Lance McCullers and Houston Pets Alive Help to Save Dogs/Cats

Lance McCullers Tries to Save Pets in Houston

The Houston Astros young pitcher Lance McCullers has gotten off to a fast track with his big league debut last year. McCullers has had a busy offseason by getting married and preparing for year two of his MLB career, but he recognizes how lucky his is to be playing baseball. Some of the Astros young players have joined up with an organization to give back to the community, as George Springer with the SAY working with young people who stutter and Carlos Correa has been constantly involved in charity work since the beginning.

McCullers was looking for something to give back to the community, so he found the Houston Pets Alive because his new bride is very passionate about not letting animals be euthanized. He got involved with them in reaching out to them. The HPA gets a list of animals who are about to be euthanized, and then someone goes and rescues them and then tries to find a new home every Saturday. This is why McCullers decided to get involved because he believes in what they are doing.

As soon as McCullers arrived at the charity, he was rushed over to the guys at Talking Stros, who talk Astros baseball on KTXF-The Reel, part of the Texas Sports Review Network. He had just flown in from Tampa Florida and will be appearing at a Tri-Star Sports Collection Convention tomorrow along with slugger A.J. Reed. McCullers said that he loves Houston, but he plans on living in Tampa because that’s where his heart is, with his family.

We had a chance to sit down with McCullers, let’s see what he had to say.

CTH/TexSR: There has been talk about the innings restrictions on you this year again, are you ready to take the ball every fifth day, or are they going to try to save you for October?

McCullers: Those aren’t my decisions, but if it were my decision, it would be every fifth day from April to October. Hopefully, we win the World Series at the end of October or in November, and I have been training really hard in Tampa this offseason, trying to get ready for 2016. I want my body to last because the fans want to see us back in the playoffs again.

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CTH/TexSR: So you want the ball the second or third day of the season?

McCullers: I want the ball the first day of the season, but that is Dallas Keuchel‘s day. The arm feels great, I’ve been throwing a couple of pens, I have had good communication with A.J. Hinch. We want to go into spring training smart and healthy and ramp me up at the right pace to get ready for the season. The body feels awesome, and my mind feels good.

CTH/TexSR: We talked to A.J. Reed a few weeks back, he said that Brett Phillips was unable to go to his wedding because he was going to your bachelor party.

McCullers: Brett was in my groomsman party, so if A.J. had him in his groomsman party, maybe he would have been there, but he was in mind, and I am glad. Phillips is a good friend of everyone; that’s the great thing about Brett.

CTH/TexSR: What does it feel like to know going into camp that you are the guy this year?

McCullers: It’s a good feeling, I took it seriously this offseason and trained, I think it will be a different feel because each year you go to minor league camp, you have to try to impress as many people as you can. But for me this year, I get to go in a little more relaxed and get ready for the season.

CTH/TexSR: How did you get involved with HPA?

McCullers: It’s an interesting story, my wife and I both have a strong passion for animals and through social media and friends we realized how big a hear that the HPA organization was. I was looking to team with someone, and we were very fortunate to be able to be blessed enough to be teamed with them with the amazing work/passion that they show. It’s something that I can really relate to, so I am happy about our first event, we are looking for many more months and years of good things to come.

CTH/TexSR: Have they talked to you about a set inning limit?

McCullers: no, like I said, we don’t wnt to talk about Octobers problems in April. We have to start the season strong and win every game possible; we saw how import down the stretch, winning those early games last year helped. We want to get as many wins as we can throughout the season, if at a certain point we are comfortable shutting me down for a little while, that’s up to them.

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CTH/TexSR: Which player are you most interested in seeing during spring training?

McCullers: Probably seeing Colby Rasmus again, he is a really big family man, we haven’t crossed paths much this offseason.

CTH/TexSR: The clubhouse got so much publicity with Club Astros, is it a great place to go to work at Minute Maid Park?

McCullers: Yes, it’s one of those things that you elevate yourself to the level that the team is playing with the atmosphere around it, even when you are not playing that well. As long as you are having fun and we continue to support each other, it brings that great atmosphere and the wins.

We also got to speak with HPA founder Andrea, I still don’t know her last name, but she has made it her passion to save these pets from being euthanized. Let’s see what she had to say.

Andrea, the founder of HPA /

CTH/TexSR: What can you tell us about HPA?

Andrea: So Houston Pets Alive is a no-kill rescue and advocacy group, every day we receive a list from Harris County Animal Control with the animals that they are going to euthanize that day, and we pull the pets from that list and place them in loving forever homes. We just want to create no-kill in Houston, and we are excited about our partnership with Lance. He and his wife are really helping us spread awareness that rescuing is important.

CTH/TexSR: My wife is very passionate about this, I have heard a lot about this, what barriers are there to making a city as large as Houston to be no-kill?

Andrea: I believe in no-kill, and it’s a process, and it won’t haven overnight, it includes raising awareness and get them out of the shelters and into loving homes. All animals are spayed and neutered as well as being microchipped, I believe in it, and I don’t think we are far from it

CTH/TexSR: Why should someone come out next Saturday and adopt a pet?

Andrea: When you adopt one of our animals, they are already spayed neutered, they come vaccinated, and they come microchip chipped, so it’s a great bang for your buck. A lot of them are already in foster homes, so you will know what their behavior and demeanor. You save a life a life.

CTH/TexSR: In a typical Saturday, how many adoptions do you do?

Andrea: We are here every Saturday with the dogs, but the Cats remain 24-hours a day with Petsmart. We do about 10-20 adoptions a week with Lance’s support, this could rise.

CTH/TexSR: How did you get McCullers to join your organization?

Andrea: He actually reached out to us because of his passion for the cause, he found us on social media and liked what we do. He believes in our mission of making Houston no-kill. Lance is the most genuine person you will ever meet.

Next: Houston Astros: Time To Remain Cautiously Optimistic

Thanks, Lance and Andrea for your passion for Houston Pets Alive, if you would like to help the, make Houston a no-kill you, you need to make it out to Petsmart on 8380 Westheimer from 11 am to 3:30 pm. Help make a pet find their forever home.

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