MEET FURRY FRIENDS

Ask a Jupiter local and they’ll probably tell you they have heard of Furry Friends Adoption, Clinic & Ranch but they might not realize just how much the nonprofit is doing for our furriest citizens – or what it took to get there. No human guests were in the room last year when Furry Friends quietly opened their brand new, state-of-the-art $5 million building (built by the generosity of community donations) at the start of the pandemic in Jupiter Commerce Park.

Thanks to Covid-19, in-person guests weren’t allowed inside the first and only shelter in our area built to withstand a category five hurricane. Catopia, the modern cat-themed hangout area in the building, was silent. The Pups and Cups CATfé, built to encourage socializing while playing with adoptable animals, had not brewed a single cup of coffee. The community room, built for public parties, yoga and presentations, was empty. The volunteers and donors the nonprofit relied on were frozen from action and Furry Friends worried how they would be able to continue to meet the needs of the abandoned animals who would starve without help in their care. That’s when leadership stepped up creating Covid-safe events, new creative programs and an “Emergency Comfort Fund” fundraiser calling on the community to help them keep the lights on and furry bellies full.

It worked. In 2020, Furry Friends saved over 1100 homeless, abused, and abandoned animals and placed them into loving homes. A standout success on its own and a 50% increase in animals adopted since 2016. They kept innovating with every challenge: expanding their veterinary clinic offerings by donating free or reduced services to pet owners and spaying and neutering thousands of pets to help address the root cause of shelter overcrowding. They created a foster program matching lonely dogs with lonely seniors. They even increased traffic at their popular thrift store on Indiantown road through creative promotions to help generate even more revenue back into the nonprofit. Thanks to community donations, and the hard work of their incredibly dedicated team behind the scenes, Furry Friends not only stayed afloat but served our area every step of the way with even more life-saving programs and initiatives.

Fast forward to today and the public space at 100 Capital Street is booming: facilitating more adoptions, programs and community events for the organization than ever before in its 40 year history. After a grand opening “re-do” back in June, attended by community leaders, clients, and friends, the facility was finally able to celebrate making it through its toughest year ever and open its brand new doors to the people that helped build it.

Today at the adoption center, you can hear children laughing as they watch cats play and leap over ledges in Catopia. You can see a Jupiter policeman bond with an adoptable dog licking his face during an Adopt with A Cop Facebook Live in the community room. You could even schedule an appointment to watch their new dog trainer Tisha work with a service dog to be matched with a US veteran for the organization’s Shelter to Service Program at their nearby 27-acre Palm City ranch. After over a year of silence, the multi-tiered organization today is humming with programs, people and pets, and are overjoyed at what they have been able to do for the animals in our area.

Chairman of the Board Jason Gluck states “We are so proud that our organization is able to make such a significant impact in our community by caring for its most defenseless, loving members: our animals. We absolutely could not do the life-saving work we do without our donors, volunteers, employees and supporters. We call them our First Furry Responders and our pledge to them is this: we will never waver in our dedication to feeding, healing, and loving the abused, abandoned, and homeless animals across our county. We are only able to do what we do because of them.” §
www.furryfriendsadoption.org