Forward Thinking Animal Shelter in D.C.

My sister just sent me a link from USA Today about the Washington Animal Rescue League in Washington, D.C.

Their shelter recently underwent a huge renovation and built a cutting edge shelter to maximize successful adoptions as well as increase positive interaction with the public.

"Whatever circumstances landed them in a shelter - whether they were strays, abandoned, turned over by terminally ill owners or rescued from inhumane conditions - was traumatic for them," says Scotlund Haisley, the executive director who persuaded his board to support a $4 million renovation. Every detail is intended not to pamper animals but to simply respond to their basic needs during the time when they have no home, no family and no ability to see or hope beyond the present.

With the in-residence animals experiencing less stress, remarkable things have been happening.

Adoptions have tripled since the renovation. And the atmosphere is so welcoming they are finding that people from the community come during their lunch breaks just to spend time with the animals.

Stories like this make me think there is really hope for the human race!

Lily and me...the beginning of the journey

As always, my trip from Fairfield, IA to Boston, MA this past Monday brought back a lot of special memories.

Almost eight years ago, I made this same trip with Lily, a little dog who had lived for over a year at Noahs Ark Animal Foundation in Fairfield. My sister Bobbie adopted Lily and I brought her cross country to start her new life north of Boston.

I think the thing that stays in my mind the most after all this time is the way Lily seemed to know, right from the beginning of our journey, what the word ADOPTED meant. Having started out a very timid dog, she braved car rides, a taxi ride, 2 plane rides and Logan International airport the day before Thanksgiving with an air of determined excitement and a new found confidence. I felt like she would have followed me to the ends of the earth to get to her new home.

Lily now lives permanently on Cape Cod and she could not be happier or more loved. I named my dog and cat health care company, Lily&Me, Inc. after her and my sister named her computer tutoring company The Lilyweb Group in honor of her remarkable companion.

I have such a deep sense of fulfillment in having been part of the miracle of bringing these two souls together. Some things are just meant to be.