If you’re thinking about starting a rescue group . . . an animal sanctuary . . . or if you just want to help animals . . .

Here’s how the Best Friends Workshop How to Start An Animal Sanctuary Boosted our Group to Success!

“You don’t have to start an animal sanctuary to help animals.” Faith’s words from six years ago still ring in my ears. I was surprised to hear her say this, especially since I was attending the How to Start an Animal Sanctuary workshop at the time. Now I understand the wisdom in her words. Our small rescue group in Summit County, Colorado has yet to establish a sanctuary, but we’ve been able to help dozens of homeless dogs and cats in other ways. And I know we wouldn’t be where we are today without the guidance and advice we received at the workshop.

In May 2004, I traveled to Best Friends with three kindred spirits, each of us eager to learn all we could from our heroes in the animal rescue world. After a 9-hour drive, we arrived at the Welcome Center and immediately fell under Angel Canyon’s spell. Our excitement radiated to the top of the canyon walls as we checked into our cottages. The magnificent views overlooking the horse pastures and majestic red cliffs beyond elicited “oohs” and “aahs” from all of us.

For the next week we were part of a closely-knit circle of friends, surrounded by like-minded souls with common goals. The sanctuary founders and workshop leaders welcomed us and kept us entertained! We spent a lot of time laughing while we were learning. And the sanctuary tours showed us firsthand what it takes to care for different types of animals – for example, bunny care vs. bird care. Going into the workshop, we weren’t sure how many animal species we wanted to care for. The tours and volunteer opportunities were real eye-openers for us. We decided we’d be better off to stick with what we know best - dogs and cats!

By the end of the week, our heads were spinning with ideas for fundraising, planning, statistics, animal care, training, publicity – well, you get the idea. Luckily each of us received a binder and a CD packed full of information so we could take it all home with us. I still refer to these resources and find them incredibly useful.

I guess if I had to choose the most valuable overall lesson learned during the workshop, it would be this: You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. In other words, the kind folks at Best Friends are willing to share not only their hard-won victories, but the sometimes painful mistakes made during their growth years. They’ve already laid the groundwork for the rest of us to follow on our own unique paths. We didn’t need to start from scratch – what a relief!

And I was delighted to learn that we could adapt many of the Best Friends forms for our own use. After all, they had already thought of everything! For example, they knew which questions to ask potential adopters – including “red flag” questions to weed out potentially unsuitable pet parents.

Returning home to Colorado, we were fired up and ready to begin saving animals! The first task we tackled, though, was applying for our 501(c)3 non-profit status with the IRS. John Fripp kindly offered long-distance advice via telephone as our C.P.A. waded through the paperwork. This not-so-glamorous but very important step enabled us to accept tax-deductible donations within a few months.

We learned that running a non-profit organization is very similar to running a for-profit business. It is, first and foremost, a business venture. Without proper funding, organization, and personnel, even the most ideally minded group of individuals can face failure – and that can mean suffering for the animals in their care.

Our next step was to set up our Board of Directors, file Articles of Organization and By-Laws - and open a bank account!

So what has our organization accomplished since taking the How to Start an Animal Sanctuary workshop 5 years ago?

Even though we haven’t opened an animal sanctuary, we’ve directly fostered and adopted close to 100 dogs and cats into loving homes. And we frequently work with other rescue organizations and shelters to find homes for some of their difficult-to-place pets. By posting these pets on our website and on Internet listings such as petfinder.com, we’ve helped find homes for many more wonderful dogs and cats. Sometimes a little extra publicity can make all the difference for pets that haven’t found a home in their own community.

Although numbers and statistics are important, what keeps our passion alive? Simply this - the privilege of helping an individual precious soul find a better life.

I still remember the first dog we helped. Lassen was a beautiful 12-year old sheltie female whose owner could no longer care for her. After seeing Lassen’s flyer, a Virginia woman fell in love with her and took her home to be part of her family. Seeing a senior pet’s sad face transform to gratitude and smiles is the best!

Of course all of these success stories wouldn’t be possible without funding – and that’s where our donors and supporters make the difference. They’re truly the backbone of our organization.

To date, our biggest undertaking - and our most successful ongoing source of funding – is the boutique-style thrift shop we opened two years ago on Main Street in Breckenridge. Our customers tell us they’re happy to support a good cause and get a bargain at the same time. It’s truly a win-win situation for everyone - most of all for the animals we’ve been able to help with spay/neuter procedures, veterinary care, and behavior training. Plus it’s a great way to go green! By recycling clothing and other household items, we’re helping the planet, too.

And guess where we got the idea for opening a thrift shop? Where else - at the How to Start an Animal Sanctuary workshop! One of the gals in our original group (a self-professed thrift shop queen) brought it up during one of our workshop discussions. Faith told us that some rescue groups fund their entire operations this way.

In addition to our thrift shop, we hold fundraising events several times each year. These have included a Bark Festival at a local park, a 5K race and fun walk, Halloween Pet Photos, Valentine’s Day flower bouquet sales, and booths at local crafts and events fairs. A quarterly newsletter and frequent emails keep our members up to date on our activities – and keep donations coming in. A local restaurant donates a portion of its profits to our group each month, and we’ve been the fortunate recipients of several grants from local foundations. The possibilities for fundraising are endless – but that’s the subject for another Best Friends workshop coming up in October!

By now, we had hoped to establish our own sanctuary . . . but land is expensive in our ski resort community. Most of our volunteers and board members work full time to make ends meet due to the high cost of living. So we’ve adjusted our dreams a bit. We’re currently looking at ways to help an existing Colorado sanctuary build a much-needed facility for homeless dogs. We also purchased a 30-foot travel trailer that we plan to retrofit for mobile adoptions.

And this spring we’ll begin construction on our Cat Casita inside a pet supply store in Fairplay, Colorado. We plan to pattern the interior after the cat rooms at Best Friends – with lots of colorful, whimsical accessories to entertain our cats and attract potential adopters!

So yes, Faith, your statement is true – you don’t have to start a sanctuary to help animals – there are many ways to make a difference: Humane education, spay and neuter assistance, fostering, pet transport, behavior training . . .the list goes on and on.

In reality, it’s not the size of your organization that matters – it’s your philosophy . . . your commitment . . . your compassion. Remain flexible and allow life to guide you in the direction of your heart. The rewards you’ll reap will be boundless!