The past few weeks I have had quite a few questions about why the town needs two shelters and comments have been made that taxpayer money funds The Ark. The questions are valid and I just want to set the record straight.
The Ark is run totally from donations, grants and fundraising. We receive no town or state funding and we do not contract with any towns for a fee. We work very hard and our volunteers are the best. We have no paid employees. At the end of the day there are no paychecks, sick time or vacations. Our volunteers do what they do because they want to make a difference and they love animals. As far as the town needing two shelters, both shelters are full most of the time, so you you tell me if there is a need.
The Ark is a sanctuary for animals with absolutely no other alternative. It is not a shelter to take in the town’s strays, although we receive phone calls daily about taking in animals. Our first comment is to ask callers if they have contacted their local shelter and we encourage everyone to do that. If the animal in question is refused at the local shelter, then of course we try to help.
Please keep in mind we do not have a facility at this time but we are getting closer to completion with every passing day. We are limited as to what we can take because everything goes into foster care and we have six cages here at the salon.
We have had our ups and downs. We lost everything in an instant to a devastating fire, but we pulled ourselves back up and continued with our work. There is no time for sympathy or feeling sorry for yourself in animal rescue.
The building you see at the sanctuary ground is built with our blood, sweat and tears. Yes, we received the full $80,000 from the insurance and, yes, that is a lot of money. The building that stands before you is worth a whole lot more than $80,000; it is well over $100,000, and yes, it is paid for in full.
How did we accomplish this? We have worked our fannies off fundraising and we also have some very generous supporters who have made donations because they believe in our mission as much as we do. Anyone can walk in and ask to see our paperwork, tax records, annual reports, financial records, etc. It is all here in a notebook. We have nothing to hide. We are very transparent. Yes, we are a 501c3, and we have that documentation as well. Any 501c3 has to have this information on hand at all times for the public to view.
Our board members are listed on our website. We are a working board and each and every board member knows The Ark inside and out. We are proud of our organization and we feel that our work stands on its own merits.
So once again, does the town need two shelters? In my mind there can never be enough animal rescue organizations. There are just too many homeless animals out there. As long as people continue to let their pets go unaltered the need will continue to be there.
Please join us as Emma the monster elf kicks off the holiday season with the monster holiday drive. Donations of pet supplies and all things pet-related can be dropped off at The Hollywood Pet Salon and Town & Country now through Christmas.
Thank you for reading our column and, as always, thank you for your continued support.
