Inspiring Conversations with Shelley Harris of Sol Dog Lodge, Grooming and Training Center

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelley Harris.

Hi Shelley, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
We have a group that loves dogs.  And loves helping people keep their dogs when the going gets tough. 

 Sol Dog Lodge and Training Center (SDL) is a 501(c)(3) Arizona nonprofit corporation. Our mission is to keep dogs in their homes with those who love them. We are not a shelter or rescue, but we help the community by providing services that strengthen, protect, and sustain the bond between people and their dogs. We support and partner with many shelters, dog rescues, and adoption groups in southern Arizona to train and rehabilitate dogs allowing these organizations to free up resources to do what they do best. Over the past several years, we have worked with over 300 families to keep dogs in their homes and out of the shelter. Our commitment to the community evolves daily, but we cannot do this alone. We value our partnerships with other human service groups to collaborate and create new programs, dog/human bond training opportunities, and community education to strengthen the connection between people and their dogs when needed.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Never.  We thought we’d be able to quickly raise the $$ needed to build a new place.  But, over the past five years, we have seen an increase in families, shelters, rescues, and human services reaching out to us to help dog owners keep their dogs out of the shelter systems. Our calls for assistance have increased from 15 calls daily to over 30 calls daily. When we started five years ago, our small and humble space with 10 lodging spaces and 2,000 sq. ft. of training space was adequate. But now, we are busting at the seams, and our limited capacity is hampering our ability to help more families. We know we can do so much more!

 We searched for the right location and purchased more than four acres near I-10 in the Town of Marana to develop a community campus that will expand our capacity and help more families. This campus will start with Phase One by building an 8,000+ sq. ft. space, including 55 lodging spaces, grooming, and over 4,000 sq. ft of training space. This new facility will allow us to help over 2,000 families a year and offer more support and training opportunities to our rescue/shelter partners.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Although we are a non-profit, we run a business that we call “for purpose”:  The new Sol Dog Lodge and Training Center will provide more space for lodging and training in calm, natural desert surroundings. Our campus will allow us to serve more dogs and their people in safe and beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces. Along with services for dogs and humans, the new campus will allow us to expand our program offerings to best educate families on how to live successfully with their dogs and keep more dogs out of the shelter–dogs that might otherwise be euthanized.

In addition, the expanded space will:

• Include educational services for children, people with special needs, veterans, and senior citizens, teaching them to better care for and bond with their dogs.
• Provide animal control and the police with a safe space for short-term boarding.
• Allow us to dedicate a larger area for dog respite care to help more people in crisis.

What do you think about luck?
Luck?  I don’t think it’s luck without hard work.  We have raised over 1 million dollars so far. The Town of Marana has approved our site development and architectural plans, and we are acquiring construction permits to start building once we raise the needed capital funds. Due to increased construction costs and other factors beyond our control, we still need to raise cash and hope to close on our loan by the end of August. We need your help to reach our goal of building our larger facility to meet the increased community needs for both dogs and families. We can do so much more with your help. Please consider donating and joining us on our journey to increase our community impact to keep dogs in our homes with those who love them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.SolDogLodge.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soldoglodge/
• Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/soldogtucson/
• Other: https://linktr.ee/soldoglodge

Image Credits
Molly Condit and Great Bear Media www.gbearmedia.com