Tony LaRussa’s Animal Rescue Foundation

“People rescuing animals…Animals rescuing people.”

This is the motto of Tony LaRussa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, located in Walnut Creek, CA. ARF was established in 1991 by former Oakland A’s Manager, Tony LaRussa. This amazing 37,700 square-foot facility rescues dogs and cats from kill shelters mainly from California’s Central Valley area where the euthanasia rate for animals is very high. ARF then spays and neuters these animals as necessary, as well as providing medical attention and behavioral observations as well. When you visit their facility, the animals are housed in cute little “condos.” Information is provided on the outside of each animal’s condo which gives you important character traits of the dog or cat as well as what type of owner the animal would be best for, etc. They really try their hardest to ensure that the animal is going to the best home possible.

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending Maddie’s Pet Adoptathon at Tony LaRussa’s Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek. On Saturday, June 4th, and Sunday, June 5th, all adoption fees were waived at 70 organizations in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Maddie’s Fund covered these fees.

I arrived at 8am to get my ticket number and found I was the 12th person in line to adopt a dog. People had started arriving as early as 4:30am to get their ticket numbers! I returned to ARF at 10am when the doors opened to find a long line of people standing in the rain waiting to be let in to take home a cat or dog. Once I went in, I waited for about an hour while animal after animal was adopted until finally they called my ticket number. After talking for a few minutes with a dog counselor, we discussed what kind of home I have and what type of dog I was looking for. I told her the names of the dogs I had seen that I was interested in. I was given the opportunity to meet 3 different dogs for a few minutes and see which one felt like the right match. With so many people waiting to take home pets that day, I had to make a decision pretty quickly. I ended up going home with this 19 week old female chihuahua mix:

My boyfriend and I named her Chloe and she is sweet as can be. After the weekend, a total of 133 total cats and dogs were adopted from ARF to loving homes! Over 2200 animals in Alameda and Contra Costa counties were adopted by participating organizations. It’s amazing how many animals out there are living in shelters and running out of time and it’s even more amazing that so many loving families were able to give these animals their “forever homes.” It was an overwhelming experience to be at ARF for the Adoptathon and it brought tears to my eyes as I sat waiting for my number to be called and listened to the volunteers announce the names of the animals as they were being adopted and the hearing the crowds cheers after hearing each animal’s name. ARF is a phenomenal organization and if you haven’t had the opportunity to visit their facility and check out all of the loving animals there, I suggest everyone make a visit soon. They still have dogs and cats available who were not adopted at the Adoptathon and they are frequently acquiring more that will be looking for their “forever homes” as well.

For more information please visit www.arf.net and “like” ARF on Facebook.