Ten years ago, a young lady was driving down the Causeway during a good ol Mobile thunderstorm when she witnessed a dog being tossed out the window of the car in front of her. Not believing what she had seen, she pulled over and ran to help the dog. After settling him in her car, she looked around and thought now what. Well, she ended up on the steps of Animal Rescue Foundation, a small shelter some wonderful ladies had opened up not too long before. The building was donated to them by Dr. Dowling, who ran a vet clinic out of this building for many years. When he retired, he decided to pay it forward after hearing about the good work this group of ladies had been doing for the homeless, neglected and abused animals in our area. The building might have been old and dilapidated but it was filled with love and hope. As the young lady stood on the fronts steps in the pouring rain with this poor dog in her arms, she begged these ladies to help her. Of course, she would not be turned away. After settling in their new charge, Gator, and as the young lady was leaving, she turned around and told these ladies that she would return their generosity with something big one day. Hearing this, the ladies smiled nicely and thanked the young lady. This wasnt the first time they had been told something along these lines...but it was nice of her to say the words anyway. Well, that young lady was Amanda Kramer and the something big was Woofstock. Now in its 10th year, this fundraiser (that started out as a Crawfish Boil in Cathedral Square) has grown into a local phenomenon that encompasses an entire city block in Bienville Square with supporters spending months working on that perfect costume for their pet or training their wiener dog to race for treats. At the end of the day, Amandas promise to pay it forward with something big has had such far reaching effects as a new facility in 2009 and growth beyond compare in regards to supporters and volunteers. We hope you will all join us October 26th as we do it all over again (for the 10th time) and as we take this opportunity to look back on what brought us to this point - Gator....the original ladies of ARF.... but most importantly, the young lady with the heart of an angel and the spirit of a warrior. Thank you, Amanda and we love you.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 13:00:00 +0000
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