Meet Alexandria Byler | Board Member & Social Media/Data Entry Coordinator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alexandria Byler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexandria, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
One thing that outsiders are unaware of most of the time is the fact that we are a foster home based rescue. We heavily rely on every single foster home for all aspects of a cat or kitten’s time within the rescue. The home sets the kitten up for success by the dedication and love of a foster family; we always appreciate them opening up their heart and home to each foster that comes through! They usually come in with one or more of the following: sick, skinny, shy, and needing TLC. Our Coordinators are always here to help the families learn and feel more comfortable to take on different cases, but never push their comfort zones too much. The foster families help with every single aspect for their fosters from picking them up, taking them to medical appointments, showing them toys for the first time, baths, helping choose the perfect adoptive families, and even naming them! We love having such a variety of families helping out, yet all having the same end goal of helping kitties in need.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Southern Arizona Cat Rescue is a 501c3 no-profit cat and kitten rescue. Our goal is to help the at risk, orphaned, abandoned, and sick kitties and help make the best difference in their lives. Our focus is mainly on kittens of all ages and moms with babies, however we do take on adults and seniors if we have the capability. We are 100% volunteer based with 4 Board Members and various Coordinators that obtain specific roles and duties. We are located in Tucson, Arizona however, we do not have one location where kitties are kept. We are foster home based and have adoption events weekly. This is one thing that sets us apart from others. We pride ourselves in having foster families extremely involved in the foster/adoption process. Yearly, we have an average of about 50 foster families from all walks of life spread out around Tucson and nearby towns as well. SACR relies on donations, adoption fees, grants, and fundraising events to financially support the rescue including all needed medical care and necessary supplies.
Another thing that sets us apart from other rescues is that we are heavily social media based. We are very open with the public on the journey’s of foster kitties especially medical cases. We tend to take on quite a number of various medical cases each year. These kitties can stay with us for weeks, even months or however long it takes for them to be deemed ready for adoption by our vets and medical coordinator. Raising funds for medical cases through social media has been a big help and growing our platform.
SACR is about to turn 3 years old. Like any business, we’ve had our ups and downs but each year we’ve grown in multiple ways. We have a great backbone of our Board Members and all the amazing volunteers and our supporters to keep our village successful. We got to this point today through this village and the love and dedication for the kitties! We commonly have fosters making extra space in their home and busy lives to fit a few more kittens at risk, helping with TNR (trap/neuter/release) efforts, dropping everything they’re doing to help a kitty in need, and spreading awareness. It’s amazing to be a part of!
We’ve better learned with time how to treat our fosters well and work as a management team amongst the Coordinators. We know it’s a business, but we also still want it to be fun. The passion can cause burnout and an overwhelming feeling to try to save them all, but as a team we are always here for each other and help wherever needed in life for each other.
SACR is truly one of a kind with all the unique volunteers and stories of each and every kitty that comes through on their foster journey!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Places to visit include Mt. Lemmon. It is unique the entire way up with the change of scenery from thousands of Saguaro cacti to lush forest at the top. There is a spot about halfway up with an amazing view that overlooks all of Tucson and the majority of the time you can catch the most beautiful sunset. At the top, there is a cute cookie cottage for a light snack. In the winter, there even is snow at the top that you can see, but also play in! Another must see is the Gates Pass lookout near Saguaro National Park. The sunset view is great and you are surrounded by cacti.
Reid Park Zoo is also a must. It’s not a huge zoo, but they have a lot of dedicated staff and a variety of animals. It makes for a very fun day!
The best wineries are about an hour south of Tucson in Sonoita, but worth the drive! They have unique tastes in both wine and locations. There also are breweries too with great food so they have a mix of options. For dinner before heading back, the only steakhouse there is great!
Brunch is a big hit in Tucson so some places we would go include Oink Cafe (they have a flight of bacon!), Snooze (BEST drinks!), and the Nook which is a cozy little place downtown.
Some other great restaurants that are a must include McGraws (beautiful view of the mountains while dining), Little Anthony’s Diner, and Seis Kitchen. There really are so many options that are yummy and not enough time to try them all! If you’re into hotdogs wrapped in bacon, that is a Tucson staple (the Sonoran dog) and there are many food trucks around serving them. Another one of a kind place only in Tucson is Eegee’s! They have the tastiest frozen treat that’s not a slushie, but not a smoothie and comes in many flavors. They’re perfect for the heat!
Downtown is fun at all times of day. There are many beautiful murals to see and restaurants. Hotel Congress is a must. They have the Cup Cafe for a great brunch and at night, a unique bar setting with live music, djs, food trucks, and Harry Potter shots…yep, shots of alcohol that are lit on fire with a spell cast after they are made. There are also other bars of many styles. Space Bar is another that always stuck out to me because it has huge telescopes that astronomers have available to show amazing views of the moon or planets.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First I would like to shout out Joanne for helping SACR get on our feet! Second, our amazing fosters and coordinators that dedicate all their time and love to all the kitties that come into the rescue.
Third, all of our wonderful supporters. Being completely donation and volunteer based, SACR couldn’t do what we do without the love and support we receive from our village.

Website: www.sacatrescue.org

Instagram: sacatrescue

Twitter: sacatrescue

Facebook: sacatrescue

Other: TikTok: sacatrescue