Program of champions

By Best Friends staff

It’s a question many Best Friends’ members, volunteers and supporters ask: If I’m not volunteering at the Sanctuary or donating money or supplies, how can I help the animals at Best Friends?

Here’s how: Become a Champion of Love.

Homer

Champion of Love is a brand-new Best Friends’ program that enables you to find homes for dogs and cats currently living at our Sanctuary. The program is happening at the Champion of Love website, and there you’ll find the tools you’ll need — including photos, bios and videos — to find a home for one or more of the 10 dogs and 10 cats currently featured on the site (that number will eventually increase).

"People come to the Sanctuary to volunteer and then go home wanting to stay involved. Champion of Love is a way they can stay involved," says Lori Bernath, a marketing specialist at Best Friends spearheading the program.

There are a number of ways to champion an animal. One is to post flyers with a photograph and brief profile of one of the animals. You can post those flyers physically, of course, by printing them, or electronically by posting the flyer on your Facebook or Twitter page. You can also provide links on your Facebook or Twitter page to the animal’s individual Champion of Love page.

The Champion of Love website also makes it easy to tell others about the program and recruit them to be champions as well.

Batgirl

One of the 10 dogs you can currently champion is Batgirl.

Named for her big, pointy ears, Batgirl was rescued from the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina when she was just a puppy. After spending some time at a sanctuary in Texas, she came to Best Friends, where she’s been ever since. Even though she’s incredibly sweet, well mannered and highly active, Batgirl has, strangely enough, never found a home. Champion of Love is your chance to help her find one.

One of the 10 cats you can champion is Homer.

Found behind a dumpster at a local gas station, Homer is 12 years old. He used to be quite leery of people, but as he’s gotten older, he’s also gotten friendlier, to the extent that he now relishes attention from people and other cats. Like Batgirl, Homer has spent most of his life at the Sanctuary, and is more than ready to go to a good home.

When Homer or Batgirl or any of the other 10 dogs and 10 cats gets adopted, another animal will take his or her place in the Champion of Love program.

For more information about Champion of Love and the animals that you can start championing today, go to champion.bestfriends.org.

Photographs by Gary Kalpakoff and Sarah Ause