President’s Letter November 2019
Dear RCHS Friends and Family,
I am feeling nostalgic.
As 2019 nears the end and Rancho Coastal Humane Society (RCHS) enters its 60th year of operation, I find myself looking back on the significant impact this organization has made on our community. Is it safe to look back while still moving forward at record speeds? Probably not if you were driving, but this is different!
Looking back doesn’t start when I first became involved with Rancho Coastal nearly six years ago. My view is shaped by the public awards, recognitions and accolades that are too numerous to list or hang in the President’s office. My perspective embraces the accomplishments of those who came before me, who brought insight, training and experience. Because of them, RCHS has shaded play yards, solar power, dreams of a new medical center, and a dedicated memorial taking on the names of those who are gone. They inspire us to keep doing so much more.
So, as I reach this point in my (comparatively short) tenure, I want to acknowledge that Rancho Coastal Humane Society is not only living, breathing and thriving, but also continuing to grow and change with its leaders. I feel grateful for my small part.
At a recent event, I spoke with someone who defined herself as an “old, tired, but happy dog wrangler” who spent 30+ years working and volunteering in shelters. I hope that is how I see myself when I look back, twenty years from now.
Nostalgia involves a romantic longing and I feel that emotion spread when I see a card from an adopter who is celebrating ten years with their RCHS dog, when I hear how an adoption counselor changed a person’s life by making the perfect match, when I learn that a companion animal who endured multiple surgeries at RCHS now runs with his fur-mates on the beach, and when I look at a grey muzzle who has brought its adopter back to RCHS to find the next lifetime companion before losing this lifetime companion.
I do not want to stand still, just linger a moment more before I put on my trainers and race to the next event!
