How serendipity, tenacity and love helped build Best Friends
In the early ‘90s after the sanctuary grounds were secured and the founders were busy rescuing as many animals as possible, it was apparent that the rural area of Kanab would not be able to support the growing effort. Out into the world they went: with hearts on their sleeves and saving innocent lives on their minds.
"In 1991, we were hit with a big money crunch," shared Silva Battista, "we had 1,200 animals, massive debt and we were located in the middle of nowhere. But we could not renege on our commitment." Thus began Silva's cliffside chat, the finale of founder candid talks, a popular event in the celebration of Best Friends' 25th Anniversary.
The first thing they did was send folks to big cities to drum up support. Silva humorously called it ‘begging' - but it can be found as ‘tabling' in the resource section of this website!
Silva and Francis Battista were both tasked with going to Los Angeles. They knew almost no one and just flew by the seat of their pants! During the talk, Silva was flanked by two longtime Best Friends family members: Diane Doyle and Nora Della Maddalena, some of the first angels that helped pave the road to success.
"We picked high end health food stores to target the audience that was a more aware consumer. In some places we had to get there two hours before the store even opened to secure our spot. We stayed as late as possible, afterwards we would do the accounting and then deal with animal issues - inquiries like ‘can you take this duck?' were just part of our daily lives."
Silva mentioned in passing that programs such as the first Animal Help department at Best Friends sprung from these early endeavors. Many animals needing saving, but they can't all go to the sanctuary! Using the technology of the day, they networked for homeless pets in Los Angeles; making mimeographed flyers and posting them at the local supermarkets and community bulletin boards, they were essentially functioning as the first rudimentary Petfinder while they were also acting as chief fundraisers for the erstwhile struggling sanctuary.
Even while putting in 15 hour days, they knew they had no other choice. Back at the sanctuary the animals needed to be fed. A break came when they were able to get a gig in an upscale Beverly Hills center where they could spread awareness to an even broader audience. The people that were attracted to their work turned out to be some of the biggest movers and shakers in the area, in addition to some of the most dedicated and passionate animal lovers in the world!
"We were fundraising in Malibu over Thanksgiving and a man came up to us and listened intently but was very quiet. He handed me his card and it said "President" Kalkan (Pedigree) - the pet food company. He told us of a supply of food that was mislabeled and wanted to know if we wanted it. I asked him if they could deliver it to Utah? He replied, quickly, ‘We're International!' We filled up one of our natural caves at the sanctuary with enough food to last our dogs for quite awhile," Silva related.
In 1993 with the help of a wonderful pet professional to the stars, they were able to have the first Lint Roller Party. Diane Doyle made sure the posters, flyers and invitations all looked professional by lending her design expertise. It was held at the Chateau Marmont, with donated food. The event boasted some of the world's most famous guests: Rene Russo, Claudia Schiffer, Nastassja Kinski, a few of the cast of 90210, and Timothy Leary, just to name a few! Silva and Francis were able to count the director, Wolfgang Petersen, among their most loyal friends; Mr. & Mrs. Petersen not only helped supply a lot of the ‘wow-factor', they even leant them the shirts off their backs, so that Silva and Francis could attend their own event in style!
This was the launch of the annual Lint Roller Party - where celebrities come out to honor the animals and help spread the word about the work of Best Friends. The early events lead to some eye-opening planning tips and tricks, such as: if you are doing a yard sale, don't forget to find out if the venue has a sprinkler system turned on before spreading stuff out the night before!
They held a series of Beverly Hills yard sales culminating at a massive yard sale event in 1995 at the West Hollywood Park, to help offset the money they were losing from assisting locals with pet lost and found in the aftermath of the earthquake. Again they found their extended family coming out in droves to help support the endeavor! With over three truckloads of merchandise leftover after the event, they had raised $20,000.
With all the kindness they were receiving from the community Silva and Francis wanted to give back. They published an animal rescue directory, it was bigger than most phonebooks, another early resource forerunner to what can now be found easily on the Internet.
It was also in this spirit of giving back, that they staged one of the first large scale adoption events. By approaching the production studios they were able to borrow tents, tables and other accoutrements that go into such an event. "It looked like a gypsy camp," Silva described. Nora Della Maddalena was an instrumental part of getting these events to the professional, streamlined event that happen today. This likeminded event team also segued into what became the Best Friends Brigade!
Best Friends knew that many rescues don't have time to do it all! From feeding, vetting, and rescuing animals, some of the day to day maintenance can easily fall by the wayside. The Best Friends Brigade was formed by local volunteers, under the tutelage of Nora, to help revamp shelters. They offered the practical help that was needed, like re-roofing one shelter in advance of El Nino. They rebuilt barns at a horse rescue, they rebuilt enclosures for Shambala, and they continue to help those helping the animals every way they can.
"We didn't expect to love Los Angeles, but the people were so warm and supportive. When we started having monthly volunteer meetings our volunteers opened their homes to us. These beautiful mansions filled with the most gorgeous women in the world. Francis jokes that animal welfare is the best kept secret in finding your dream date!"
Silva's parting words instill the same sense of awe that they've had since the beginning: "We had, and still have, one of the best volunteer teams that anyone could ask for. At every event guests would say the same thing - 'your volunteers are amazing.' It is like a family of people who come together event after event, year after year, without necessarily seeing each other in between and work together like a machine. Everyone pulls their weight, with a huge amount of trust, respect and a willingness to give it all. I have an enormous amount of love for so many of them."
From strangers to friends to family there is gold in them there hills!
For more information on getting involved in Los Angeles please go to Los Angeles Programs
By Denise LeBeau
Photos by Jennifer Hayes
Posted
Jul 26 2009, 06:30 AM
by
scratchtopaz