Meet Christy Cole of Desert Harbor Doberman Rescue of Arizona

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christy Cole

Hi Christy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Desert Harbor Doberman Rescue (DHDR) was founded in 2009, during a major recession, to rescue Dobermans that were popping up in shelters as people lost their homes. While the economy improved, more unethical breeding of Dobermans took place, and the need for rescue only grew. Over the past 15 years, DHDR has grown into a robust 100% volunteer-based organization. We operate using a volunteer system, and volunteer foster homes, meaning we do not have a physical shelter location. This keeps overhead down, and is ideal for the temperament of the breed. We have 200 volunteers, and approximately 20 foster homes.

Eventually, at DHDR, we began to hone in on the root causes of Dobermans in need, and pivoted to not only rescue dogs, but solve those root issues as well. Those include:

– Unethical breeders: As a breed specific rescue, DHDR actually supports ethical breeders. However, unethical (aka Backyard Breeders) breeders breed dogs of poor health, poor temperament, and do not educate owners on what the breed needs. We focus on creating graphics and sharing information to educate the public. This page explains it a bit more: https://azdoberescue.org/bone-up/breeders

– Poor puppy raising: When puppies are purchased from unethical breeders with no direction, people do not know what to do. The first weeks, months, and years for puppies are critical in raising a dog to be a stable adult. When puppies are not properly raised or socialized, this can lead to behavior problems, and people rehoming those dogs.

– Lack of training and ‘job’: Dobermans are a working breed, and they need a job, even after puppyhood. If they are not trained in a positive way, and if they aren’t given both mental and physical outlets, they can develop behavior issues or be difficult to live with. DHDR has developed a community training program in which we have a network of trainers, offer helpful content, and free training sessions. We also developed a Dobersports program, which you can read more about here: https://azdoberescue.org/bone-up/doberman-sports

In post-covid era, things have reached a dire state, and DHDR came to acknowledge that we can barely scratch the surface in rescuing all the dogs that need to be rescued. As a result, we have created a website, and a Facebook group, that cross-posts all the Dobermans available in Arizona – we don’t believe that everyone has to adopt through us. We just want to be a source of support and networking for the community.

At DHDR, we aim to provide applicants and adopters with education, support, resources, and a community. We even have a Matchmaker role, and a post-adoption counselor. We also specialize in complex medical cases, as a result of our incredible veterinary partners.

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Specific to me personally –
At a particularly difficult point in my life, after college, I happened to end up living alone, with a young Doberman puppy. She was purchased from an unethical breeder, and had a long list of issues. I dove in to solving these issues, and in the process, found DHDR. I jumped in to the young organization, and for the first time in my life, felt a strong sense of purpose. I gained incredible experience, learned much more independence, and eventually took over the rescue. My passion has been professionalizing the rescue, ensuring we focus on the strategic vision, and doing the most good as possible for our breed and the community. Eventually, I also became passionate about humane training and dog behavior, and got my CPDT-KA certification.

Since DHDR is a volunteer role, I spend my career working with growing businesses and nonprofits. My business, Lilt Collaborative, helps those organizations grow faster, with less friction. I create operating systems and provide fractional support for executives and their teams.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Animal welfare, and rescue in particular, can be an incredible challenge. There are many days, I, along with my other volunteers, question if we can do this again the next day. Key challenges include:

– Compassion Fatigue: Compassion fatigue is a medical term that deals with those who work to solve other people’s trauma day in and day out. Without taking breaks, self-care, and sometimes professional help, volunteers can experience many side effects from this emotional exhaustion. While DHDR works to stay cognizant of these things, we still have volunteers face these issues.

– Industry Politics: Whether it is the public arguing with each other on a shelter or rescues policies, infighting, or tension between organizations, the Animal Welfare space is known to foster many political landmines. Since DHDR was founded, we have developed a culture that ensures professionalism, empathy, and strong team dynamics. We support direct conversations over back-channeling, and have zero tolerance for infighting.

– Liability and Ethics: Rescues face continual questions around making the right decisions, setting the right policies, and keeping volunteers and the public safe (while also doing the best thing for the animals in their care). DHDR brings in outside experts like behaviorists, trainers, veterinarians, lawyers, and more to ensure we are operating to the highest standards. Over the years, we have had to overcome many challenging discussions. Insurance costs for rescues and shelters is rising dramatically, as well.

– Fundraising: As DHDR expanded, we realized that ‘less is more’ when it comes to fundraising. So, we hold less fundraisers and ask less, and tailor the instances we do fundraise to be as powerful as possible. This approach, along with Meta’s fundraising tools, brought us to a great place for many years. In recent years, we have seen fundraising become more difficult, on trend for the US, and are working to get as creative as possible to continue fundraising.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
DHDR is a 501c3 Nonprofit.
I think a couple things that set us apart:

In addition to physically rescuing Dobermans, we focus on the bigger picture.

We are dedicated to a Force Free, LIMA training approach for dogs and provide resources and education. We never use ecollars, prong collars, or other punishment-based training techniques.

We are known for always taking on tough medical cases.

We are also known for being kind and empathetic to all – we never judge – and accept people who need to surrender their dog with open arms and resources.

We are also known as a resource – even if you didn’t adopt from us. Anyone who has a Doberman can connect with us for support, customized discussion, free classes, resources, etc.

This year, we were selected to participate in Animal Planet’s puppy bowl! With 12 million viewers, it was an incredible opportunity to feature our brand and the breed. Learn more here: https://azdoberescue.org/puppybowl

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
At DHDR, we have a Puppy program, in which we adopt puppies to families with young children, and they do training sessions and group classes together. The kids get to be involved in the training and learn the best way to raise a puppy. We also have fosters’ kids who get to help raise the puppies in their homes; it’s a wonderful experience and the photos are so heartwarming.

Pricing:

• We have kept our adoption fees at $350 for 15 years, even with rising costs, as we want our adopters to invest their money into good training, toys, food, and vet care.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.azdoberescue.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dhdrofaz
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dhdrofaz