Help us celebrate our 50th anniversary by donating to help us meet our match!
Generous supporter, Robert Akins, will match up to $50,000 of your gifts so please give today.
Check out this interactive timeline commemorating 50 years of Helen Woodward Animal Center history:
Take a virtual tour of the Center as it is today and look ahead to some of the big plans we have for the future:
Bryce W. Rhodes – Steven A. Anderson, Esq. – Charles L. Bieler – Chris Breining – Joe Camp – Taner Halicioglu – James Hooker – Diane Keaton – Michael McKinnon – Toni W. Nickell – Katie Shull – Arlo G. Sorensen – David Vigil – Andy Wasa – Mike Arms
Helen Woodward and a group of friends envisioned a facility that would encompass comprehensive animal care and public education programs. Helen loved the outdoors. She said, "The days that the sun doesn't shine don't count." Her happiest days were spent on the Del Mar beaches with her dogs. She bought an old farm with a wooden water tower in Rancho Santa Fe. First founded as San Dieguito Animal Care and Education Center, Helen's vision was to create a special place where 'people help animals and animals help people.' Over 50 years later, her mission continues to enrich the lives of people and animals.
Before heading the staff at the Animal Care and Education Center, Mel L. Morse served as the Executive Vice President of the Humane Society of the United States and the National Director of the American Humane Association. During World War II, he was an Army instructor and helped train dogs for combat. He worked on a number of Army films about dogs and after the war joined the American Humane Association in Hollywood where he advocated for the proper care of animals used in films. "Animals need help - and people do, too." Morse wrote in a newsletter after being appointed, "At the Center we will create a new kind of environment for human understanding of animals in modern society. Our biggest goal is education, both on the individual person-to-animal basis, and on a larger basis, to reduce the cruelty and costs of animal overpopulation."
With education at the core of their mission, Center staff begin producing and distributing a monthly publication called "2&2." The title was inspired by Noah's Ark: "And every beast after his kind...into the ark, two and two." The publications consist of educational columns, letters from members of the Center, photographs, animal caretaking advice and stories, and even animal-based learning activities for children. This publication still exists today in a quarterly magazine format with a new name: "The Companion."
With construction starting one year earlier, a dedication is held and opening ceremonies for the Animal Care and Education Center. Special guests at a subsequent open house include Joan Blondell and her canine co-star from Paramount Pictures' newly released "Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood."
In the Center's first years, about 300 adoptions are taking place annually. Adoption fees at this point in time range from $25-$40 for dogs, and $10-$17.50 for cats. During this time, the Center consists of just 10 staff members and 5 board members. Around 500 children are taking part in the Center's educational programs per year.
The Center's Therapeutic Riding Program launches to help children and adults with physical and/or cognitive disabilities receive the therapeutic benefits of riding horseback. Researchers have long cheered the physical and emotional benefits of horseback riding. Physically, riding can stimulate and strengthen muscles and improve coordination. Psychologically, riders benefit from improved self esteem, as well as increased attention span and concentration. The Center provides free riding lessons to 35 handicapped students weekly.
LaBeth Thompson was a volunteer in adoptions before being hired in 1981. Over the next 40+ years, her leadership plays a central role in the coordination of orphan animals taken in by the Center. Quoted in 1990, LaBeth says she feels 'very lucky to be a part of an organization dedicated to bettering the environment, a place that really cares for animals, not just on the surface but in a truly committed way.'
"The Animal Center became aware that some elderly pet owners were giving a portion of their food through Meals on Wheels to their pets. To help these seniors and their beloved pets, the Center began an innovative program of providing pet food for Meals on Wheels deliveries! To this day, Helen Woodward Animal Center's AniMeals program feeds over 600 dogs and cats each month in coordination with different partner organizations throughout the community."
The Center creates and copyrights a textbook called "Sharing the Earth" designed to supplement fifth grade curriculum in science, math, social studies, language arts and career education. The textbook was endorsed by the California Department of Education. More than 10,000 copies were distributed statewide.
Pet Encounter Therapy (PET) begins bringing small animals to visit senior citizens in assisted care facilities. In this unique outreach program, the Center has enabled thousands of mentally and physically disabled persons to enjoy the benefits of animal interaction. Research has shown that quietly petting a dog, cat or bird can actually lower a patient's blood pressure as well as increase interest and curiosity levels. It was the last program launched before Helen Woodward passed away.
Helen Whittier Woodward died of cancer on Monday, November 12, 1984 at Scripps Memorial Hospital. She was 77-years-old. She was remembered in a New York Times obituary as "a philanthropist who donated millions... Mrs. Woodward was one of four children of Mericos H. Whittier and Joanna Williams Whittier. Her father was a developer of Beverly Hills." Former Del Mar Mayor Tom Pearson wrote: "A major purpose of the Animal Care Center is education of children in the care of their pets. It broke Helen's heart that there were so many animals put away by the pounds in the county and the cities. Her way of reducing the anguish was to create a facility that would educate and promote responsible care of animals and their breeding." After her death, noting how humble and private she was, he added: "She didn't want her name associated with the "Center'', as she called it. She didn't like center stage. But I think it's great that her name and memory, and her deep love for animals, are recorded for posterity at the Helen Woodward Animal Care Center."
One year after Helen Woodward's passing on November 12, 1984, the Center was renamed in her honor. Executive Director Mel Morse announced the dedication in a publication, writing: "The first time I met Helen Woodward, I was struck by two things. It was 1973, at her home in Del Mar, California. We were discussing her ideas for a new and very different kind of animal care facility. I remember being moved by her sincere concern for the needs of animals, and humans, who were unwanted or uncared for, and by her genuine commitment to improving human/animal relationships. I recognized a kindred spirit... Her dreams and the dreams of others who worked, and continue to work, to fulfill them, remain vibrantly alive." Later quoted in The Citizen newspaper, Morse said, "She was quite a gal and this is the first time we've been so bold as to put her name on something. She purposely stayed low-key."
Dedication held for our State-of-the-Art Veterinary Center, including boarding and grooming, and a general hospital for surgeries, radiology, necropsy and cobalt treatment services. This was a milestone in the field of animal welfare and care, and San Diego County's largest treatment facility for equine and domestic animals at the time.
Prior to joining the Center, John was the Director of Development for Cate School in Carpenteria, California and had more than 30 years of experience caring for animals in the farming business.
As a 3-year-old, Patilargo had won the Caribbean Classic, the Latin American equivalent of our Kentucky Derby. The stallion from Panama had compiled an impressive record, but broke down at a Tijuana track. Patilargo was transported to the Center's Specialty Referral Veterinary Hospital where Dr. Lynn Richardson performed reconstructive surgery on the horse's fractured leg. His surgery was successful, and he received daily hydrotherapy treatments during his recovery. The horse's owner was regretful of the injury, but thankful that it happened near Helen Woodward Animal Center, because other parts of the world lack such specialty care and he would likely have been put down.
The Center staff of 15 employees grows to over 40 in this 10- year decade. A volunteer program was initiated with 54 people taking part. Over this decade, the Center will see approximately 2,170 adoptions, over 19,000 people participating in humane education programs, and new program additions including Therapeutic Riding, Pet Encounter Therapy, AniMeals, Club Pet Boarding and the Equine Hospital.
The Center's board grows to 11 members with Helen Woodward's grandson Bryce W. Rhodes serving as Chairman.
Actress and devoted animal advocate Betty White, receives Center's first annual Humane Award for her lifelong dedication to animals and help in promoting the Center's work. The award was granted during the Center's Spring Fling with the theme "Hooray For Hollywag." After graciously accepting the etched crystal award and thanking the Center, she quipped "Bandit is a tough act to follow," referring to an adorable 12-week-old Siberian Husky who earlier that evening had stolen hearts during an adoptable dog showing.
Kanga, a rare six month old okapi is transferred from San Diego Wild Animal Park to the Center's Equine Hospital for three hours of successful arthroscopic surgery on its injured hind knee.
Actress and author Betty White joined the Center's board of directors, staff, and education and pet encounter therapy animals in thanking Helen Woodward Society Members and major donors at Morgan Run Resort. She personalized copies of her book, Here We Go Again: My Life In Television, given as a gift to supporters. The Helen Woodward Society honored annual donors of $1,000 or more whose generous support is critical to the ongoing vitality of the Center's programs.
Tippi Hedren is recognized for her ongoing efforts in animal welfare and for opening the Shambala Preserve, a 60-acre haven for abandoned and neglected large cats and exotic animals. Hedren was presented the Center's Humane Award at the 7th Annual Spring Fling where she greeted 470 attendees who helped the Center raise $100,000 that evening.
The first equine recovery pool system in Southern California and the third of its kind in the United States is constructed at Helen Woodward Animal Center's Equine Hospital. "Waking up from anesthesia in the pool gives horses a chance to safely recover their strength, coordination, and awareness, and that provides a much better chance for them to recover without injury," explains Dr. Dean Richardson, Chief of Surgery at New Bolton Center. "From the earliest days of equine surgery under anesthesia, veterinarians recognized that there were enormous risks during the recovery phase. Horses are prey animals, and their instinct is always to run away from trouble." This new technology offered horse owners a level of surgical care not available elsewhere in the region.
The Center is staffed with 80 employees, as well as more than 500 dedicated volunteers. In honor of its 25th anniversary, the Center also revealed a new logo and changed the name of its quarterly newsletter to The Companion. During this 10-year decade, the Center saw over 6,300 adoptions, served over 36,600 participants in humane education programs, served over 220,000 AniMeals meals, over 142,000 PET encounters, and treated over 7,500 patients in the Equine Hospital.
Michael Arms, an international animal welfare consultant and longtime executive with the widely-recognized North Shore Animal League in New York, joins the Center as CEO. A pioneer in the animal welfare industry, he immediately improves operations and increases the number of adoptions from a few hundred per year to more than 3,800 per year by 2021. He is recognized worldwide as the creator of both the International Pet Adopt-a-thon and Home 4 the Holidays® adoption campaigns, as well as the Remember Me Thursday® adoption awareness campaign. Mike is credited in the last 40 years with saving the lives of millions of orphan animals.
Actress and animal advocate Linda Blair is honored by the Center as Humanitarian of the Year. She founded the Linda Blair Worldheart Foundation, an animal and human welfare organization with a mission to "aid in crisis situations, while educating, encouraging and empowering the public to make a difference in the lives of those whom have no voice."
One of the largest wildfires in California's history resulted in Helen Woodward Animal Center activating as an emergency hospital for horses and community distribution center for pet essentials. The Center's equine hospital received numerous horses and burros who had been badly burned by the fire. One of the most significant stories to come out of this devastating event was a burned horse named Yankee. 32-year-old Yankee was found strapped to his pole corral just feet from his owners' burned down house. He arrived at the Center with third degree burns to more than 30% of his body. While his condition was severe, doctors were confident he could survive. For days, Yankee's owner did not leave his side, sleeping in her car outside his stall. On February 14, 2004, surrounded by hospital care providers, veterinarians, reporters and Center staff members and volunteers, Yankee was loaded back into his trailer with a new lease on life, teaching everyone an inspiring lesson in resilience.
Amid devastation in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a team from the Center traveled to the affected area to assist animal rescue groups. The Center welcomed two planeloads of dogs and cats amid planes chartered by philanthropists, T. Boone and Madeleine Pickens.
Surfs pup! The first ever Surf Dog Surf-a-Thon drew enthusiastic crowds to Del Mar Dog Beach to witness this one-of-kind sporting event. Over the years, it's only grown in popularity attracting more than 4,000 spectators by 2010, as well as media coverage from ESPN and other television networks from around the world. The media coverage continues to grow each year!
Staff and seven orphaned puppies take part in the iconic bell ringing ceremony at Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City. The bell was rung by Helen Woodward Animal Center President Mike Arms to draw attention to the 9th annual Iams Home 4 the Holidays® pet adoption drive.
Actress Bo Derek is recognized with the Center's Humane Award for her dedication to animal welfare. She served as a spokesperson for the Animal Welfare Institute's campaign to end horse slaughter through legislation, a Special Envoy of the Secretary of State for Wildlife Trafficking, and traveled the globe on behalf of the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking. She also served as a commissioner of the California Horse Racing Board between 2008 and 2015 and helped to enhance safety and animal rights in the horse racing industry.
During this 10-year decade, the Center saw over 19,000 adoptions, served over 152,000 participants in humane education programs, served over 909,000 AniMeals meals, over 191,000 PET encounters, and treated over 8,300 patients in the Equine Hospital. Also, during the 2000’s, volunteers gave over 409,000 hours of service, Club Pet cared for over 2,000 unique pets per year accommodating over 46,000 animal stays, and The Business of Saving Lives workshops began, with over 550 participants from across the country representing over 200 organizations.
"After nearly 40 years, the street that originally ran in front of Helen Woodward Animal Center is renamed to honor the founder of one of the nation's most recognized animal welfare facilities. The sign on San Dieguito Road marking its intersection with Calle de Nido has been taken down and replaced with a new one proclaiming, 'Helen Woodward Way," the Rancho Santa Fe Review published. In the article, CEO Mike Arms is quoted, saying, "Helen was a woman of great foresight. Forty years ago she bought this property covered in weeds, a barn that was falling down, a water tower that leaked, and a little house that we still use as our education building. It's time for Helen Woodward Animal Center to grow in the same manner that the community around us has grown."
As the Center continues to grow and succeed, the need to ensure that facilities can keep pace with new progressive ideas and with the community's growing needs becomes critical. In April of 2011, Campaign for Caring completed its first phase of the much-needed renovations, which included the construction of a new administrative building and small animal veterinary hospital.
For the first time, the Business of Saving Lives workshop includes an international guest list representing animal welfare organizations across the world. It was held at the Bahia Hotel near Mission Bay with the goal of providing those in the animal welfare industry, both staff and volunteers, with valuable information to help run their organization as a business - a life-saving business. Speakers included animal advocate Jill Rappaport from the TODAY show, Senator Andrew Dinniman from Pennsylvania who championed a bill to remove gas chambers for pets from his home state, and celebrity dog coach Tamar Geller. Topics ranged from effective fundraising strategies to the importance of public relations - all vital tools in the fight against euthanasia.
In September 2012, dignitaries from the emirate of Abu Dhabi traveled all the way to San Diego, California to attend the ACES International Conference (now known as The Business of Saving Lives Workshop) to reach their goal of making the United Arab Emirates a kinder place for its canine citizens, through the founding of the Emirates Animal Welfare Society of Abu Dhabi. They brought with them the "Memorandum of Understanding", which established a unique partnership between Abu Dhabi and Helen Woodward Animal Center to assist one another in increasing the number of lives saved throughout the world.
Companion Animal Hospital officially opens to the public. This high-tech, small animal hospital offers services to all dogs and cats whose owners are seeking the most modern advances in veterinary science. Services offered include routine care, soft tissue and orthopedic surgery, dentistry, ultrasound, digital radiology, laser therapy, as well as preventative and diagnostic internal medicine.
In recognition of her dedication to the Center as the spokesperson for the Home 4 the Holidays® program, Diane Keaton is presented with the Humane Award. “I’ve received so many awards in my lifetime,†said Diane Keaton in an interview with Animal Wellness Magazine, “but this is the one that I want my children to remember me for.â€
When Hurricane Harvey hit Texas in August 2017, Helen Woodward Animal Center called upon partner Southwest Airlines for help. Having previously worked together, they coordinated a charter flight. Flight #8725 departed from San Diego to Austin with four representatives from the Center. A caravan of 64 weary strays made their way from Houston to Austin where they were loaded onto the plane before safely arriving at the center.
Just before the official opening of the renovated Adoptions building, a final touch was made. Center staff buried a time capsule on the side of the building to be opened in 2072. It contains a special message and gifts for employees and volunteers of the future.
Phase 2 of Center renovation is complete on July 17, 2019 as Helen Woodward Animal Center opens the doors of its new Adoption Center! Building on the same footprint of the original building, the entirely new construction took 1.5 years to complete and made major updates. The new building brought adoptable dogs completely indoors, protecting them from rain and heat and made kennel cleaning and access for the staff much more efficient. Rolling service doors also created a pleasant experience for orphan pets and adopters with the ability to keep open during good weather to afford the canines access to fresh air and natural breezes. Large skylights placed throughout the Adoptions Center now also provide bright sunlight to our canine and feline areas.
During this 10-year decade, the Center saw over 29,000 adoptions, served over 150,000 participants in humane education programs, served over 2.4 million AniMeals meals, over 200,000 PET encounters, and treated over 4,500 patients in the Equine Hospital. Also, during the 2010's, volunteers gave over 845,000 hours of service, Club Pet grew from over 4,000 pets per year cared for to over 7,000, and The Business of Saving Lives workshops continued, with over 1,600 participants from across the country representing over 500 organizations. New additions to Center programs and services included Companion Animal Hospital, Pets Without Walls and the Orphaned Objects Designer Resale Shop.
Her career at the Center now spanning 40 years, LaBeth Thompson is recognized for her dedication to animal welfare. Overseeing intakes, she is directly responsible for routing animals to the Center for safe haven, and in doing so, has helped save thousands of lives.
The Center is granted Special consultative status by the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO Branch in the United Nations) with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
In February, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014. Within days of Helen Woodward Animal Center announcing its $50,000 pledge and asking the community to match this contribution for Ukrainian Pets in Crisis, supporters answered the call in an impactful way. Over $300,000 has been sent to the Polish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Estonian Society for Animal Welfare, and UAnimals organizations on the ground in Ukraine working to assist animals in need. In a letter from our partners in Poland, they wrote, "This money will help in saving the lives of animals that are fleeing from Ukraine. The war in Ukraine is an enormous crime and injustice. However, in the face of this tragedy, we see how many people engage in opening their hearts and trying to find a way to give assistance. The received donation will be used to cover expenses related to the ongoing help and care of animals, both those who cross the border with their owners and those homeless coming to our shelters... we thank you for supporting us in this greatest humanitarian and animal crisis in modern European history."
As of its 50th year, more than 65,000 pets have been impacted through our pet adoption services. Over 350,000 participants have benefitted from Humane Education programs because of the Center. Over half a million people have experienced Pet Encounter Therapy because of the Center. Hundreds of people with disabilities have benefitted from Therapeutic Riding because of the Center. Over 5 million AniMeals have been served to the pets of low-income and home bound Americans because of the Center. Over 30,000 animals have been cared for in Club Pet Boarding and over 100,000 patient visits have occurred at Companion Animal Hospital. All because of almost 3,000 team members who worked at Helen Woodward Animal Center, our donors and supporters, and the more than 27,000 volunteers who have contributed almost 1.6 million hours of service to these efforts. As we usher in a new era of the Center, the focus has turned to a new Humane Education and Pet Encounter Therapy Complex, where for the first time, all of the education and therapy programming will exist under one roof to the benefit of all children, adults, seniors and animals involved.
The Center sent two representatives to attend the Global Youth Peace Fest, organized by Yuvsatta which is an Indian Nonprofit focused on advocacy for youth. Through this visit and follow ups, the team has established a cohort of Animal Fan Clubs at various schools throughout India.
The new Sharron Lee MacDonald Humane Education Campus includes many exciting expansions including two buildings totaling 10,500 square feet housing both the Humane Education programs, as well as all of the Pet Encounter Therapy staff, animals and programs; 6 Themed Classrooms such as a Desert Room, a Jungle/Woodland Room, an Ocean Room, a Tundra Room, and an Urban Pets Room; 2 Outdoor Playgrounds with a variety of play accessibility and much more.
Due to Hurricane Hilary, all departments will be closing at 3pm today. Stay safe!