“Violet,” a 2-year-old Ibizan Hound, was in bad shape when she first arrived at Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) in Walnut Creek, Calif. Abandoned on a busy road, the stray dog was pregnant and sick, struggling with kennel cough and distemper.

Holly Belknap, an ARF volunteer for three years, was assigned to socialize Violet. She quickly fell in love with the gentle stray and adopted the dog. Violet now lives a good life with Belknap and her husband, Darrin, who also is an ARF volunteer. Their animal family includes “Misty,” a 14-year-old Australian Shepherd rescue, five rescue cats, and a menagerie of foster cats.

Happy endings are a common occurrence at ARF, a no-kill animal rescue organization in the San Francisco Bay Area that has been matching abandoned dogs and cats with loving owners since 1991. Last year, ARF placed 675 cats and 933 dogs into forever homes.

Tony La Russa, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, and his wife, Elaine, founded ARF after a stray cat wandered onto the field during a televised baseball game in 1990 between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees. To his dismay, La Russa discovered there weren’t any animal shelters in the Bay Area offering a “no-kill” policy.

Knowing the cat had a good chance of being euthanized in one of the overcrowded shelters, the La Russas chose to find a home for the cat on their own. This experience was the unofficial beginning of ARF, a no-kill animal rescue organization dedicated to bringing people and animals together to enrich each other's lives.

Their mission flourishes at ARF’s 37,700-square-foot, state-of-the-art community center that opened in August 2005. At any given time, the facility can hold up to 70 dogs and 140 cats, with additional animals living in homes with 143 dedicated volunteer foster families.

The La Russas maintain their original goal of finding caring homes for abandoned animals, while also educating the public on the importance of controlling pet overpopulation through spay-and-neuter programs. In addition, ARF has expanded to include outreach programs, such as Teaching Loving Care (TLC), Visiting Animals Program (VAP) and many others.

A Hands-On Leader
Although La Russa is heavily committed to his baseball career, he represents more than just a figurehead at ARF. During the four-month off-season, he spends many hours fundraising.

“Tony is a hands-on leader,” says Gaye McDuff, director of volunteer services for ARF. “We have two volunteer appreciation parties each year where Tony personally thanks the volunteers for their service. Our volunteers know that Tony isn’t just lending his name to a good cause, rather he’s truly passionate about animal rescue.”

Today, ARF has over 500 volunteers who donate their time helping in various ways. Some help to socialize animals, while others work as adoption counselors, greeters, foster families, and even in day-to-day operations.

“Our volunteer hours make up more than half of our full-time staff,” says Elena Bicker, executive director of ARF. “We try to match their desires and skills where they can make the most difference, and we have a high retention rate. Our volunteers are the lifeline of our organization.”

Barry and Janelle Clark are two of ARF’s most committed volunteers. Since 1994, the Martinez, Calif., couple has volunteered approximately 900 hours each year working at ARF and assisting with special events and adoption programs. They also have fostered numerous ARF animals and have personally adopted two dogs and seven cats from the organization.

“What sets ARF apart from other rescue organizations is its People Connect programs,” says Janelle Clark, who works full-time as an elementary schoolteacher and has helped ARF design and implement educational programs on pet responsibility.

An example is ARF All-Stars, a humane education program in which elementary schoolchildren learn about responsible pet care and understanding pet behavior. Complimentary lesson plans are available on the ARF Web site and can be downloaded for children to learn about animals through interactive games.

“We try to reach children of all ages about caring for animals,” says Beth Needel, ARF’s People Connect director. “Our programs are very positive and our goal is to help future generations be more knowledgeable about being kind to animals.”

The Clarks also participate in ARF’s Visiting Animals Program in which volunteers take certified animals for visits with more than 30,000 residents in skilled nursing and assisted living facilities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

“One of our cats, ‘Matt,’ whom we adopted from ARF, has the perfect personality to visit the patients and residents at these facilities,” Janelle Clark says. “He is very calm and loves to purr in people’s laps.”

“Tony strongly believes that not only can people rescue animals, but also animals can rescue people,” Needel says. She cites ARF’s Teaching Loving Care (TLC) program as an example of an animal-assisted therapy program that has transformed lives.

Through this program, ARF collaborates with the Chris Adams Girls Center, a county facility for high-risk young women in the juvenile justice system

in Martinez, Calif. Girls participate in a three-month program in which they are paired with shelter cats with a mission of training and socializing the cats so they can be successfully adopted. The program provides animal-assisted mental health therapy for the girls while also helping to train the abandoned cats.

“The girls work to redirect the behaviors of the cats and in the process the cats also transform the girls,” says Needel. “Many of these girls have never cared for anyone before. They learn how to be patient and loving and they have a sense of pride seeing how they have made a difference in the cats’ lives.”

Providing Homes for Animals
While most animals come to ARF fairly healthy, some have had heartbreaking beginnings. “Cleo,” a Collie-terrier puppy, was brought to ARF with serious injuries after being attacked by dogs and abandoned on the streets of Richmond, Calif.

“Cleo needed intensive medical attention in order to survive,” says Bicker. The young puppy went through many surgeries and procedures paid for through ARF’s Hope Fund designated to help animals needing immediate medical intervention.

Fortunately, Cleo’s story has a happy ending. Once she recovered, a loving family adopted her. “She’s doing very well,” Bicker says. “We hear she likes to go on long walks and to play Frisbee.”

For most animals rescued from shelters, the introduction to ARF is routine. After being temperament tested, vaccinated, spayed or neutered, and microchipped, the animals are placed in a glass dog or cat condo to meet potential adopters. Volunteers such as Holly Belknap help to socialize the animals.

“We work very hard to match animals with appropriate families,” Bicker says. “For example, if a dog is young and playful, we want to match her with a family who can meet her everyday needs.”

Volunteer adoption counselors, such as Janelle Clark, interview potential adopters to help them determine the best pet for their lifestyle, experience and living situation. Entire families, including family dogs, are required to go through the screening process in order to adopt an animal. A dog adoption includes seven dog training classes through ARF University, a program that helps families teach their new pet skills such as walking on a leash and obeying basic commands.

As a nonprofit organization, ARF relies heavily on the support and generosity of volunteers and donors. Each year, ARF sells a celebrity pet calendar sponsored by Purina that showcases celebrities and their pets. Two of ARF’s fundraisers, ARF Rocks! and Stars to the Rescue, both hosted by Tony La Russa, are held each January. Proceeds from these events help to support outreach programs and to retire the $1.2 million facility debt.

ARF hopes to increase the number of animals saved through more adoptions and by increasing foster homes. “The facility is always full and we’re unhappy when we have to turn away an animal. However, we need to stay within our resources,” Bicker says.

Many of the staff members, including Bicker, have adopted dogs or cats from ARF, and the animals often accompany them to work. In Bicker’s office, “Kayla,” a 15-year-old Golden Retriever, and “Sadie,” a 6-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever, sit quietly on dog beds watching intently as she works.

“Sadie was surrendered at 5 months of age and then tragically floated through two disappointing homes,” Bicker says. “Her outgoing nature wasn’t directed by training, and she was shuffled from house to house. Deemed unacceptable and too spirited by both families, Sadie was rescued by ARF.”

Bicker adopted Sadie and the ball-obsessed pooch is a member of ARF’s VAP program. Alongside Kayla, Sadie visits with seniors and patients in assisted living facilities. “It’s personally rewarding to see how Sadie has embraced the community with both paws,” Bicker says.

Sadie’s adoption is one of countless happy endings that ARF has helped to bring about by providing loving care, training and socialization for each and every animal it rescues. ©

How to Reach ARF
Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) is located at 2890 Mitchell Drive in Walnut Creek, CA. For information, please visit www.arf.net or call (925) 256-1273.