Community Corner
Animal Rescue Group Takes Unique Approach To Helping Pets, People
Watch how Almost Home Animal Rescue staff and volunteers work with families, kids and elected officials to improve their community.
This post is sponsored and contributed by a Patch Brand Partner. The views expressed in this post are the author's own.
As an emergency room nurse at Stony Brook University Hospital in New York, Linda Klampfl's job is taking care of people. As the founder of Almost Home Animal Rescue & Adoption, a nonprofit organization based in Patchogue, New York, Klampfl helps animals in need — but, ultimately, she helps people, too.
"There's a need for Almost Home because there's a huge population of unwanted, abandoned, abused animals," Klampfl says, "and there's also a very large population of undereducated families — perhaps they don't have the means to care for their animals — that need assistance so that they don't surrender their animals to already overcrowded animal shelters."
Klampfl and the dedicated staff and volunteers at Almost Home are being celebrated in Neighborhood Heroes, a new series from Ring. They serve Suffolk County — particularly the township of Wyandanch — by going into communities not only to provide assistance and supplies, but also to teach families how to treat their animals properly.
Going Out Into The Community With A Boots-On-The-Ground Approach
Almost Home runs a proactive program called Training Wheels® that puts volunteers directly in the community to provide food, supplies, pet care education, training, medical care and free spaying/neutering with transportation. This program services approximately 500 animals per month, assisting over 175 families in the township of Wyandanch alone.
Ashley Buroker, a longtime Almost Home volunteer, found her dog Genesis through fellow Training Wheels® volunteers. "They contacted me and let me know that we had a house that had several dogs that were emaciated — one had been deceased — and Genesis was among those dogs," she says. "They sent me several pictures of him and some video, and it was just heartbreaking … I just knew that if I had the opportunity to help him, that I wanted to take it."
"His physical wounds healed rather quickly, but it was the emotional ones that really took some time," Buroker recalls. "He was fearful of people, you know, and it took a while to help rehabilitate him, but it was really well worth it. He's the most phenomenal dog, and he adds a lot to my life."
Through her work with Almost Home, Buroker has seen firsthand how helping others take better care of their pets enriches their lives and makes the whole community stronger.
"I think the way you create a better community is by going out into the community," she says. "Meet your neighbors, become friends, learn about other people, offer support."
Educating People About Pet Care And Empowering The Next Generation
Klampfl, the founder of Almost Home, says she and the Training Wheels® volunteers take a "very nonjudgmental and non-confrontational" approach to educating owners about proper pet care. "So even if we see a dog [that's] underweight, we'll say, 'Oh, your dog is beautiful. I have a dog at home just like it,'" she explains. "And [we] try to build trust with the family, and then they allow us in … When we drive around in our trucks, people know us, and they stop us in the street, and they ask for assistance."
Klampfl says that, in many cases, people who leave dogs chained up outside or feed them improperly simply don't have "the means and the education they need to properly care for their pets." That's where Almost Home steps in, providing resources to those in need. Volunteers have also created educational programs for local schools to teach kids about the kind treatment of animals and the importance of establishing healthy pet ownership habits early.
"The way we can prevent more situations like Genesis' is through humane education," says Buroker. Having animal education programs in local schools "really breaks the cycle of neglect and abuse," she says. "I can't express how truly important that is in our communities, and also, you know, legislation. Strengthening our animal cruelty laws — that's really vital."
Pushing For Systemic Change Through Legislative Action
Almost Home came to New York state Sen. Monica Martinez with the hope that they could work together to change Suffolk County laws regarding animal safety and welfare. The staff and volunteers were particularly concerned with inhumane tethering and animals being left outside in extreme weather.
"[T]here were already some laws on the books, but they weren't strong enough," Martinez says, "and that's what Almost Home did when they approached me and said, 'This is what needs to happen.' We looked at the existing law, and we strengthened it — and I will tell you, we have one of the toughest laws in the state actually when it comes to tethering."
With the encouragement of Almost Home's staff and volunteers, Martinez passed legislation banning choke collars, mandating non-stationary leashes that allow dogs to move, and keeping pets safe from being left outside in extreme temperatures. She was also instrumental in passing a law that prohibits a dog from being tethered or chained to a stationary object outdoors for more than one continuous hour in any continuous 12-hour period between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. (It is illegal to tether or chain a dog outdoors between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.)
"What my law actually did, and pardon the pun, but it gave our law enforcement teeth for extra biting," Martinez says. "I've been working very closely with the commissioner of the police department here in Suffolk County ... and they are very committed to animal welfare as well. We have conversations to see what we can do to really strengthen our laws even more."
"Because what people need to also understand is that, yes, we love animals and, yes, we want to take care of them, but there's also a direct link between animal abuse and other crimes," she adds.
When animals are cared for properly, though, it helps to strengthen the entire community. Martinez says Almost Home has made a "big time" positive impact in Suffolk County, but according to its founder Klampfl, the nonprofit organization still has a lot of work to do.
"I don't think our mission will ever be complete," she says. "I hope, in my children's, you know, lifetime, maybe they'll see it — us not being needed. And we don't want to be needed. That was, that would be our goal, that we're not needed any more ..."
Until then, the Almost Home team will continue working with volunteers, legislators and the community at large to improve the lives of animals in Suffolk County.
To learn more about Almost Home, Training Wheels® and how you can support this important work, check out almosthomeli.org. And if you know a Neighborhood Hero in your community that Ring should feature in its new series, reach out to stories@ring.com.
More From Ring:
Watch How 3 Neighborhood Heroes Helped Koreatown Heal And Rebuild
Neighbors Raise $8,000 For Family Of Boy Who Returned Lost Wallet
Lost Dog Reunited With Owner Thanks To The Power Of Community
