Elena Bicker, Executive Director of Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, ARF, discusses twenty-five years of creating a world-class animal rescue facility and community. They have been rescuing thousands of cats and dogs for years, and along the way have developed a wide range of programs related to rescue, foster, advocacy, education, and community awareness. It all started on May 7, 1990 when a stray cat wandered onto the field during an Oakland A’s baseball game. Tony La Russa – a Hall of Fame player, manager, and baseball executive – was the manager for the A’s, and he and his wife Elaine were surprised to find that there weren’t any no-kill animal shelters in the neighboring areas. That initial event was the genesis for ARF. Elena Bicker joined staff in the late 90’s and made an immediate impact, raising over $1 million, and she never looked back. Elena’s been Executive Director for ten years, helping ARF achieve a 4-star rating as a charity from Charity Navigator, and truly creating a blueprint for other animal shelters to strive for. To loosely quote Elena Bicker from the interview, they set out to build a shelter, and ended up building a community. Resources ARF’s Website – they offer a lot of programs ARF’s Pet Hug Pack ARF’s Facebook Page ARF’s Twitter Feed Tony La Russa interview in 2014 after getting elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame ARF’s Annual Benefit, Stars to the Rescue Donate If you have the resources, consider a donation to Tony La Russa’s ARF Donate Photo credit: Barbara Brady-Smith   Thanks again to Elena Bicker! All of Pawprint's music is composed by Luke Gartner-Brereton. Luke is a musician based in Australia, and he composes a wide variety of songs and musical loops http://vanillagroovestudios.com http://soundcloud.com/luke-gartnerbrereton   If you want to learn more about Nancy and Harold, go to our About Us page at http://thisispawprint.com/about or listen to our introductory podcast episode, "Fifty Puppies and a Podcast." http://thisispawprint.com/000   Pawprint (or Paw Print) is a weekly podcast dedicated to animal rescue, adoption, and the heroes who make it happen. Volunteer, adopt, or foster a dog, cat, rabbit, or other wonderful pet through your local shelter, humane society, SPCA, pound, and animal control. Increase protection, welfare, and rights. http://thisispawprint.com