Meet Jodi Polanski of Lost Our Home Pet Rescue in Tempe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jodi Polanski.

Please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In 2008, during the economic crisis and the Phoenix area housing market crash, I was a mortgage banker and a volunteer for a pet rescue. I kept hearing stories from Realtors about pets they found abandoned in foreclosed homes and wondered who was doing something to help. Realizing that there wasn’t a rescue out there specifically for Realtors to call when finding an abandoned pet, I founded Lost Our Home Pet Rescue. It started as a grassroots, foster-based rescue, but quickly grew as we realized the need was much greater than anticipated. I was getting calls from pet parents asking for food because they couldn’t afford to feed their pets and didn’t want to surrender them to a shelter, calls from pet parents that needed someone to watch their pet for a few months while they were in-between homes after a foreclosure and calls from pet parents that knew they could no longer care for their pet and wanted them to go to a no-kill shelter that would guarantee placement in a new, loving home. Starting a nonprofit organization in “good times” is difficult, but starting one during an economic crisis when even very large, established for-profit organizations are laying off employees and closing down, is very difficult. It is even more difficult for a non-profit that depends on donations from individuals and companies that no longer have the funds to donate. This was the challenge when I started Lost Our Home Pet Rescue, but the passion and purpose the rescue brought into my life was like nothing I had ever experienced, and I was on a mission to make the rescue the best that it could be so we could help as many pets and pet parents as possible. We not only survived the economic crisis but we thrived and grew to levels I never imagined. This year, we are celebrating our 10th anniversary!! We have received incredible support from the community and as that continues to grow so does our impact. Each year we have been able to help more pets and people in need and provide an increasingly better level of care and service. Our amazing team of more than 300 volunteers and 15 employees (5 full time, 10 part-time) and our generous donors at all levels (from $1.00 – $1,000,000) are the backbone of our organization, helping us become a “model” shelter in our industry with innovative programs for pets and people, extensive enrichment for the dogs and cats in our care, a beautiful, clean shelter that runs efficiently and with lots of love and best of all we have made a difference in the lives of more than 22,000 pets!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. It has been a struggle to create a solid foundation, build an organizational infrastructure and balance the daily operations to serve the pets and people who need our help. When the rescue opened it was like the floodgates opened, even before we had set up policies, procedures, training manuals, etc. For the first two and a half years we were open, we had no employees and have been mainly a volunteer-run organization. Inconsistencies, growing at a really fast pace and drowning in rescue work, made building the foundation a big challenge. Add to that being responsible for pets that need care 365 days a year from early morning to late evening and it elevates that challenge to a whole new level. We thankfully got through all those growing pains and came out shining. We are more prepared now and our current huge growth spurt is a fun and exciting challenge.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Lost Our Home Pet Rescue – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Lost Our Home Pet Rescue is a nonprofit organization with a no-kill shelter located in Tempe. Our mission is to provide compassionate services to pets and people in crisis. We rescue abandoned pets and help those at risk of losing their pets due to life circumstances or financial hardships. Job loss, homelessness, domestic violence, hospitalization and countless other crises can make it difficult or impossible to care for a pet. In situations like these, families should not be torn apart when what they really need is a helping hand. At Lost Our Home, not only do we find new, loving homes for owner surrendered and abandoned pets, we help struggling families through our safety net programs that are designed to keep people and pets together. Our Pet Food Bank, provide pet food and supplies to those temporarily unable to afford them and our Temporary Care Program provides up to 90 days of pet care for people experiencing a life challenge or crisis. In so many cases, these programs keep pets with the families that love them and prevent them from being surrendered to overcrowded shelters where they face an uncertain future. What I’m most proud of is the collaboration of volunteers, employees, and donors that make it all happen, and the impact we have made. Since 2008, we have helped more than 22,000 pets, placing over 4,500 homeless pets in safe and loving homes, reuniting more than 750 pets with their families following a crisis and feeding over 17,500 pets through our Pet Food Bank.

What role has luck (good luck or bad luck) played in your life and business?
I’m not a believer in good or bad luck. I’m a believer that life is what you make of it and that you should be grateful for what has been given to you. In essence, you make your own luck… good or bad. You can’t always control what happens in life, but you can control your response to it. Do you turn mistakes or bad situations into learning opportunities or do you respond with anger and miss the chance to grow as a person? What actions are you taking to get what you want? Do you put your time, heart and soul into achieving your goals or go through life wishing for something, but not taking the steps to make it happen? I feel grateful for both the good and bad that has happened in my life because without the bad, I wouldn’t have built the strength and character I have today. I’m grateful for the lessons I have learned and the people I have met along the way that have helped in the success of Lost Our Home.

Contact Info:

• Address: 2323 S. Hardy Dr. Tempe, AZ 85282
• Website: www.LostOurHome.org
• Phone: 602-445-7387(pets)
• Email: Info@LostOurHome.org

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