A SAVING GRACE FOR FURRY FRIENDS WITHOUT A PLACE TO GO

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Diana Stafford. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

For nearly 30 years, Diana Stafford has made saving the lives of dogs and cats her life’s mission.

The Montana animal lover noticed there was a lack of care for animals that needed a little bit of extra attention. From bottle babies and post-surgical pups to dogs that needed rehabilitation before adoption, these furry friends were left without a place to get healthy since they couldn’t be cared for in traditional shelters. An advocate for saving animals since she was a teen, Diana decided to do something about this gap. In 1995, she and her husband co-founded Tiny Tails K-9 Rescue, a small dog breed and puppy rescue, to directly assist this underserved population. Since then, Diana has found homes for endless puppies with unique needs, placing them in foster situations until they can find their forever home. Adoption day is Diana’s favorite moment for these animals, as it serves as both an end to their challenging start in life and a bright new beginning.

At 68, Diana has no plans of slowing down. In fact, she’s gearing up for the future. The Tiny Tails team is hopeful that they can eventually acquire a facility of their own, providing space to temporarily house animals who come from a diverse range of challenging situations. But no matter their origin story, Diana is there to care for these dogs, cats and other animals in need. All creatures big and small have benefitted from Diana’s generosity and willingness to lend a hand.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

There were a lot of animals that were being euthanized unnecessarily, especially litters of puppies and kittens that just needed to be bottle-fed. There wasn’t anything wrong with them. They were too young to be in a kennel-type facility. They needed 24-hour care, and the facilities didn’t have the manpower to take care of them. These puppies have to be fed every two hours around the clock. We started growing our group, and now we handle the entire state.

Tell us about your volunteer role with Tiny Tails K-9 Rescue.

I’m kind of a chief cook and bottle washer or poop picker-upper! I am usually the first person somebody calls if they need assistance. We get specialty animals that are going to be in a kill-type environment, or due to contracts with the county, are not able to be in a kill environment. We teach animal first aid and CPR to first responders, Girl Scout troops and 4-H projects.

We have an outreach for the homeless community since it gets bitterly cold here in Montana and a lot of the homeless are not allowed to take their pets into warming centers. Our group has also expanded our services to include a dog food bank. We also have a Purple Leash Program that will do emergency housing for animals if families need to flee from domestic violence and need a place to put their animals so they don’t have to leave them behind.

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?

We are in the process now of looking at the possibility of getting a small facility. We work from foster homes, and that works out really well with the animals that we’re rescuing. But in the Purple Leash Program, we are using other people’s facilities. We’re paying for emergency boarding when space is available. We take them into our own homes when space is available, but when we take those animals in, then we don’t have space for the animals that are in danger of being euthanized, and that is our primary goal. So we’re looking at maybe in the next five years having a small facility that can do temporary emergency housing.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

Seeing the animals get into a forever home. Adoption Day is literally our pay day. Also, we are a 100% volunteer organization, and we have volunteers who have worked within this organization for 20-plus years.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

There are a lot of very kind, generous people out there. People who don’t have the means to provide a home for an animal but are very kind and patient. For example, we had a security breach in March of 2022 and all of our bank accounts were taken over by a hacker. All of our donation accounts, checking accounts and savings accounts– They had it all and we had to get the FBI involved. When people in the community found out we were in dire straits and there was a good possibility that we weren’t going to recover from it, people that aren’t even involved in the animal community came by my house and dropped off checks for $50 or $75. We were able to get back what this individual stole from us from our community. I learned that individuals will reach out and assist.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

Not only is it good for your soul, but it gives other individuals in the community the ability to see that in their worst of times, there are people who are caring and loving and willing to reach out and assist and resolve issues that they might not otherwise have the ability to do.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

Contact whoever is the CEO or the person that is managing the group you think you would like to volunteer for. Go to a couple of their fundraisers, talk to their other volunteers, find out what it is that they’re doing and see if that hits a chord with them. Extend a hand and start slowly.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

There is a purpose for every person on the planet. Even though you may not have all the skills needed, you may have that one absolutely needed skill that makes a project, program or rescue work. For example, we have volunteers that do bookkeeping for us. They never see an animal, but they are as important and allow us to be able to do the work that we are passionate about.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Diana? Find local volunteer opportunities.