Banner signs outside the Livery often invite the public to view animals available for adoption. Some lucky dogs and cats will find new homes that day, but the ones left behind are also lucky: They are being helped by Tony LaRussa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, which makes a concerted effort to match each potential pet parent with the right animal.
“ARF is about people rescuing animals and animals rescuing people through companionship and unconditional love,” said Elena Bicker, a Danville resident who has been ARF’s executive director since August.
“I don’t look at ARF as a career. I look at it as a lifestyle,” she said.
Bicker glows as she talks about the participation of her yellow Lab Sadie in a program called Tender Loving Care. This pet-assisted therapy was begun by ARF in 1999 for adolescents at the Chris Adams Girls’ Center, a 20-bed residential facility located next to Juvenile Hall in Martinez. Through the program, the girls learn about unconditional love and nurturing as they work daily to care for, train and socialize ARF animals.
Bicker recalled being in the audience when Sadie graduated from the 12-week TLC program. Sadie’s caregiver, a teenage girl from a single parent household in Richmond, announced with great pride, “This is my dog, Sadie.”
Bicker was both surprised and proud. Sadie was her dog and would be coming home with her that day.
“I learned a lot from Sadie because when my mom would yell at me, I would shut down, and wouldn’t listen to her. I’d make my mom really mad,” the young caregiver went on to say. “When Sadie wasn’t listening to me, I would get mad, but the madder I got, the more Sadie didn’t listen. I learned that’s not good communication.”
Speaking directly to Sadie, she added, “I know when I was with you I told you I didn’t like your kisses, but I’m going to miss those the most.”
Normally Sadie camps out in Bicker’s office along with her other dog, Kayla, a 14-year-old golden retriever. Bicker came to ARF in 1993 as a volunteer, after learning about the organization at a Wynona Judd concert. Five years later, she joined ARF’s staff as the marketing director and generated more than $1 million in funding during her first year. She was appointed to the temporary executive director position in January and the assignment became permanent in August.
Bicker grew up with dogs and cats as she moved frequently as a child because her father was a fighter pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps. She fell in love with Northern California when she attended St. Mary’s College in Moraga and stayed in the area after she earned her bachelor’s in business in 1985. Before joining ARF’s staff, Bicker spent 11 years with GE Capital.
She and her husband Bill live in the Hidden Oaks neighborhood with their two “four-legged” children, Sadie and Kayla.
“I love cats, however, I do not have one currently,” she said. “This does allow me to spend quality time with the cats rescued from death row. There are more than 100 to choose from on any given day.”
ARF’s no-kill policy is a source of pride for Bicker. Animals that would have been put to death live in cozy, glass-enclosed “condos.” Visitors can observe the dogs and cats, make eye contact, and possibly fall in love.
When people adopt a pet, the $200 fee includes six classes to help owner and pet bond. These classes help everyone to “speak the same language,” Bicker said.
ARF offers several People Connect programs that turn the shelter into a community center: The All Stars Humane Education Program teaches children how to approach pets and how to care for them; the Visiting Animal Program brings pets to hospitals and senior centers; Project ALIVE invites young adults with severe mental and physical disabilities to bond with the animals; and Tender Loving Care reaches out to at-risk youths.
The organization has grown in leaps and bounds and moved several times since it was founded in 1991 by LaRussa, the former manager of the Oakland A’s. When a cat was cornered after wandering onto the A’s baseball field in 1990, LaRussa was dismayed to find there was not one animal shelter in the East Bay with a no-kill policy. Tony and his wife Elaine found a home for that cat, and eventually went on to start their Animal Rescue Foundation.
ARF now resides in a state-of-the-art, 37,700-square-foot facility on Marshall Drive in Walnut Creek, opened in June 2003.
Though it functions as a community center, it is much more.
“Calling ARF a community center is like calling the Taj Mahal a house,” Bicker said. “People don’t know we are a hidden jewel. I wish more people knew about it.”
“ARF has an amazing selection of animals,” she added. “I fall in love every day – it is hard not to, with more than 150 animals on the property on any given day. I love canoodling with the cats and greeting the dogs when out for a walk with one of ARF’s volunteers.”
The enduring commitment made by more than 500 volunteers, whose work adds up to that of 28 full-time staff members, has been amazing to her.
Hours to meet the animals are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Call 256-1ARF (256-1273) or visit www.arf.net. ARF also welcomes volunteers and donations.
Or next time the mobile adoption unit is in town, check out the possibilities for friendship.
