At Friends For Life, every animal matters.
We’re here for the undercat and underdog, regardless of their breed, age or condition.
Houston-grown, we’re here to help our neighbors care for the pets they love. We’re not done until every animal has a safe home. Until then, we’ll be innovating, improving and tracking results to find the most effective ways to save lives.
MISSION
We save animals and strengthen our community’s engagement with them.
VISION
A community where all animals have a safe home and where pet owners have the resources to care for the animals they love.
CORE VALUES
Since leaving the warren of the snares, they have become warier, shrewder, a tenacious band who understood each other and worked together. There was no more quarreling. The truth about the warren had been a grim shock. They had come closer together, relying on and valuing each other’s capacities. They knew that it was on these and on nothing else that their lives depended, and they were not going to waste anything they possessed between them.
–Watership Down
Compassion
You’re flawed. So is everyone else. Your flaws aren’t any less heinous or irritating than anyone else’s. So be nice.
As Karen Armstrong would say, “Search your heart for what causes you pain. Then make a solemn commitment to never do that to another creature.” That’s the Golden Rule and everything else is commentary.
Courage
Lean in and take the risk.
Speak up.
Remember the power of the pause.
Stand in between any powerless against any powerful. Be David. Goliath lost.
Team-Oriented
Don’t hog the ball, but it’s ok to shoot your shot.
Be generous with praise. Use it like gravy. It can only make everything better.
Imagine FFL is an island. We need builders and diggers and hunters and swimmers and fighters and caretakers and gatherers. The adults are never coming. We are an island, and this team will save you. Protect them.
Integrity
You either navigate by True North, or you don’t. It is doing the right thing – even when it’s hard. Tell the truth. Be authentic. Have honor. It is not something we can teach. But it is something your team will viscerally know about you. If you are not up to that, you are not tall enough for this ride and you should get off here.
Evidence-Based
We prioritize data-backed decision-making, ensuring our choices are grounded in real-world insights and measurable outcomes.
Follow the data. That’s the only following Friends For Life does.
Innovation
Think big and do crazy things.
Do what seems like the next right thing. Then keep going.
Remember that in the fullness of history, someone will solve the big issues. It may just as likely be you as anyone else.
How We’re Different
Every Animal Matters
We save animals regardless of their origin, breed, age or condition. Many shelters refuse strays, animals from private citizens, or even entire breeds. Instead, we are guided by a simple principle: Every Animal Matters.
Rooted in our community
No shelter is an island. We lean on our community to fuel our work. In return, the Houston community relies on us. Here are some programs that help lift our neighbors:
- We gave away 5,500+ free spay/neuter surgeries (and counting) through our Fix Houston program. The result: There will be 100,000 fewer animals coming into Houston shelters.
- Friends For Life Animal Food Bank (Houston’s first!) provided our neighbors with 50 tons of pet food in 2018 alone, and tons more (literally) in 2019.
- During Hurricane Harvey, we responded to the City’s call. The Mayor needed us to manage pets at the George R. Brown Evacuation Center. We set up the country’s first-ever shelter where people stay together with their pets. The success of our effort set an example for future disaster planning.
- During COVID-19, we’ve started providing a Drive-Thru Clinic + Pet Food Bank. We’re the only organization in the city offering this service that gets free vaccinations, vet exams, preventatives, and pet food to those struggling to care for their animal family members.
We keep score
We look at data to track our progress and make decisions. From TNR mapping to measuring training clicks, we rely on evidence to help us fine-tune our best practices.
Our Model
We see our work as a three-legged stool:
- Rescue, rehabilitate and adopt (Wellness, Behavior, Adoptions)
- Reduce animal births (Fix Houston)
- Help our neighbors with their pets (Thinking Outside the Shelter)
When deployed together, these programs lead to a systemic change. We envision the day when all animals have homes, and shelters become resource centers for the community.
Official Documents: You can see all of our official documents by clicking here.