shirt from Pop Your Pup AND a few gift certificates for some BarkBox goodies. Thank you also to our generous donors who are as committed to expressing gratitude for the hard work our volunteers do as we are.

October 2016 Volunteer of the Month Award!

This picture is about a year and a half old, but it perfectly captures the essence of October's Volunteer of the Month -- and the moment we fell for her. Meet Samantha Moreno, one of our tried and true Saturday volunteers who staffs the UES Petco adoption events! This woman is a godsend. Not only is she responsible, reliable, smart, and fun, she's also down for anything -- like, "Sure, I'll throw this big-ish dog in this little bag and tote him wherever you need him to go. Adoption event in the lobby of a Broadway theater? No problem." Samantha is one of those jewels who will foster a dog for at least a few days in a pinch of any if our little rescues get suddenly stuck with nowhere to go. Her kindness and willingness to help are infectious, and we can't begin to tell you how often we hear people singing her praises -- other volunteers, adopters, foster parents... Samantha, NEVER LEAVE US! If you do, we'll hunt you down and drag you back. Jk, we'd send you off with oodles of well wishes and some bags of diamonds but that will never happen so don't even think about it. 

This award program is designed to show how much we truly appreciate the hard work of our crew, to draw attention to a volunteer who has gone above and beyond in some capacity, to encourage other animal lovers to join the rescue world, and to spread stories of positive energy and compassion. THANK YOU SO MUCH, Samantha!!!! Thanks to the support of our Volunteer of the Month donors, Samantha will receive a $50 gift certificate so she can make a cool ass tee shirt via Pop Your Pup AND a gift certificate for some super yummy food from Dirty Bird To Go. Thank you also to our generous donors who are as committed to expressing gratitude for the hard work our volunteers do as we are.

September 2016 Volunteer of the Month Award!

We are SO excited to introduce you to September's Volunteer of the Month: Renee Berger!!!!! If you haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting her, stop by Social Tees on the weekend and you'll be greeted immediately by her radiant, contagious smile. She is one of our head volunteers and she runs the show at our headquarters every Sunday. Renee has been one of the most dedicated, responsible, loyal, punctual, and upbeat volunteers we've ever had, and we are so grateful for her unstoppable help and cheer. Rain or shine, she is always there when we need her and literally HAPPY to do anything we need at anytime (unless it has to do with bugs, because while she's unfazed by snakes, poo, unhappy cats, huge dogs, etc., insects is hilariously her only fear). Renee is always so generous, outgoing, and eager to learn how she can be of further assistance. She has been working through some challenging personal times recently and STILL comes to help us almost every week and also lends a hand anytime she can squeeze in an extra few hours if we're short staff for a special event. We love just being around her because her buoyant mood is such a stress reliever -- for us and our rescue animals! 

This award program is designed to show how much we truly appreciate the hard work of our crew, to draw attention to a volunteer who has gone above and beyond in some capacity, to encourage other animal lovers to join the rescue world, and to spread stories of positive energy and compassion. THANK YOU SO MUCH, Renee!!!! Thanks to the support of our Volunteer of the Month donors, Renee will receive a $50 gift certificate so she can make a cool ass tee shirt via Pop Your Pup AND a gift certificate for some super yummy food from Shake Shack. Thank you also to our generous donors who are as committed to expressing gratitude for the hard work our volunteers do as we are.

August 2016 Volunteer of the Month Award!

We've been waiting FOREVER to announce August's Volunteer of the Month: Brad Williams!!!!! This incredibly kind and giving gentleman is an almost constant foster parent for at least one puppy, often two at a time -- he and his dog Chicken (who we regularly tell people is the coolest Boxer ever born) are so generous with their space and energy... and so patient! The entrance to their apartment is basically a revolving door into which we toss and from which we catch puppy after puppy. While with Brad and Chicken, our puppies and young dogs get fantastic socialization and exercise, and Chicken teaches them the ropes on being a good dog. She specializes in letting her little foster siblings use her ears and jowls as chew toys.(Currently, he's fostering our internet famous Little Bear, rescued from Craigslist at age 4 weeks!) They live nearby, for better or worse, so we tend to text and email Brad every time we get stuck -- and whether he's free or not, he always answers right away, and he almost always clears his schedule to help even if it's just for a night or two. We cannot thank him and Chicken enough for their sacrifice and wonderful attitudes. They are always smiling, even if they're bringing a puppy for a 9pm adoption or dropping a pooch off at 6:30am for a neuter appointment. 

This award program is designed to show how much we truly appreciate the hard work of our crew, to draw attention to a volunteer who has gone above and beyond in some capacity, to encourage other animal lovers to join the rescue world, and to spread stories of positive energy and compassion. THANK YOU SO MUCH, Brad!!!! (And Chicken.) Thanks to the support of our Volunteer of the Month donors, Brad and Chicken get a $50 gift certificate so they can make a cool ass tee shirt via Pop Your Pup AND a totally gorgeous leash from Found My Animal. Thank you also to our generous donors who are as committed to expressing gratitude for the hard work our volunteers do as we are.

July 2016 Volunteer of the Month!

Very, very long overdue, we've just started our Volunteer of the Month award! We have partnered with Pop Your Pup to offer a special thank you and a $50 gift certificate from this cool company to one member of our eclectic team per month. (We hope to throw more goodies into the award from other generous donors as we go.) This award program is designed to show how much we truly appreciate the hard work of our crew, to draw attention to a volunteer who has gone above and beyond in some capacity, to encourage other animal lovers to join the rescue world, and to spread stories of positive energy and compassion. Obviously, we are deeply grateful to everyone who works with us, so while we'd love to highlight all of you right now, we'll have to do it one at a time to keep things spicy. ;) 

In general we will be announcing the award towards the end of each month. We are playing a little bit of catchup since we just launched our new website, so our July 2016 recipient is Elyse Zucker! This animal loving powerhouse of a woman runs our Sunday adoption events at the Petco in Union Square, and she has been with us longer than almost any other volunteer. Rescue is her greatest love, and she will drop anything to help a critter in need. (Read more about her here!) THANK YOU SO MUCH, Elyse! 

Want to Adopt A Reptile?

We have many in need of homes! Fun fact: The first animals that Social Tees began taking in as we transformed from a tee shirt company into an animal rescue were reptiles.

Reptiles are some of the most misunderstood animals in the pet industry. They are sold in pet shops across the world, most often to people who don't know how to care for them properly. Sadly, most of them languish and die before they ever make it to an animal rescue like ours. Those that do end up with us get royal treatment though, including any rehab they need and placement with experienced reptile owners, experts, or in sanctuaries.

If you're interested in adopting one of our reptiles, take a look at the snakes, turtles, and lizards we have up for adoption here, and email contact@socialteesnyc.org for an adoption application. If you currently have a reptile and would like FREE reptile care advice, please also email anytime.

Welcome!

Our website just got a much needed makeover. We've revamped, restyled, and upgraded, and we're proud to present our shiny new website. Some of the cool things we've added: a smoother adoption application process, a page featuring our adoptable pets, helpful tips and information on adopting and fostering, and lots of incredibly beautiful photos by very skilled artists. On this blog, we hope to share ideas, answer questions, and tell stories as we go. Thank you SO MUCH to the outstanding talent and compassion that helped us put this together. Special thanks to Erin Hall, who designed our site, and Alan Perlman and Alexandra Steedman, who shot most of the images that fill these pages.