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Hundreds of people took a break from the bustle of holiday shopping during last weekend’s Humboldt Artisans Craft & Music Festival to stop by the Companion Animal Foundation mobile adoption unit.
The spacious rig was set up just outside the main hall at Redwood Acres in Eureka, where the festival took place Dec. 6 to 8. Folks who visited the Companion Animal Foundation site had the chance to learn more about the nonprofit animal rescue organization, peruse special treats and toys for their pets and meet some cats, dogs and bunnies looking for their forever homes.
“The (festival) was nothing short of incredible,” said Companion Animal Foundation founder and executive director Kim Class. “We had most of our animals spoken for, with some animals having more than one application. We do, however, have a lovely pair of bonded young Holland lop bunnies that still need to be adopted.”
Class added, “Everyone was really kind. We (were) not there to provide a petting zoo, so we asked everyone to contribute if they could to the mobile and our success, and I’d say around 90% of our guests gave a donation. Since we are 100% donation powered, this was incredibly helpful to us and the animals.
“Honestly,” she said, “the more generous our community is, the more we are able to say yes to taking in animals. We all know for our own animals how expensive it is to take good care of them. It’s not much different for Companion Animal Foundation or any rescue in the community. We get animals usually in poor condition, and it takes a village — and a lot of funding — to get the animals back on track so they can be adopted.”
The Companion Animal Foundation rig – nicknamed “Amazing Grace” after a woman named Grace Morton who donated a great deal of the funds to purchase the vehicle — was originally acquired to be a veterinary unit, Class said.
“CAF was concerned that we did not have enough veterinary services in the area for people on a limited income,” she said. “Just two months after the purchase, COVID hit and the mobile sat. Since we now have two phenomenal low-cost clinics, Humboldt Spay/Neuter Clinic and now Critters Without Litters, it became clear that we didn’t really need to add an additional mobile veterinary unit. Gas has also skyrocketed making it expensive to move.”
The rig – purchased thanks to grant and donations – was manufactured by La Boit Specialty Vehicles, which is based out of Gahanna, Ohio.
“It is a beautiful unit and these units made by La Boit are quite rare because in addition to the medical capabilities in the unit (separate surgery room), it can also be used as an adoption unit as the side rolls up and you can view animals from the outside, or animals can view you,” said Class.
She added, “We flew to Texas to pick it up. The price was incredibly affordable considering the cost of the unit to buy it new would have been prohibitive — around $350K. While the original goal was to do surgeries we found this difficult to make happen as there were no veterinarians not stretched to their limit during COVID. There was a massive country-wide shortage of veterinarians as well. So, the mobile sat and sat until we decided to do something different, and that is to take it out to the public and put some of the animals that Companion Animal Foundation has up for adoption in it.”
At adoption events like the one at the Humboldt Artisans Craft & Music Festival, the goal with the unit is to bring adoptable pets to the people, Class said.
“People seem to like going up into the mobile and checking out the animals,” she said. “We are able to keep it warm in the winter and cool in the summer.”
Companion Animal Foundation representatives also provided an educational moment for everyone before they entered the mobile unit.
“It’s very important to take a moment and be real with people. We talked with every guest before going into the mobile,” Class said. “We do this at our adoption center, too. All of our guests were allowed to open the cages of most of the animals and interact with them rather than just looking at them through the bars of the cages. This is important for the animals so they get extra socialization. How we interact with animals is critical to their development. We asked all of our guests to refrain from playing with kittens in any way that would make them bite, swat, scratch or attack hands. Kittens’ brains are developing and we want hands to be 100% predictable.”
Class said some folks at the festival also took a moment to pull out their phones and show her pets that they had adopted previously through Companion Animal Foundation.
“I saw so many pictures and videos of cats we have adopted over the last 22 years. One woman I spoke with has a 19-year-old cat from CAF,” Class said. “Since I’m a huge cry baby, I spent a bit of my time crying happy tears at the love that people expressed in regard to the animal they adopted from CAF. I don’t give it much thought once an animal leaves CAF until someone tells me how much joy or comfort or companionship an animal has brought. Then, I realize how meaningful this work is even after the animal leaves CAF.”
The Companion Animal Foundation mobile adoption unit may be out again today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at a CAF “Santa Paws” event at Arcata Pet Supply, 600 F St., Arcata. Folks are invited to take a full family photo while supporting the local animal rescue. Donations are appreciated.
In the future, Class says she’d love to also use the mobile unit for light medical procedures like vaccine and wellness exams for anyone on a limited income.
“We haven’t reached out to any of our wonderful veterinarians, but it certainly could be available,” Class said.
She added, “There has been some light talk of taking the mobile with animals out to children’s events, although I’m not into animal entertainment so there would always be education involved and getting the children to do some type of activity where they are learning about animals. One of my greatest passions is being with children and helping them to be their best around animals. In the meantime, we want to continue to bring animals to events so people can see them. There’s nothing quite as sweet as engaging with an animal. Everyone benefits and the benefits, while they may seem small, all add up to something beautiful for every being.”
For more information about Companion Animal Foundation, go to https://www.cafanimals.org.
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