There is a remarkable brilliance that takes place as a result of a collaboration. So after days of rain, thunder, lightning and wind knocking trees topsy-turvy, the results of such collaboration took place on Thursday, June 6.
As the North Texas sun shone a spotlight on the corner of 1771 Terre Colony and I-30’s frontage road — between Dallas Animal Services and the SPCA of North Texas — animal lovers like Mary Spencer and representatives from all walks of non-profits like SPCA of Texas’ MeLissa Webber and Maura Davis, Hearts And Bones’ Whitney Fang, Dallas Pets Alive’s Leslie Sans and Humane Society of North Texas’ Ellen Rawlins that are helping curb the “animal problem” gathered together. Instead of furrowed brows and frowns about strays, complaints about the lack of help or even pointing a finger at what should be done, the crowd was all smiles, hugs and sunglasses.
They were there to celebrate the opening of the Operation Kindness Lifesaving Partnership Hub. It was the result of Operation Kindness (OK) creating an oasis for a variety of animal groups to streamline their programs to
- transfer dogs to home in northern states where adoptable dog are scarce.
- provide food assistance for local families that are being forced to turn in their pets due to lack of food and
- help the animal cruelty teams assess possible cases
Thanks to the OK board led by Chair Scott Wilson, OK CEO Ed Jamison, who had previously been at Dallas Animal Services, was granted the power to give the warehouse-like, former car rehab facility a remarkable transformation.
OK Chief Community Initiatives Officer Meredith Jones admitted that Jamison’s efforts to expand the organization had at times been daunting, but each time the staff rose to the occasion thanks to his leadership.
In the future, transfer animals will be able to be placed temporarily in the new facility’s kennels and have access to outdoor play areas as they go through the vetting and health clearance steps before being transported to bona fide adoption programs in the north.
To assist the Dallas Police Anti-Cruelty team, vets will be on hand in the new surgical suite to analyze the condition of animals that may have been victims of abuse.
There also will be plenty of storage room for food to help families who are at the point of giving up their pets due to financial causes.
For folks who had been at the facility last September, it was an amazing transformation, with new floors, walls and layout plus air conditioning. When one person questioned the mammoth overhead fan that looked like a sunflower, it was explained that it was a polished-up remnant of the previous car rehab facility, which had no air conditioning. It was now just a work of art.
Jamison admitted that it had all been made possible thanks to the generous support of donors — and the City of Dallas’s permit process.
In honor of the occasion, Dallas City Councilmember/Dallas Animal Services cat owner Gay Donnell Willis was on hand on behalf of fellow Councilmember Omar Narvaez to present OK with a certificate of “Special Recognition” for its “exceptional service and unwavering dedication to Dallas Animal Services. Your journey with us has been marked by excellence and commitment to our shared goals. Your contributions of Operation Kindness to the Dallas community have been invaluable to our success and we are truly grateful. We extend our heartfelt appreciation and look forward to many more years of collaboration and achievement together.”
As the crowd sought shade for the brief remarks, one petite woman stood on the sideline with a Texas-sized smile. She was delighted with the day’s results, but so were so many others. Only this gal had been the guardian angel for The Hub. Those in the know recognized her. Others just thought she was a lovely animal lover. They would find out during the ribbon-cutting that the lady was Jan Rees-Jones of the Rees-Jones Family Foundation, which had stepped up time and again to provide major funding for OK’s animal clinic in Carrollton and now a $4M grant for The Hub.
Such a collaboration of dedicated groups with respected leadership supported by smart philanthropists is the secret to sweet success.
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