Friendswood Animal Advocates has been in constant evolution.

When the organization began in 2009, the goal was to lobby for a new facility for Friendswood Animal Control. Two years later, FAA saw purpose come to fruition as the new facility was approved by the City Council in April 2011.

The success left FAA president Tina Wood and her crew of volunteers with a question.

“[City Council] approved a new facility and we said, ‘OK, now what?’” Wood said. “We had been working with the animals at animal control and thought we should start focusing on supporting those animals. The [animal control] budget wasn’t huge, and with the new building, they were going to be taking in more animals.”

Wood said FAA began helping at the new facility, providing kennels, equipment and volunteers. Members hosted enrichment programs, visiting animals at the shelter to take them on walks.

FAA also used its funding—which is provided by donations—to cover medical expenses for the animals.

“We picked up the medical costs,” Wood said. “Any [animal] that needed to go to the vet, we paid for it. It was a lot of financial backing [that] we did, but we also provided [our presence] in that facility doing stuff.”

In 2014, Wood said new management took over at Friendswood Animal Control, prompting FAA to re-evaluate the relationship between the two. The organization’s voting members decided on a change.

“In February 2015, we decided to take a step away from Friendswood Animal Control,” Wood said. “Instead, [we aimed] to get out in the community. We started seeing a need in the community.”

With that, Wood said FAA began its community outreach program. The program focused on several ideas, including using the group’s Facebook page to help owners locate lost pets.

“We’ve had really good success with that,” Wood said. “Everybody is coming to our page to look if their cat or dog is missing. If they [have] found a cat or a dog, they come to the page to see if we’ve posted [a notice].”

FAA also hosts several events each year in support of its furry friends. The organization holds a spay and neuter clinic twice a year for $30 a pet as well as a low-cost vaccine and microchipping event once a year. FAA also provides free microchips to the first 50 Friendswood residents each year.

In addition to community outreach, FAA also uses its resources on an education program. The organization reaches out to local youth to begin molding knowledgeable pet owners.

“We’re trying to work at a young age to build that [responsibility],” Wood said. “When they become adults, they know to get their pets spayed and neutered. They know to do this. They know to do that. We’re trying to start that young.”

FAA has a transportation project in which volunteers transport rescue animals from shelters to veterinarians. The group also helps provide medical coverage for rescue groups by donating money to local veterinarians to cover procedures for dogs in shelters.

Despite changes in direction for the group since 2009, Wood said the main focus of FAA has never wavered.

“Our goals have always been to keep the euthanasia rate as low as possible. That’s been our main [priority] always,” she said. “Everything we’ve done is to help get those numbers lower.”