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History
- About Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter
The Friends For the Dearborn Animal
Shelter (the Friends or FFDAS) was formed in 1993 by a small group of people who wanted to
improve the conditions for the animals at the Shelter and promote their adoption
into loving homes. The Friends is a private, non-profit organization
dedicated to helping homeless and owned animals.
The
Dearborn Animal Shelter is owned by the City of Dearborn and is managed by the
Police Department.
The Shelter
enjoys a "scenic" location between the City Transfer Station and the
Waterworks and prior to the Friends involvement, was run as a “pound”. When
we began in 1993, there was no adoption screening and animals were sold for $5.
We
worked closely with the Mayor and the Chief of Police and in 1995 submitted
a proposal to the City to actually run the Shelter.
This was approved by the City Council and in July of 1996, we took
over. We hired a licensed
veterinary technician to manage the Shelter and instituted significant
policy changes. All animals
adopted from our Shelter are now fully vaccinated, spayed or neutered,
and are identified by a microchip. We
also participate over 50 community outreach programs including low cost
spay/neuter clinics, offsite adoptions, City events, and a golf outing
in June. We care for over
2,500 animals a year at the Shelter and are grateful for our more than
100 active volunteers. You
can visit our web site at www.dearborn-animals.com
for more information on us.
Our
dream has always been to build a new Shelter facility and we are so excited that
we are now in the finance and design phases.
It is being planned as a true community service and will offer not only
homeless animal care and adoptions but also a retail store and various services
including training, boarding, and grooming.
Our proposed new location is right next to the new Dearborn Civic Center.
You will go to the Civic Center for the human members of your family and
to our Animal Adoption and Education Center for the pet members of your family.
Although
we receive a subsidy from the City that covers a portion of our operating costs
for the Shelter, we are totally
dependent upon donations and fund raisers for our operation.
Our
major accomplishments to date include:
| 1993 |
- Friends organization
formed and recognized by the City
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| 1994 |
- In partnership with
the City, totally reconstructed the cat room at the Shelter.
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| 1995 |
- Produced our first
newsletter - Paw Prints
- Made proposal to City
that Friends operate the Shelter
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| 1996 |
- City issues contract
to Friends to operate the Shelter
- Hired professional
staff to operate the Shelter
- Initiated vaccination
program
- Initiated adoption
screening
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| 1997 |
- Rebated operational
subsidity money to the City
- Won a Michigan
Municipal Award for innovative achievements in government
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| 1998 |
- Initiated mandatory
spay/neuter program in partnership with local veterinarians
- Initiated mandatory
microchip identification program
- Completed major
facilities improvements including an isolation ward
- Completed our Cage
Campaign to obtain sponsors for 70 new stainless steel cages
- Conducted the 5th
Annual Critter Invitational (golf outing)
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| 1999 |
- Participated in over
60 events with the community - more than 1 per week
- Complete major
facilities improvements including dog runs, a security system,
interior and exterior signage and other improvements
- Partnered with Brian
and De Moehler and the Detroit Tigers to produce a Tigers and Shelter
calendar as well has participation in several community events
- Launched the web site
and began posting adoptable animals
- City sponsored a
recognition dinner and ceremony for major donors and active volunteers
- Began first
merchandise sales
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| 2000 |
- Obtained leader,
initiated strategy, and received preliminary City approval for a new
Shelter facility -- the Dearborn Animal Adoption and Education Center
(AEC)
- Participated in
nearly 70 events -- half of which involved animal adoptions
- Adopted a new logo
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| 2001 |
- Commissioned the
design of the new Shelter Facility and conducted reviews with the
City, Advisory Board, Volunteers, and Staff
- Participated in over
90 events
- Deployed an adult pet
education class through the Dearborn Adult Education Program
- Presented 19 pet
education sessions with workbooks to 475 3rd graders in 11 elementary
schools through our Wags and Whiskers Program. To
date, over 1,038 students have been exposed to this animal education
program.
- Conducted our first
Black Tie and Tails dinner, dancing, and auction event
- Initiated a grant
application program and applied for 15 grants
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| 2002 |
- Saved 65% of the animals
- Achieved 43,000 hours of volunteer time
- Remained financially healthy during
difficult economic times
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2008 |
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Provided
loving care for over 2,100 animals
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Had over
11,500 visitors come into the shelter
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Found the
owners of 227 lost pets
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Adopted over
1,100 deserving pets into good homes - see our
Happy Tails
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Were able
to add 2 more trailers to our Cat
Community Center to house another 30 kitties
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Began
our
Recycl-a-Bullz program. This program is targeted to help
bully breed dogs, specifically pit bulls by promoting responsible
guardianship of these dog through responsible placement, education,
humane training and exercise methods. With all the talk about
BSL, breed specific legislation, it is very important that we
work to educate the pubic, public officials and the media, about
the truth of these dogs and what wonderful companion pets they
can be.
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Have
over
500 volunteers
on our roster- 300 adults and 200 students
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Received some
good Media coverage
o WDIV
(channel 4) 11:00 news
o Sandy
Kovach at Smooth Jazz 98.7
o Jyl
Forsyth at WYCD Young Country 99.5
o Press
and Guide - our sincere thanks to Sean Delaney for writing and
printing stories through
the year
o Mary
Lendosion- Adopt a Pet section in the Free Press
o On
going support and features on CDTV. They are currently airing
segments on the shelter
on Meet you Council which highlights
Black Tie and the Mayor’s Forum which highlights the
Fox 2 program.
o
Fox 2 – Weekend morning show plus having the honor of being
selected over hundreds of
nominees for the Gift of Giving
special.
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Met our budget
objectives and were able to contribute to our Rainy Day Fund
(please check back in February for a complete list of all our
generous donors)
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Again
met our goal of saving ALL of our adoptable
animals
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2009 |
2009 Was A Very Busy Year for the Friends
with many challenges and
opportunities. We'll never forget it and we'll always be grateful.
Thank you for your
incredible help. Together we achieved success and were able to
provide loving care for all the many animals who came to us this year
seeking help and a second chance.
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Adoption rates:
Shelter Visitors |
– The
significant increases in animal intake are attributable to 3 hoarding
situations and 2 cat colony rescues (207 additional animals) and animal
surrenders from a poor economy.
– The
end-of-year population in the shelter is 306 or double what it was at
the end of 2008. We need your help -
see our adoptable animals.
– For
the 8th straight year, 100% of all adoptable animals were saved.
Approximately 65% of the animals who find their way to the shelter were
able to be saved. On a national average, shelters euthanize 70% of the
animals they receive.
A total of
33,835 individuals and families visited the shelter, up 22%
from 2008 |
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Volunteers:
On roster |
859
(approximately 407 adults; 452 students)
Hours donated are the
equivalent of 51 employees |
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Special Programs |
One of the few organizations
to accept youth under the age of 16. One of the training sites for the
ARKAY and Step training program for mentally and developmentally
challenged adults. One of the employment sites for AARP. |
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Events:
Community and
Education
Offsite Adoptions
Fundraising
City of
Dearborn
Volunteer
Administrative |
Over 200 including Low Cost
Sterilization and Microchip Clinics, Puppy and Dog Training
Classes, Bully Splash Bash, and more
22 at several different
locations (including Detroit Lions and Red Wings games)
Over 25 including:
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Black Tie and Tails
Dinner, Dance, and Auction
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Critter Invitational
Golf Outing
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Mutt Strut Dog Walk
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Cool Cat Casino Night,
Pet Photos, and others
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3rd party
sponsored events from Kiernan's Hogs for Dogs, Bailey’s Grille and Pub,
Aleta Sill’s Bowling
World in Farmington, and many others
Homecoming and Memorial Day
Parade
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Public Relations |
– News
about the Friends appeared in at least 10 international publications
from Taiwan to Australia, 30 national publications from USA Today to the
New York Times, 12 statewide publications from Detroit Free Press to
Lansing State Journal and Grand Rapids Press. Stories were carried on
all major television networks including ABC News, CBS News, Fox News,
and
MSNBC as well as 13 out of state network affiliates from Seattle to
Orlando and over 70 web portals including MSNBC.com, UPI.com, AOL.com/news,
YahooNews, and blogs on Twitter and Facebook.
– The
Friends now appear regularly on Fox 2 (monthly), CDTV (30 minute monthly
program airing repeatedly), and in a column in the monthly publication
School Life. |
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Financial
(preliminary numbers)
Sources of
Funds
Use of Funds |
Donations 42%, Events 29%,
Adoption and Shelter Fees 15%, City Subsidy 9%, Other 5%
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Supporter Demographics |
During 2009, the following
came from outside of Dearborn - 68%
of adoptive families, 60% of volunteers, 68% of donors, and a total of
56% of the 33,835 records on our database. |
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