8. Animal Defense League

Robert and I were so thrilled to do this next story. The whole purpose of writing these stories is to share information about really great places that everyone in San Antonio may not be familiar with. For years Robert and the family at Art Incorporated had actually been patrons of the Animal Defense League (ADL), but I had never heard of it. Nearly once a month for the last two years, my friends would take me to the “other places” to see if I would either buy or adopt a dog or cat, never once getting me to give in. One visit to the Animal Defense League to do this story and look what I adopted! Meet Jumeirah, my new puppy!

I’m going to try my hardest to not be biased about writing this story, but c’mon, there has to be some reason why none of the other places appealed to me for so long. I know, I know… all animals need our help, but maybe it had something to do with a constant worry of whether or not animals at other shelters were in good health or not. I never wanted to buy one from a store as that seems wrong on so many levels. But when you show up at the Animal Defense League and you see that they are located on 12 1/2 acres of land that is as pristine as a golf course, it seems reasonable that the animals here were being well taken care of.

First we met with Cone Wells, Director of Business Operations. Although Cone has only been with the ADL for a little over half a year, you wouldn’t guess it as you’re listening to his in-depth knowledge of ADL’s history (look how happy he is despite all of that paperwork on his desk!). Cone brings to the ADL a wealth of business, management and financial experience that he is using to fuel his passion for the welfare of animals. Cone gave us the background on ADL’s history:

The Animal Defense League was established in 1934 by a group of individuals, “for the prevention of cruelty to animals; to promote kind and humane treatment of animals; and to aid and assist the enforcement of laws enacted for the prevention of animal cruelty.”

As we listened to him, you could tell he was as sincere as they come, as if he had written that mission statement himself the day he arrived. Cone is a genuine man that truly believes in what he’s been called to do. The countless animals that come through the ADL can only benefit from his passion.

Cone shared with us some amazing facts that we think San Antonio should know. The ADL is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that relies on grants, individual donors and corporate support. They are a true NO-KILL SHELTER for abandoned, abused, or neglected dogs and cats and are advocates for San Antonio becoming a no kill city. The ADL also has a volunteer force of over 1,000 individuals! Every other Saturday, persons interested in volunteering can go to the ADL and pay a small fee (offsetting the costs of shirts, etc) and attend an orientation. This is to provide tons of information to make your next visit go as smoothly as ours did and is overseen by a volunteer coordinator who then places volunteers in the areas most suited to them. This has been going on in San Antonio for over 75 years!

As we’re going through all of this information with Cone, we then meet the Executive Director, Janice Darling. Janice has been with the ADL since March but brings over 20 years of non-profit management in San Antonio with her. Simply a fun person to be around, you can tell straight away that, not only is she on a mission, but the two of them are exactly on the same page. Listening to her speak was like hearing Cone speak all over again and that is a terrific sign for any business. Although their responsibilities are very different, their philosophy on the direction of the ADL is precisely shared.

Janice further elaborates on what Cone started and shared the importance of their low cost spay/neuter program (also available to the public). With a surgical room containing two tables where one animal can be operated on while another is being prepped, no matter the need, last year alone over 6,000 animals were spayed or neutered. As many as 60 have been accomplished in one day. To give you perspective, a vet’s office, on a busy day, may perform five or six. If you’ve lived in San Antonio for any length of time you can appreciate the necessity of such a program as there are countless animals roaming around without food, shelter or love.

What’s interesting about Janice’s approach is that she absolutely wants to avoid the negative. Of course all of the animals that go through any facility are in dire straits. She prefers to focus on the positive and there’s plenty of it! As we’re sitting there she pulls up an email from a recent adopter. The new owner sent in a series of pictures showing how her new pet had gone to the park, Starbucks, the mall, got a new bed, etc. It was essentially a daily journal showing the great life this dog (who incidentally had one of his legs amputated) was being afforded as a direct result of the ADL. They have a stringent adoption process in order to promote not only a loving home, but one that will be permanent. Every animal that goes out will be microchipped as well as spayed or neutered. The staff knows everything and anything whilst I knew practically nothing and proceeded to ask over half an hour worth of questions about Jumeirah, my beautiful Belgian Sheepdog puppy (hey, write your own blog and you can plug your puppy as well).

The catch-22 is that, in order to take in more animals, they need to adopt more out. All we can do is ask. Just take a few moments and think of all the things you do that may not be rewarding. Now imagine changing the life of an animal, as well as those that get loved by that animal, forever. It can be a puppy or a kitten or an adult animal. If you want to see how happy animals can be, visit them. ADL has done the hard part. They have all received the best medical attention, are well-fed, treated with compassion and are pre-loved and cared about. Please go by and change a life.

Cone and Janice took us on a tour and we couldn’t believe our eyes—it was like walking through a beautiful campus. As we’re walking they both take turns telling Robert and I about all of the many programs and services available. It’s best that I share this in a bullet format. Each of these an be found with more in-depth information on their website at adltexas.org.

1. Onsite tours
2. Visiting schools to educate children
3. Foster Care
4. Medical Foster Care
5. Older Pet Program
6. Microchipping and Pet Insurance
7. Pet Therapy Program
8. Spay/Neuter Services
9. Sponsoring an animal
10. Volunteer programs

OK, the list could actually keep going, but I shared what I could write down as fast as they were saying it. It’s truly unbelievable what the ADL provides to our city, but more importantly, how well they do it. If you are a business owner reading this, or are in charge of charitable giving for your business, this could be exactly what you’ve needed to find. As we were going on the tour of the campus, we saw something really cool that is worth mentioning. They have a Thrift Shoppe on-site that is one of San Antonio’s best kept secrets. Go there! The money earned from sales goes right back into running the facility. If you are thinking of just giving away stuff, this is the perfect place to to bring your items and help the ADL. This is my invitation to every person reading this story as well as every person who has ever adopted to consider taking one item (more if you can) to the Thrift Shoppe and buying one item (more if you can) while you are there. A simple act can make major waves and have such an impact.

I could write about the ADL for pages and pages but now it’s best that you go for a visit yourself . They are located at 11300 Nacogdoches Road. We highly recommend you look at their Facebook Page where they already have a huge following and check out all the great pictures of animals waiting for you to come get them! The Animal Defense League is in the hands of not only 1,000 volunteers and great employees, but the hands of two remarkably humble, dedicated, genuine individuals who truly love animals, Cone and Janice. We leave you with this pic of Cone and his friend.

Whoknewsanantonio is the work of Art Incorporated and Sharjah Brand Knew. If you like these stories and want to read a new one every day, click “like” on the whoknewsanantonio.com Facebook widget at the top right of this page!

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