In the Town of Castle Rock, pet license fees and donations are an important source for funding essential animal services. When you license your pet, know that you are doing your part to help your local shelter workers care for lost, injured and abused animals.
We are proud to call The Buddy Center an official Safe&Happy Partner. We will always donate 20% of every product sale (designer tags, collars and leashes) to The Buddy Center in an effort to provide additional funding for the community’s vulnerable animals and the staff that serves them. They are doing some pretty amazing things for local animals in need. Read on to learn more about this great organization!
By The Numbers
5,500
Animals sheltered
per year
4,000
Adoptions
per year
18
Employees
31,206
Volunteer hours
249
Volunteers
Q&A
Talkin' Shop
What is something you are proud of as an organization? We are very proud of our 111-year legacy of helping people and animals. Our mission statement is “Working with our compassionate community, we will end pet homelessness and animal suffering.” The Dumb Friends League is guided by compassion in everything we do and in every interaction we have with people and animals. We strive each and every day to save homeless animals’ lives while ensuring that animals have a good quality of life and the highest quality of care. And we recognize and appreciate the fact that our organization would not be able to make a life-changing difference for so many animals in need without the support of our entire community.
What is something that makes your shelter unique? One thing that makes the Dumb Friends League unique is the Harmony Equine Center. The Dumb Friends League Harmony Equine Center™ is a private rehabilitation and adoption facility for abused and neglected horses, ponies, donkeys and mules that have been removed from their owners by law enforcement authorities. The Harmony Equine Center also serves as a central hub where horses from humane societies and rescue groups can receive training and rehoming. Since Harmony opened in 2012, more than 2,030 horses have been helped.
Located near Franktown, CO, the 168-acre facility includes three sizable, well-equipped barns for intake, training and adoptions, 26 pastures and turnouts, two indoor riding arenas and an education center. Our knowledgeable, professional staff and dedicated volunteers provide safe shelter, nutritious feed, top-quality care and training to the equines at the center. Once the animals are restored to health, they are made available for adoption to responsible new owners.
What is a program you run that is important for people to know about? Working Cat Program - Cats that come to our shelters with temperaments and histories better suited to an outdoor lifestyle can be placed with caring owners. These working cats thrive when they have a job in a barn, stable or other outdoor settings.
To ensure the safety and health of these unique animals, adopters must provide food, shelter and medical care. Before placement, all working cats receive spay/neuter surgery, a microchip ID and all required vaccinations and testing for viral diseases. We place approximately 100 cats a year into working cat homes from the Buddy Center shelter and 500 a year through all our shelter locations.
Can you share a story of a specific pet you helped recently? Cheese is an English Bulldog that was found wandering around in Brighton on a farm. Cheese was brought to the Dumb Friends League as a stray with multiple medical issues, including Demodectic Mange, Entropion (a condition where the eyelid rolls cause irritation), skin infections, ear infections, and allergies. He was evaluated and treated by the veterinarians at the League. While in treatment, he was placed into a foster home to treat all of his medical conditions in a comfortable place. Once most of his skin conditions were resolved, he returned to the shelter where he was neutered and had his eyelids repaired. After, he was adopted by a staff member. Cheese is now a proud member of the Dumb Friends League ambass-a-dog program (a program for kids learning about animals). He loves to hang out in the office at the Buddy Center and get pets from staff and volunteers. He lives happily in a home with his parents, two children, and a Siamese cat who also came from the League.
How many donors do you have? We have 31,654 active donors for the entire organization.
Do you have any specific advice for pet owners that you’d like to share? Help Your Dog Cope with Thunder and Fireworks:
Prepare: Keep your dog indoors and stay with them if possible. Muffle noise outside with the radio, television or white noise slightly higher than normal.
Spot early warning signs: Long before your dog panics, you will see signs of increasing stress such as pacing or panting. Pull out treats and practice tricks or just toss them for your dog to chase. If fetch is their thing, that’s good, too!
A little help from Pavlov: A great way to help your dog is to teach them that loud noises mean good things. Follow each firework or thunder sound with an extra yummy treat. Your dog can learn that BOOM= good stuff. You can start this exercise any time of the year by practicing with sounds on your computer.
Have a backup plan: For some dogs, these events are just too stressful for any of these plans to help. If your dog won’t eat or play, then his stress is too high. Do the best you can to keep him calm, quiet and safe.
Talk to your veterinarian: If your dog’s reaction is severe, you may need to explore anti-anxiety medications for these events. Talk to your veterinarian about options for your dog.
For more information about The Buddy Center, visit
www.ddfl.org/buddy-center