Ark shelter under new leadership

Ark of LaGrange County employees Megan McLaughlin, front, from left, Lilly Rahm, Brenda Rife, Nicole Ernsberger, back, Erica Pike-Pearson and Rabeca Boyles are getting in tune with a new schedule. Rife, Boyles and Damian Bueno (not pictured) make up a new leadership team. (Standard-News Photo by Amy Oberlin)

At a community shelter, things are always chang­ing. But one thing remains the same – it is run by selfless people who love animals.

Ark of LaGrange County, 530 E. 300S, is now un­der the direction of a three-person team following the resignation of former manager Cindy Miller.

Damian Bueno, who has been working with Ark for about a year, has been hired to handle animal control. A telephone line has been established for an­imal control – 535-3559.

Brenda Rife, a former shelter volunteer, serves as human resources director. Rife worked in office and management roles at Smokercraft for 17 years and Pepsi Co. in Rome City for 21 years before that.

Rabeca Boyles is director of animal care, over­seeing shelter operations. Boyles, trained as a veter­inary technician, has been at Ark for nine years. She said she stays “for the animals.”

“Every day is a new day,” Boyles said.

LaGrange County has a large population of dogs. About 95% of the dogs that come to Ark are stray or abandoned, said Boyles. There are around 26 dogs at the shelter now and around 20 cats. The cat popula­tion stays low to accommodate the many dogs that are in and out, said Boyles.

Ark is a nonprofit organization overseen by a vol­unteer board of directors. Much of the day-to-day needs are met by a generous community, said Rife.

“We do have a good community … donations come in right and left,” said Rife. “This community thoroughly supports the shelter.”

The kennels sport colorful banners announcing community sponsors. Kennel sponsors are always welcomed, said Rife. Information is available on the ark web page at arkanimalrescue.net or on Ark’s Facebook page. The names of sponsors and their sub­mitted photos are shared on the web site.

“We have a lot of people that leave us in their obit­uaries,” said Rife. Veterinary bills are paid through a legacy fund controlled by the LaGrange County Commissioners, earmarked for the shelter.

Fundraisers include a June 3 golf outing and steak fry April 14 at the LaGrange American Legion.

The shelter is in a humble county-owned building that has been used for decades to house unwanted pets.

Since the new management team took over, they have been doing a lot of cleaning, said Rife, and get­ting into the groove of their new routine. The shelter has a small staff, and each new animal can present a unique challenge.

At this time, adoptions are by appointment only by calling the shelter at 463-4142.

“You can really only have one dog out for a meet and greet at a time,” Boyles said.

Ark is a no-kill adoptable shelter, putting animals’ welfare at the forefront of the mission. Available an­imals are listed on the web site.