by Sandy Lurins

From time to time, FETCH highlights a person who exemplifies what it means to "make a difference" in the lives of our pets. Get to know these inspiring individuals though their own words. Know someone who is making a difference in their own way? Tell FETCH, and we´ll consider them for a future issue. Send an email to editors@fetchthepaper.com.

Stephanie Hartman and I walked to a Petaluma neighborhood coffee shop to sip tea and talk. We left her dog, Hannah, behind in Stephanie´s store, Our Best Friends. (Stephanie´s other pets include Lucy, a "Cairn terrorist," Velma Louise, a "Chug," an Umbrella Cockatoo named Baby, and a yardful of Banty chickens.

My mission was to learn more about Stephanie´s many contributions to her community as a pet advocate serving as president of FOPAS (Friends of the Petaluma Animal Shelter) and to find out more about her vision of caring for the companion animals of Meals on Wheels clients.

How did you get involved in the Petaluma Animal Shelter?

I opened Our Best Friends in 1998 after a 15-year career in the gift and craft industry. That same fall I visited the shelter and was dismayed at the shape it was in, so I called the shelter and asked if I could do a little party and raise some money for them. So we had the first Evening for the Animals at the store.

There was a band, a silent auction table, and a little bar set up. More people came than I thought would.

The following spring, the shelter went to the city council to request funds for a renovation. The council challenged the shelter to raise $75,000 to demonstrate that the community was serious about the issue.

We had to hustle to put a group together, then we put our noses to the grindstone. We raised $125,000. And so the shelter got renovated.

We also knew there would be ongoing needs for the animals so we formed the non-profit FOPAS.

What programs do you feel are particularly important?

Education is high on my list. Starting with young people is eminently important because you can teach very early on the necessity for spaying and neutering. In Sonoma County, being an agricultural area, there are people who don´t know the medical benefits, the positive aspects of territorial marking being reduced, etc. Here´s an eye opener many people don´t know: 25% of the the dogs at the shelter are purebred!

Tell me about the Meals on Wheels project.

Last year we started putting packages of treats and toys together for the pets of Petaluma Meals on Wheels clients. We started at Thanksgiving and continued at Christmas, Valentine´s Day, etc. The packages included dog and cat food, catnip toys, stuffies, rubber balls, etc.

We would like to expand this into a monthly delivery and make it more specific to the needs of the particular clients. For example, maybe someone needs a heated pad for an arthritic dog, or a pet needs a special diet.

To do this effectively we will need a census of the Meals on Wheels clients´ pets.

Why is this project so important?

If we can help seniors retain their pets, it helps the shelter. Otherwise many of these pets are surrendered.

FOPAS is focused on fundraising for the shelter. Tell me more about how people can be involved.

We try to raise money through community involvement. We don´t want people to feel like they can´t participate because they can´t afford it. So for example, the entry fee for our Fabulous Feline Photo Contest was $5. Admission to Bark in the Park was free for people, although we charged for the dogs.

The city provides the basic funding for the shelter, and FOPAS makes things better for the animals. We bought the washer and dryer, cat furniture, toys, chewies, Kongs, beds, etc. The creature comforts, and some fun things too. We also helped fund the "dog house," a place where volunteers can take the dogs that is like a room in a home. That way dogs don´t feel like they are behind bars the entire time they are at the shelter.

You´ve been doing this for a while. How do you keep motivated year after year?

Success breeds success, so the past few years we have more people willing to take on full projects. And we repeat our successes so they get easier every year. If it´s not broken we don´t change it; for example, we keep the same formula for Bark in the Park (a summer fundraiser for Petaluma Animal Services) every year. People come every year and have a great time.

Also, I am a lucky gal. My life is full, life is fun. I get to take my dog to work every day. I get to hold puppies.

It´s a great community to be part of. Some of the retailers in the city complained about a lack of business after 9/11. We saw the opposite: people who love animals are more compassionate, more patient, more accepting.

You have a very visible role in a community that has diverse viewpoints. What´s your thought about that?

I try to keep the focus on the goal, which is the betterment of the lives of animals. That is something we all agree on, even if we have different ways of accomplishing it.

You don´t stay involved or passionate about what you are doing without stepping on some toes as you go along. But you try not to stomp on them.