Wolf family legacy of animal advocacy ensures lasting pet connections through microchips with a grant from the ASPCA

Ensuring Lasting Pet Connections

Honored to receive support from so many dog lovers since our 2012 founding, it’s the bittersweet generosity of the Wolf Family, as well as their friends and loved ones, that shines deeply in our hearts. In honor of their long legacy of animal advocacy, as well as their unyielding support since the idea of Dog House Adoptions’ was a mere twinkle in our eye, our brand new microchip program has been implemented this month in the Wolf family name. From this point on:

• We will microchip every adoptable dog in our program, keeping them connected with their new owners better than ever before.
• We will scan any stray with our new universal chip reader, making every attempt to reunite dogs with their owners.
• And to pay the Wolf family’s generosity forward, we will offer low cost microchip clinics to the community in the near future.

Meet Animal Lovers Richard and Ina Wolf

Richard and Ina Wolf of East Meadow, NY, have demonstrated the best of what rescue has to offer throughout each of their long lives. And their core animal values have manifested tenfold in their daughter, Stacy, who credits her parents for who she has become. Stacy says of her parents:

Richard and Ina Wolf were people whose actions on behalf of animals spoke louder than words. They adopted homeless dogs and considered them vital members of the family. They good naturedly dog sat for delinquent and mischievous grand dogs. Ina is probably one of very few women who would recount with amusement the Thanksgiving Day when a seventy five pound black lab mix named Ben walked across her dining room table in pursuit of the turkey when the family left the room. They lent their time and talent to support animal rescue.

Ina, an award winning quilter, donated her artwork for local rescue fundraising events and both she and Richard volunteered at those events, pitching in to help wherever help was needed. They encouraged me to pursue my love for animals – in both private and professional life. Any achievement I have had in either realm, I owe to them.

Meet Daughter and Staunch Animal Advocate, Stacy Wolf

Stacy’s achievements in animal advocacy are significant in number and value. Since graduating law school in 1985, Stacy often helped friends, relatives and acquaintances find a home for stray pets. In 1995, she joined a newly formed dog and cat rescue group in Albany, NY, first as a volunteer/foster provider, then dog adoption coordinator, and then President through 2009. Shifting her professional focus from public defense, she became the legislative director for the ASPCA.

Over the course of 10+ years, Stacy was the principal author of New York State’s felony animal cruelty law, dog shelter law, exotic pet ban, dangerous dog law, pet dealer licensing law and more. During that time, police, prosecutors, and shelter directors from all over the country sought Stacy’s guidance on how to best navigate animal cruelty investigations and prosecutions. Finding a new use for her criminal law experience, Stacy began travelling and teaching police, prosecutors, veterinarians and judges their cruelty laws and helped to handle cruelty and fighting cases.

There is no question that Richard and Ina have breathed life into Stacy’s love for animals. And Stacy has turned gut-wrenching acts against animals, acts that most humans can’t bear to see let alone change, into fuel for wide-sweeping progress in pet protection and advocacy.

Stacy and Harry -Photo: Jack Deutsch

 

Waves of Continual Support

When Richard passed away unexpectedly on February 16, 2013 at the age of 84, his wife of 56 years, Ina, and children, Darryl, Stacy and Liz, asked that donations in his memory be made to Dog House Adoptions. The response was astounding. Ina just passed on March 19th, 2014 at the age of 79 and the family, once again asked that donations in Ina’s memory be made to Hospice Care Network or Dog House Adoptions. Again, the response was overwhelming. The love these two people have shared for all animals has rippled through every person they’ve touched creating a wave of change.

Stacy’s friends at the ASPCA have also given generously in the form of grants to honor the Wolf Family name. The first $500 ASPCA grant we received was made to honor the life of Richard, and the second was submitted as a congratulatory gesture by Stacy’s coworkers as she assumed the role of Senior Vice President of the Anti Cruelty Group.

How the Love Lives On

Every time one of our dogs has gone home since 2013, we often have the Wolf family and their friends to thank for paving the way to a dog’s long, healthy life ahead. They’ve helped us to spay, neuter, vaccinate and biopsy the dogs who have entered our program. We’ve treated sore paws, neck abrasions caused by ill fitting collars or choke chains, and doted upon emaciated dogs with the high quality food and treats.

Now we’ll be using the latest ASPCA grant to launch this new microchip program which we know will make an enormous difference if our dogs ever stray again.

Ensuring They Go Home Again

According to Home Again, the microchip company we’ve chosen to use:

1 in 3 pets goes missing during its lifetime, and without proper ID, 90% never return home. A microchip for dogs & cats gives the best protection with permanent ID that can never be removed or become impossible to read.

Every month, Home Again reunites 14,000 pets with the people that love them by enrolling pets with any brand of microchip.

Annual membership includes and will be made available to our adopters as well as our community:

• National Pet Recovery Database
• Lost Pet Specialists
• Rapid Lost Pet Alerts
• 24/7 Pet Medical Emergency Hotline
• Found Pet Travel Assistance

With Our Sincerest Gratitude

There are no words for how much we appreciate the Wolf family’s support. Where words fail, actions speak loudest. Developing a sustainable microchip program that will help dogs in such a monumental way feels most fitting. We promise, Ina and Richard, to employ this in a manner that would make you proud.

Sincerely,

Kim, Cassie, Audra, Tim and all the volunteers at Dog House Adoptions