ARL’s 2024-2028 Strategic Plan reflects our unwavering commitment to helping animals heal and thrive, keeping pets and people together, and protecting animals from cruelty and neglect. It will ensure we can continue to respond to the needs of animals and support a community in which animals are protected, safe, and healthy – in homes and out of shelters.
We’re excited to share the progress you helped make in 2024 towards our goals.
Together, we’re keeping pets and people together, delivering lifesaving care, expanding access to critical resources, and standing up for animals across Massachusetts.
Our Goals
Goal 1: Provide high-quality care in our Animal Care and Adoption Centers.
Objective: Provide animals with the highest standards of care to help them heal and thrive in their new homes.
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- Found loving homes for 3,518 animals, 18% received behavioral support to help them thrive in their new homes.
- Provided 6,300 veterinary exams and surgeries to shelter animals.
- Helped 1,181 community cats (cats that live outdoors, a 32% increase over 2023.
Goal 2: Support animal health with our professional services.
Objective: Advance pet health and well-being through dog training courses and exceptional veterinary care.
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- Trained 871 dogs with 20% more course offerings, including shorter workshops focusing on common challenges pet owners face in daily life
- Provided 2,122 animals with routine and life-saving care at Boston Veterinary Care (BVC).
Goal 3: Keep pets and people together.
Objective: Empower families and help more pets stay in their homes by expanding access to innovative community services, including low-cost veterinary care, temporary pet housing, and pet food.
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- Provided $6.7M worth of veterinary care to the community, including: 4,700 low-cost spay/neuter surgeries in Greater Boston, Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and the Islands; and 3,770 low-cost veterinary wellness exams in Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, and East Boston.
- Saw a 24% increase in temporary housing clients, with 42 pets placed into temporary housing while their owners addressed housing and health needs.
- Provided 255,194 pet meals to the community, a 100% increase since inception in 2020.
Goal 4: Improve the lives of animals.
Objectives: Lead the way for animal welfare by advancing laws and policies that benefit animals, providing training for local and state police and animal control officers, and creating the next generation of compassionate animal advocates through humane education opportunities for youth.
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- Played a key role in passing several bills, including: regulating pet daycare and boarding facilities; prohibiting the sale of puppies and kittens under 8 weeks old; and making Massachusetts the fourth state to ban cat declawing
- Assisted 1,300 animals by investigating cruelty, abuse, and neglect.
- Provided 13 training sessions for 700 Animal Welfare professionals in 2024, including at the Massachusetts State Police Academy, veterinary and animal welfare conferences, and human service organizations.
- Welcomed 216 youth at Humane Education events, an 18% increase over 2023.
Goal 5: Invest in our people.
Objective: Ensure ARL is a great place to work and volunteer by meeting high satisfaction standards and advancing diversity, equity, accessibility, inclusion, and justice within our organization and the communities we serve.
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- Promoted 12 employees
- Maintained an 86% volunteer satisfaction rate
- Established the P.E.T. (Paws-itive Engagement Team) an employee engagement group that works together to create rewarding initiatives across ARL.
Goal 6: Invest in our infrastructure.
Objective: Enhance the capacity of ARL’s facilities to respond to the current and future needs of animals and pet owners in our community.
