AAPP’s Tricia Montgomery: We feed the hungry, help the sick, fight disease and get lost pets home
by Mary Guiden
The American Association of Pet Parents (AAPP) was founded in 2020 with a goal to help people navigate online information in a way that avoids confusion and misinformation. Tricia Montgomery, the organization’s national director of business and corporate development, recently spoke with Veterinary33 about the AAPP, its aim and what’s she’s working on next. She has more than 20 years of leadership experience in the animal health and welfare realm and is currently based in Georgia.
Q: How long have you been with the American Association of Pet Parents, and what do you focus on in your day-to-day work?
Montgomery: I started working with the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association, serving first as public education director in 1993, then in a dual role as their public education director and executive director in 1998. I held those positions for 10 years. While there, I met and worked with some of the finest veterinarians I’ve known. I got to learn more about and understand the profession, and the importance of incorporating standards of excellence.
Later, I started my own company, the K9 Fit Club, which are essentially gyms for people with dogs. It allows people with dogs to get healthy with your dog in a fun, safe and controlled environment.
I eventually sold the company and was called to serve as CEO of the Paws Humane Society in Columbus, Georgia where I led them through the pandemic. With our team, I was able to expand our veterinary clinic and create programs such as the pet food pantry and increase Pets for Life and Embark, our transport program.
I had heard about the work AAPP was doing and the organization touched on a lot of what I’d been working on in the animal welfare realm, except on a national scale. This includes raising money and donations, connecting the dots and people, making sure I’m working with the smallest to the largest organizations, trying to make an impact and educate people about pet ownership, education and our lifesaving programs. I joined the AAPP in January 2022.
Q: What are the main programs and priorities you’re targeting at the AAPP?
Montgomery: We have four pillars or programs that we work on – Heart & Home, heartworm testing and prevention was launched in 2022. Our goal is to make sure we’re not only educating pet parents but also providing lifesaving treatment. We provide heartworm meds and testing supplies, and we are partnering with Boehringer Ingelheim, and that has been incredible. Through the generosity of our partners, sponsors and members, we have been able to donate over $750,000 worth of lifesaving treatments to shelters and animal rescues to help prevent heartworms.
We started out supporting two organizations, including Paws Humane Society and Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter. We have added four more partners this year in Texas and Florida.
On the home front and protecting pets, we want to make sure if an animal goes missing, that pet gets home safely. Many people don’t have their pets microchipped and importantly, registered. We have microchips and tags donated and provide them to pet parents free of charge. Through our members, we are also able to provide leashes and collars, and we serve the underserved with this program. We believe Heart & Home will help decrease the amount of people who bring their animals back to a shelter because of heartworm disease, and greatly reduce the euthanasia rate.
We also have a national microchip registry on our site that is free of charge. Anyone can sign up for free. With 1 in 3 pets going missing, it’s so important to microchip your pet. Additionally, there can be barriers to signing up and this needs to be easy, free and accessible to all. It’s also not just about registering the microchip, it’s also about updating your information so that they can indeed find you if your pet gets lost.
As for Moose’s March, this is named after my dog Moose, who passed away last year from stage 4 lymphoma. I adopted him when I was CEO for Paws Humane Society. He was a hot mess. During my grieving, I wanted to turn my sadness into something that would honor his legacy. I went to AAPP’s CEO and Founder, Tom Van Winkle with an idea, and he gave me the green light to launch a new program in honor of my Moose. We launched this program in October 2022.
We are currently providing pre-cancer tests, free of charge, to animal welfare organizations and shelters across the country and helping with some cases. People have supported this program with donations and sharing information about the program to their networks. After Moose was diagnosed with cancer, he was gone within six weeks. The AAPP is doing whatever we can do in his honor.
We are also fortunate to have a great relationship with ARCA NASCAR driver, Zachary Tinkle, who has partnered with us to raise awareness about feeding the hungry. We donate food to pet shelters in the areas where Zachary races and, to date, we’ve donated 25,000 pounds of food to shelters.
He’s an up-and-coming racer and he cares about animal rescues and giving back to the community. The AAPP also offers “Laps 4 love,” where people can donate to us for every lap he completes. Whether it’s $1 or $100, that money goes directly to support our programs. We want to impact as many people as possible, teaching them about heartworm, pet cancer, the need for assistance and more, providing the resources they need.
Q: What else would you like people to know about the AAPP?
Montgomery: We’re funded by members, partners and sponsors. Every donation or corporate contribution that comes into the association goes to support our programs. We are a new organization, but we truly are helping people with these lifesaving programs. I know this after seeing first-hand the lifechanging stories and testimonials from animal welfare groups. Members help fund our programs. They allow us to do the work. This is my passion and my calling. I love having the opportunity to do this. I’m very blessed.
With the support of our members who pay $29.99 for one year, along with our sponsors and affiliates that work side by side with us, we can help a shelter buy bags of food, help with heartworm tests, provide cancer tests and more. We can save lives. The sky is the limit.
Knowing that your money impacts a greater good and saves lives, that’s a beautiful thing, right?
Learn more about AAPP’s Animal Advocate program: https://aapp-pets.org/membership-benefits/
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