Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Reducing the factors causing dogs and pets to become homeless, sick, cruelty treated and neglected.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Rescue and Adoption
The dogs at Wags receive all the medical care they need including spay or neutering, DAPP and Rabies vaccinations, microchips, heartworm test and immiticide treatment if needed, heartworm preventative, flea and tick preventative, and deworming at a minimum. We take in a number of medical cases and have successfully treated and found homes for dogs suffering from mange, infections, broken bones, missing limbs, blindness and deafness, heartworms, cancer (skin and internal) and trauma from abuse and vehicle injuries. We also take in hospice dogs requiring end of life care when needed. We have a mobile vet that visits with our dogs when we need her and is on call to answer any questions we have. All of our routine spay and neuter procedures are done at a local spay/neuter clinic. Dogs requiring intensive medical care or emergency surgery are seen by one of three vets that work closely with us. Our vets are wonderful and invested in what we do. Our dogs also receive a behavioral evaluation and are conditioned and trained depending on their specific needs. We work with dogs with a wide range of behavioral needs. Our goal is to minimize returns and get our dogs ready for life in an adoptive home. We take care to choose the right adoptive home for each dog and have no time frame in mind for adoption. It happens when it’s right.
Help for the Dogs of the Homeless
Reflective street gear including backpacks. collars, leashes and flashing tags to prevent injury. We also sponsor vet visits to ensure that dogs living with their families on the streets remain vaccinated and healthy.
Advocacy
In addition to rescuing dogs from Austin and adopting out dogs in the Austin area, we support many "civilians” in the Austin area with their rehome and rescue situations. We are working on doing more advocacy and spay/neuter assistance as well and are partnering with Gusto Dogs and Dog Trainers to spread the word about safe interactions between children and dogs. We have participated in multiple presentations for community events and elementary schools. We also work in under-served communities providing education about the benefits of spay/neuter, vaccinations and microchipping and will help anyone in need of these services get their pets fixed, chipped and vaccinated.
Field Work and Outreach
Community Spay / Neuter Clinic enabling access to low cost and free medical care and prevention of unwanted litters. We also deliver shelter, food and flea/tick prevention to those who need it. Our goal is to reduce unwanted litters, provide support to our community and keep pets out of shelters.
Where we work
Awards
2013 Approved Shelter 2013
Adopt A Pet
Featured Rescue Summer 2013 2013
Hautedog
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of animals spayed and neutered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Field Work and Outreach
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of animal adoptions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Rescue and Adoption
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of animals vaccinated
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Field Work and Outreach
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
1) Placement for homeless animals into adoptive homes
2) Community solutions and support to keep pets in homes
3) Access to medical care, specifically spay/neuter to reduce the number of unwanted pets in the system
4) Support to community leaders and law enforcement officers to prevent animal abandonment, cruelty and neglect
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Outstanding quality of care, individualized assessment and programs, lifelong support of adopting families, partnership with vets and community leaders, advocacy and prevention of neglect, cruelty and over population.
At a minimum all of our rescue dogs are spayed/neutered, microchipped, vaccinated with Rabies, Distemper & Parvo, heartworm tested (put on preventative if negative or treated if positive), treated for fleas, ticks and intestinal parasites. 20% - 30% of the dogs we rescue are heartworm positive and require treatment. We regularly take dogs from the side of the road, chaining situations and are contacted by shelters to help with behaviorally balanced dogs that are facing untimely death due to a lack of shelter resources. We have NEVER said no to a medical condition. We take those with broken bones, mange, emaciation, heartworms, trauma from animal attacks, abuse or vehicle accidents, malnutrition, congenital defects and more. We believe that these dogs deserve a chance but we need your help to be able to say yes when we are called upon.
Wags, Hope and Healing takes every opportunity to educate on why to adopt versus buy and uses multiple public forums to showcase the amazing personalities of rescue dogs.
We provide information and tools to pet owners in the community that need help keeping their pets safe, healthy and out of the shelter.
We host a community clinic to do free / low cost spay/neuter, vaccinations, microchipping and parasite control.
We partner with city council members and law enforcement officers to bring awareness and in some cases prosecution of those who abuse and neglect animals.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We have a facility in Bastrop County and fosters across Central Texas that take in cats, dogs and even some farm animals that need our help. We have a strong network of veterinarians, dog trainers, animal control officers, county leaders and experienced rescue workers. We partner with a local shelter to use their surgery suite to host high volume community spay days.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have a strong board of directors, great volunteers and staff and a good reputation. At some times during the year, we have a waiting list for animals to adopt. Our work is viewed as quality and the public trusts us to place them with pets they will love and be able to support long term.
We have a robust outreach program and have been able to spay/neuter hundreds and hundreds of breeding dogs and cats across multiple counties. Very simply, we want to work ourselves out of a job. Until there are no more homeless pets and accidental litters, we have more work to do.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
WAGS HOPE AND HEALING
Board of directorsas of 11/12/2019
Crystal DeGroot
Wags, Hope and Healing
Term: 2019 -
Susie Yuill
Wags, Hope and Healing
Term: 2014 -
Kristen West
Gusto Dogs
Susie Yuill
StellarTech Marketing
Toya Stone
Wags, Hope and Healing
Crystal DeGroot
Wags, Hope and Healing
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes