Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF)

2890 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, California 94598

The Tony La Russa Animal Rescue Foundation or ARF is a non-profit organization based in Walnut Creek, California.

ARF rescues dogs and cats from public shelters where they are otherwise euthanized and brings them into new homes, as well as runs programs to improve the relationship between human and animal communities for elderly people, youth, hospital patients, veterans and the poor.

It features a spay and neutral facility, a pet therapy squad, human education programs and support programs to help pet guardians who are struggling to keep their pets at home.

The impetus for ARF was played in the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in May of 1990 in a baseball match between Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. The terrified feline staggered and eluding umpires and players, terrified by the crowd's mourning. La Russa (then the A's manager) coaxed the cat into the dugout, protected her safe throughout the game, and took responsibility to put her in the nearby cottage.

Tony and his wife Elaine discovered that in the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area there was not a single no-kill shelter, and that the cat would be euthanized.

The La Russas created a home for her and encouraged ARF to co-found the "People Rescuing Animals... Animals Rescuing People..." project, which was to put together animals and people in order to enrich each other's lives.

Mission:

People Rescuing Animals...Animals Rescuing People.

Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) is an award-winning, nationally recognized pioneer of its groundbreaking "Animal Rescue People... Animals Rescuing Peoples" mission. "Founded in 1991, ARF rescued over 42,000 dogs and cats, and expanded its national education and outreach initiatives. ARF raises animals in our culture, strengthens the connections and enhances the ties between humans and animals.

ARF is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation with headquarters in Walnut Creek, California that receives no government funding and is sponsored by contributors across the 50 countries and around the world. For 2019, ARF has been given the highest possible rating of four stars from Charity Navigator for the 12th straight year. Only one percent of charities meet that mark, and ARF is proud that 85 cents per dollar is going to its programs directly.

Core Values

• Open
• Driven
• Educator's spirit

Strategic Anchors

• Save lives
• Inspire learning
• Connect hearts