Animals aren’t just our best friends.
They’re also our family– family whose rights we support and who we protect against harm. But without a voice to stand up for themselves, many of our furry friends are especially vulnerable to mistreatment and rely on our help to keep them safe.
Fortunately, likeminded animal lovers have made it their life’s mission to help safeguard the welfare of animals. We had a chance to speak with Jim Hanophy, CEO at Operation Kindness, which is the largest no-kill shelter in North Texas, and hear about his work with the shelter.
For more insight into what makes Operation Kindness special and why we at Muenster consider them a valuable partner, keep reading below for a full Q&A with Jim.
——————————————————————————————————————————-
What is your role at operation kindness?
I am the CEO for Operation Kindness. My role is to ensure that the quality of care we provide to our animals and the community meets the high standards set by our Board of Directors. We operate under a strategic plan and my job is to execute that plan. I am the outward face of the organization and am responsible to ensure that we bring in the funds needed to carry out our mission and that our expenses and revenue are in line
How did you get involved with the organization?
I spent the first 32 years of my career working in the disability field. I have always been involved with animals. When I decided I had my fill of government, I looked for other opportunities. Operation Kindness was looking for a new CEO and the rest is history. I have been the CEO for Operation Kindness for 3 ½ years
What is the philosophy behind Operation Kindness?
We are a no-kill facility which means that once an animal crosses our threshold, they are safe. We will provide care for that animal until they are adopted as long as it takes. We also have a full medical facility and our philosophy is that we will treat any condition (illness or injury) if we believe there is an opportunity for the animal to experience a good quality of life. We focus on enriching the lives of our residents until adopted. We have dog parks, walking trails and a cat patio (the “catio”) and we thoroughly enjoy spoiling our animals rotten.
What do you consider to be the most important thing that y’all do?
Saving dogs and cats who might otherwise be euthanized. Helping people in the community find and adopt a great pet.
Do y’all do anything special during the holidays?
From Black Friday through Christmas Eve, we have a kiosk set up for adoptions at the Galleria Mall, near Banana Republic. We bring 11-13 animals to the location every day. Last year we adopted out 212 animals
We have a “Photos with Santa” at our clubhouse (13394 Preston Road, Dallas) on Dec 3rd, 4th, 10th and 11th. People bring their dogs (and the occasional cat) to have their picture taken with Santa
How can people get involved and help out?
We have about 40,000 hours of volunteer time every year and can always use more. Volunteers can do a variety of things with Operation Kindness from walking dogs and playing with cats, to assisting with cleaning, to helping us with off-site adoption events to helping us with fund raising. There opportunities to accommodate any schedule. Operation Kindness receives no government funds and all of the funds needed to support Operation Kindness come from donations, grants and fees. Donations are always appreciated and people can also help us by organizing fund raisers on our behalf.
And then if there’s anything you’d like to add that I didn’t ask.
On any given day, we have around 300 dogs and cats on site with another 150 or so in foster care. We provide foster care to pregnant dogs and cats, puppies and kittens, animals recovering from surgery and for some dogs who need extra in-home training and support. Around 60% of animals come to us from other shelters. The other 40% come from owner surrenders and strays. We work with 41 other municipal shelters and rescue organizations. We take healthy animals from shelters so they do not have to euthanize for space, and we also take many sick and injured animals. Last week we took in a 2 month old Husky puppy with a broken leg after it was hit by a car. I turns out that the puppy also had sustained two diaphragmatic hernias from her injuries. She has had 4 surgeries since then and is expected to make a full recovery. This is who we are.
We had teamed up with other organizations to form the “Save Pet Alliance’, helping people who can’t afford medical care for their pet access that care in lieu of having to surrender their pet
We are also embarking on a $12 Million capital campaign to expand our facility and build a new medical facility,
——————————————————————————————————————————-
Muenster is committed to our animal friends, too! Each year we partner with Operation Kindness, providing 100% of the pet food needed in order to feed all the animals in their care (including those in their foster network). We also send home a 3lb bag of food with every adoption that goes out the door at Operation Kindness. Since the charity reaches such a large network of rescue’s we feel working with them gives us the best opportunity to make the biggest impact.
We also work with R-Pal, a rescue pet adoption league that helps provide food for pet foster parents throughout DFW and beyond.
With the winter months fast approaching, now is the time to support our animal welfare friends. Consider giving if you can and remember to check out Operation Kindness.
