Dear Friends:
The world can be a cruel place—especially for animals. So many are lost; so many lack the basics for life; so many suffer in silence in every corner of our planet.
But I’ve learned that when we take on the mantle of compassion, there is no cry that goes unheard, no wound that can’t be healed, no animal who is beyond hope of rescue.
I believe in the immense power of compassion. It is a power that has the miraculous quality of getting stronger the more it is expressed.
For the past six and half years, I have led a dedicated team of truly caring people at The Washington Animal Rescue League. Driven by compassion. we created the Love Fund and the ShARE (Shelter Animal Relief Effort) program to save animals who were sick, injured, or faced with euthanasia at over-crowded shelters. We came to the aid of Michael Vick’s pitbulls, animals lost in the Katrina disaster, neglected dogs and cats in dire animal hoarding cases, and dogs seized from massive puppy mill closures. We led the world in creating a new type of animal rehabilitation facility, one that is designed from the animals’ point of view to promote healing in all aspects of their lives. That, in turn, led to the unprecedented increase in adoptions that we are currently witnessing.
I have a firm belief that the same power of compassion will propel WARL into new ground-breaking endeavors for the benefit of animals.
However, the time has come for me to respond to the widespread needs of animals in a new way. I have accepted a position as senior director of Disaster Services at the Humane Society of the United States. In accepting this new responsibility, I seek to employ the WARL model to bring comfort and hope to suffering animals in all corners of our nation.
I leave The Washington Animal Rescue League in the hands of a truly impressive team of dedicated, caring people who will continue its life-saving work. I urge you to support them generously; they are among the very best in the animal rescue field.
And as always, I need to say that I am deeply grateful for all of your support. We have accomplished so much together: finding the lost, comforting the abandoned, binding wounds, and building families.
To be given the gift of compassion and tasked with the call to save animals is, in the end, a great privilege. Thank you for your company in this amazing work.
For the animals,
Scotlund Haisley