Meeting of Two Minds

The story of our meeting begins with a dog and a mutual friend.  Dale founded ACRF to provide options for dying or incapacitated people by rehoming their beloved pets.  This meant something to me since I too have witnessed individuals dropping their parents’ pets off at the dog pound for disposal.  Of course, this common scenario contributes to our nation’s high number of euthanasias.  Being moved by Dale’s endeavors I cheered him on and talked frequently about his foundation to anyone who would listen.

As an investment broker, Dale Wintlend worked on ACRF on the weekends but being the numbers guy he is, Dale realized his talent lay with making money (which will be left to the foundation in his estate).  Several times he asked that I help ACRF make a difference.  After long discussions with my spouse and children I spent the fall disentangling myself from my business and officially joined the ranks of ACRF.  Dale has enabled me to grow his dream.  Together we share a belief that it is possible to have a future where no healthy animal should face euthanasia.

We believe grass roots begin in the backyard.  With this in mind, we took our baseline information from our rescue work and expanded our worldview by looking at nationally and internationally known examples.  We do understand that many groups make significant contributions and we are scrutinizing any available resources to learn from their experiences both positive and negative. The field of animal rescue is fractured by different views yet in the end we are still working towards the same goal.  Nationally thousands of non-profit organizations seek the same pots of money.  Funders believe organizations should unify and form alliances to achieve common goals.  At ACRF we feel it is all about the animals and we are seeking like minded individuals and organizations to join with us to make a difference versus working alone, continually affixing band-aids on the problem.  We do not believe in reinventing the wheel.  We believe in connecting the dots.

Today our work is becoming a reality as we acquire information and connect with others who share the same beliefs.  We have conducted in depth research, talked to numerous experts and are currently visiting sites in the United States and England in search of excellent proven ideas and practices to incorporate into our ideology and implementation. The business plan is being written based on what we would like to see at ACRF.  Every thought and idea is with our personal pets in mind and how we would like to ensure the future for our treasured friends.

 

Best Friends, Kanab, Utah

In January 2008 Dale Wintlend, Pam Cheatham (Dogs Deserve Better) and I flew to Las Vegas, rented a car and drove four hours to Best Friends in Kanab, Utah. Best Friends, a sanctuary in the desert has helped lead our nation in improving lives of animals. Faith Maloney, one of the original founders, met us and personally conducted a tour of the sanctuary. Since time was limited we chose to focus on cats and dogs since our facility with initially start in this area.

Pam and Dale at Best Friends.

Everything at Best Friends is first class. They spare no expense on medical bills and they provide quality lives for the animals. When we arrived on our first snowy day we met a horse prancing in the pasture after $17,000 worth of veterinary care and still counting.

Best Friends does not believe in euthanizing healthy animals. However, they do believe in providing the best quality care through veterinary care, exercise and enrichment programs. Last year over 25,000 visitors visited the sanctuary. They are the best example of the ‘build it and they will come’ philosophy.

What is there not to love about Best Friend’s? They should be voted one of the best places in America to work. Employees take their pets to work (many offices have catteries or dog friendly offices) and many of the staff we met had lucrative careers prior to moving to the edge of the Grand Canyon to pursue a passion.

The cats have wonderful indoor/outdoor facilities that are completely disinfected daily. Shelves are placed at varying heights in the interior rooms and the exterior rooms have cat walks near the ceiling with trees angled in different directions allowing the cats to access as much of the cubic space as possible.

Interior view of cattery with shelving and cat walks.

Interior view of cattery with catwalks.

Exterior view of cattery with catwalks.

We met with a writer, the admissions/veterinary departments (for cats and dogs), adoption staff, behaviorists, funding and animal help/assistance.  Needless to say we had non-stop meetings and still did not have enough time.  Faith and the staff at Best Friends were absolutely wonderful to us and it is always nice to visit with others who share the same values and passion.

 

Dogs Trust, London, England

In March 2008 Dale and I embarked on a journey across the Atlantic with my ten-year-old daughter Jacqueline in tow. Jacqueline has known rescue all her life and has a sincere heart for it. Dale frequently jokes that I am leading the foundation and we are training Jacqueline as the next generation to continue the legacy.

First we visited the crown jewel of the Dogs Trust facilities, Harefield. Located on a former 1650s working farm, the “rehoming centre” features a conference center housed in a restored barn and the original home is divided into three residences for the manager and staff. While researching various groups I was impressed with the Dogs Trust for their shelter design and their adoption success (10,500+ dogs adopted out last year). They do not believe in euthanizing healthy dogs.

• The Harefield rehoming centre features the single herringbone design. Kennels are set on the diagonal and do not face other kennels. Each kennel houses one to two dogs each. The herringbone arrangement allows for a quiet facility where one can actually hear the music piped in to the halls.
• The glass front kennel idea came via the San Francisco SPCA. Clarissa Baldwin, Dogs Trust CEO loved the concept. The glass keeps stress down among the dogs, creates a pleasant atmosphere for the potential adopter and the Dogs Trust is able to control the first contact between the pet and the person. Generally when people see a dog, the dog jumps on the fence and the person pets the dog thereby reinforcing the jumping behavior. The glass partition keeps the initial excitement down and the dogs are very calm.
• Adoption success is derived from multiple adoption centers (17); positive attitude and marketing with ‘new beginnings” in mind; and careful screenings to increase success and decrease returns of pets. The return rate is 10-11% yet ideally they would like the numbers to decrease to 5-6%.

An aerial photo from architectural boards showing the historic farm and the new facility.

The 1650s house is divided into three flats used as living quarters for staff.

The 1650s barn to the left has been renovated into a veterinary clinic/operating theatre and barn to the right has been rehabilitated for conference space/tea room. The pond is the original dike that went with the farm.

The 1650s barn rehabilitated into a tea room and conference space with a wonderful handicap accessible ramp incorporated into the landscape.

The spacious lobby of Dog’s Trust with highlighted boards of “sticky”dogs

The kennels overlook the courtyard and it is used for greet and meet between the people and pets.

The puppy play area can be hosed down and the playhouse gives additional space for the puppies to frolic.

 

Woodgreen Animal Shelter, Godmanchester, England

Woodgreen Animal Shelter, one of the top shelters in England, intrigued me for many reasons. One of three facilities, the Godmanchester shelter uses some “green” concepts such as a wind turbine that powers the facility (they sell surplus energy to the power company). Located on 52 acres, other animals besides cats and dogs are also rehomed from here. Staff at Woodgreen has figured out how to incorporate the community into their philosophy so they are part of the community not just a place to go adopt a pet. Weddings are held on site, they have conference amenities, a tea room, a cafeteria, a thrift store and a shop.

The Woodgreen cattery and garden are Japanese. Dennis Baker, CEO of Woodgreen, says each unit can act as an individual isolation unit with a separate air supply to keep outbreaks of illness down. They like this type of cattery because they feel cats receive more attention, and can be viewed more easily especially shy cats. With that said, numbers can’t be disputed . . . the average turn-around rate for adoption of cats from these units is 17 days.

Each unit has an interior and an exterior with a cat door separating the two. The exterior unit feature glass sneeze shields and overlook a landscaped garden with bird feeders for enrichment. This gives the cats something of interest to gaze upon. Constructed of wood, Woodgreen knew the buildings would be a temporary fix, yet have lasted longer than originally anticipated. Plans are underway to reconstruct each building out of brick.

Several catteries grouped together with a Japanese style garden surrounding the buildings.

Japanese style architecture of cattery. These buildings will be reconstructed out of brick.

Cafeteria at Woodgreen supplies additional funding.

 

The Cinnamon Trust, Cornwall and Devon, England

The Cinnamon Trust, founded by Averil Jarvis is one of England’s top animal charities. Dale shared his idea for ACRF 2 years ago with the Humane Society of the United States and was told about the Cinnamon Trust since it is similar in concept to ACRF. With this in mind, the Cinnamon Trust was top on the list of places to visit.

It is the only one of its kind, as Averil Jarvis a top notch perfectionist is proud to acknowledge. They receive pets from people who are dying or incapacitated. She has created an amazing network of 12,500 volunteers who provide “long-term” foster care for the pets in their private homes. Volunteers have custody of the pets until the pets pass away yet the Cinnamon Trust retains ownership and oversees promises made to the original owners.

The Cinnamon Trust strongly believes in homeopathic remedies and the pets are fed three home cooked meals a day – no processed food. Veterinary medicine is utilized but not if the pet can be treated naturally. If a pet is unable to be placed in a “long-term” home, they go to one of two sanctuaries the Cinnamon Trust owns. The sanctuaries mimic a home environment. The dogs have individual rooms with sofas, rugs, televisions and caregivers. A manager lives on site and is representative of the “mum” with additional caregivers cleaning, grooming, exercising and loving them like “Aunts”.

The cattery is similar with individual rooms, sofas, televisions, etc., except each room has its own garden accessed by a cat door. Each garden is different and designed to provide interest/enrichment for the cats. Landscaping is incorporated inside and outside the enclosed garden with bird feeders outside the enclosures.

View of the cage free dog house with open rooms, sofas, televisions and rugs.

Entrance into the dog house with a view through the building

One of the individual gardens in the cat house.

 

Saying Goodbye

Prior to the trip to the U.K., Dale’s eleven-year-old Rotweiler mix Gretchen was diagnosed with cancer. Dale made arrangements with his vet in case something happened yet he was optimistic everything was going to be fine. Unfortunately half way through the trip Dale received the call. Gretchen went into a coma and had to be put to sleep. That evening Jacqueline and I tried to quietly cheer Dale up over dinner, but we called it an early evening and left Dale to grieve.

Upon returning home I found my fourteen year old Yorkshire terrier was not doing well. I knew something was wrong because he didn’t look right. I took him to the vet and tried antibiotics but Mason declined fast. After wrestling with guilt and the decision before me I let him go. The week after the trip to England was solemn but now Dale and I are back at work dreaming of making a difference for others.