Animal Aid

Founded in 1998 by veteran veterinary technician Tamera Gibson and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization in 2001, Animal Aid operates a full-service pet adoption shelter and veterinary clinic on Northeast Forty-Fourth Street in Oakland Park. Each year, the organization rescues, rehabilitates, and rehomes roughly 1,200 to 1,400 dogs and cats pulled from overcrowded animal-control agencies, emergency surrenders, and cruelty or neglect cases across Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties.

Alongside its six-day-a-week adoption center, Animal Aid operates an on-site veterinary clinic and a mobile surgical unit that perform more than 3,000 low-cost spay-and-neuter surgeries annually. Every rescued dog in the shelter receives a complete veterinary examination, vaccinations, parasite treatment, dental care, heartworm testing and treatment when needed, microchipping, and sterilization before going home with an approved family. The Oakland Park clinic and rescue team also coordinate heartworm treatments, dental cleanings, and post-surgical recovery in quiet foster homes for dogs pulled from county animal-control agencies.

Prospective adopters can submit an online adoption application and visit the Oakland Park shelter to meet adoptable dogs with guidance from experienced counselors. Animal Aid also operates a charity thrift store in Deerfield Beach to help fund medical care for rescued pets and welcomes local volunteers, foster families, and tax-deductible donations from the Broward County community. By combining affordable preventive veterinary medicine with no-kill adoption placement, Animal Aid helps hundreds of Broward County families keep their pets healthy and out of municipal shelters each year.