When I first toyed with the idea of starting and organization to help animals there were several things I considered. Most importantly was the fact that so many other “rescues’ existed: why does there need to be another? Then I realized that I didn’t want to start another rescue, I wanted to do something different, and I did.
The idea started when I first visited a shelter in Nashville TN, where I was living at the time. I took pictures of the pets there and noticed that these images spoke not only to me, but also many others. I realized that reaching across the boundaries would open the doors of the shelter to people on the outside. That vision was one of the cornerstones of Bound Angels. Back then shelters were still a bit out of the way and rescue dogs were not all the rage.
There were several things I thought about when I started Bound Angels and the key was not how could Bound Angels be successful, but how could we help others? I think that came from the John Kennedy statement, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but as what can you do for your country?” That was my mission on day one and it continues today and everyday. The first thing I did was go to the shelters and offer my help. We never pulled dogs out of the shelter and hoped for adoptions (well there were two)… Instead we worked directly with the pets in the shelter and worked with the employees, management, staff and volunteers. We listened, we worked and we saved lives. Hundreds of pets were saved through our campaigns and thousands more were affected by our education and outreach campaigns.
Bound Angels helped shelters save lives through creative campaigns, thinking outside the box and bringing shelters and rescues together. We help people better understand complex behaviors in dogs and we reach people nationwide with our books Selling Used Dogs and Desperate Dogs Determined Measures. These educational tools are most often given away to shelter staff and management through grants. Our adoption handouts have been distributed in countless shelters throughout the US.
My vision for Bound Angels was to cross borders and break down walls – whatever we needed to do to save more lives. I wanted to teach people sales when it came to “used dogs.” I wanted to teach people that shelter dogs are special and deserve a second chance no matter what they appeared like on the outside. We started the idea of adoption videos set to music, creative photography that increased adoptions, incentive based employee promos, fair temperament testing, educational handouts for adopters and so much more. We started it and we continue to do it. This was my vision and it has been coming more and more into light and I couldn’t be any happier. I’m seeing the benefits that our hard work is paying off when it comes to pets that have no one other than us. I realize that the shelter is a depressing place, but staying away only makes it worse for those who are locked inside. I can put aside my personal comfort to share a bit of light with a pet who has no light at all. My vision is coming to light and the work is just beginning.
We are getting more and more shelters on board and the work is just beginning. Thank you all for being a part of it. If you’d like to get more involved, please send me an email or hit us up on facebook…
Join the Revolution!