May 30, 2024 • 8 mins
I GET TO SEE SOME PUPS TODAY! As the wonderful folks at MaxFund are coming in for a visit. I'll chat with Kathy Gaines, Executive Director, Sophia Guerriero, Marketing & Fundraising Coordinator, and Zoey Defario, Adoption Coordinator about Max Fund and how you can support their wonderful mission. Buy tickets to their gala by clicking here. Find a new furry friend or just make a donation by clicking here.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Kathy Gains, the executive director,Sophia is it guerra Guerrero? Okay,
she's like whatever, just Masac,my name is fine. And Zoe Defario,
who is the adoption coordinator, havebrought in three fuzzy friends from Max
Fund because Max Fund is a trueno kill shelter and they don't just take
care of dogs. They actually takecare of dogs that have been brought in
(00:21):
off the streets by good Samaritans.They pay their vet bills, then they
keep them safe and happy until theycan find new forever homes. And they
are just a wonderful organization. Sopull that microphone down. Yeah, there
you go, Kathy. No,you're good. You look strict in there
for a second. Won't buy you. It's fine. So, Kathy,
how long have you been with MaxFund? I've been with Max Fund for
three years. And how long haveyou been around They've been around for a
(00:43):
while. Oh yeah, since nineteeneighty eight, yes for sure. When
I started doing these commercials, Icannot tell you how many emails I got
from people saying, oh my god, I got my dog from Max Fund.
So obviously, you guys have beenconnecting animals for thousands of people.
I mean tons of people said,but two friends, mind just got puppies
for Max Fund. Oh? Absolutely, And I feel it's exciting that more
(01:03):
and more people, I think recognizethe Max Fund name. I mean it
used to be because I was atMax Fun years ago. Also when I
came back to be director. WhenI was here the first time, I
got a lot of Oh, areyou guys competitors of Charles Schwab. The
answer is no, we are adopta dog maybe, I mean yeah,
yeah, we're Denver and Colorado's largestno kill shelter for dogs. Wow.
(01:25):
And how many animals do you usuallyhave in the shelter that you guys have
any even day? We might havethree hundred between dogs and cats, three
hundred plus we have about one hundredin foster care at any go Wow.
So yeah, it's a very busy. We have five buildings, kind of
a little quasi campus, and it'sit's quite the happening place if you could
(01:45):
just kind of and I give thebackstory a little bit in the spots that
I've been doing. But the backstoryof this is really kind of cool.
I mean, let's talk about Maxfor a second and why he has a
fund absolutely, yes, absolutely so. Back in nineteen eighty eight, the
original founder was a receptionist in herhusband a vetnarian's clinic, and someone brought
(02:07):
in a dog that had been hitby a car and they put they put
out a search, couldn't find anowner, and they ended up naming the
dog Max, And they put ajar out on the counter and called it
the Max Fund. And the revenuethat was generated to try and pay Max's
medical bills ended up being the seedmoney to found the nonprofit. So I
(02:30):
love that now. Now even ourveterinary clinic is part of our five oh
one c three so Honefully, I'mguessing that other vets know about you guys
as well. So do you justget calls when people how does the process
of intake work when you when doessomebody find a her animal or is and
now is it just people turning animalsin? What is the process? Oh?
Yeah, we had a lot ofanimals that are strays. We also
(02:51):
get owner relinquishments, people who justsimply can't have their animal in the home
for any for any number of reasons. Did you see a spike after COVID
We did, We did see aspike Weirdly, it was from a lot
of other organizations that didn't have theability to bring the animals back in.
We ended up taking in a lotof those animals after after COVID. That
was unfortunate, but I in someways it was probably a little predictable,
(03:15):
and that people who were at homeall the time got pets to keep them
company, and then when they weren'tthere, that pets turned into more work.
Yeah, I meanwide right, Ohyeah, yeah, for sure.
So when you guys, you area true no kill shelter, and I
love that because there's a lot ofplaces that that is not true. But
what kind of challenges does that presentfor you? Well, we are also
(03:38):
a managed intake shelter, right,So we don't we don't have contracts with
municipalities which allows us to say whetheror not we have the space and the
staff to take in animals, right, so when we're at capacity, unfortunately,
we sometimes have to send animals toother organizations or work with people.
We do a lot of trying tokeep animals in the home home with our
(04:00):
pet pantry and discounted medical services.So it's very important to us when someone
comes in and says I can't havemy animal anymore? We ask why is
that right? Is there a waythat we can help you keep your pets
right? So the good news isthat Colorado loves our pets. I mean,
and I'm guessing you have a prettybroad base of support we do.
Indeed, I feel like after thirtyeight years, there's a lot of people
(04:25):
that are supporting us. They cometo our events every year after year,
a lot of familiar faces. Well, let me ask Zoe a question.
I have the cutest little dog eatingmy card right now. He's eating but
I'm just gonna my boss is inhere, so I'll be like, I
need a new one because it's adorable. Little pumpkin boxer mix. Precious little
(04:47):
baby is eating my work card toget me in the door. So who
do we have in the studio withus today? We have, first of
all, super active dog number one. She's ready to party. Lily.
Really, if you are a Lilywill be your best friend, you know,
honestly, she's she's action packed.She is a Belgian Malanois that is
(05:09):
what she looks like too? Isshe? She is fancy. She's very
fancy and they are active dogs.So if you're looking for a running partner.
I bet she would be amazing.She would be a great running partner.
She's very smart as well. Yeah, and then the other dog is
the sweetest little pop. I kindof want to take her home with me.
I just sent a picture to myhusband that is Bunny. Bunny is
just a cuddle blog. She lookslike a mix of an Australian shepherd in
(05:31):
something. She is, Yes,and her mom is actually at the shelter
as well. So her mom isa blue healer. Oh why do we
think that dad is a cattle dogmix. She's a cutie, but she's
really chill. She is, she'scalmed down. Yeah. Well, and
then this little it's eating my workhere. Yeah, she's a boxer mix
and she is just yes. Isshe or a heel Jamison? No?
(05:57):
No? And he is a youngerTeamothan Jameson is thoroughly enjoying chewing up my
card right now. But it's okay, I'm fine with that. And now
when people come to MAXI Fund,what is the adoption process like? So
for the adoption process, we haveeverybody fill out an adoption application which can
be applied towards specific pets or justa general application, right, and then
(06:19):
it's up to the adoption staff tohelp talk to the potential adopter, pair
them with potential dogs that may bea good fit for their home, and
then once the application is filled out, we have them come into the shelter
for meet and greet. Once theycomplete the meet and greet, if they
have any other dogs in the homeor any other kids or family members,
(06:40):
we have them come into the shelteras well to make sure everybody's on the
same page and everybody gets a chanceto meet the potential new pup. And
then from there we do the adoption. So just an application, a meet
and greet process, and also justdigging in more with the shelter staff to
kind of find a pet that worksfor you. Well, let's talk now,
Sophia. You guys have a bigevent coming up in October. I've
(07:02):
been talking about it. Let's talkabout the Doghouse Correspondent Center, not to
be confused with the highly political WhiteHouse Correspondent Center. But what can people
expect at this gala. Well,it's a priply timed just because it's right
before the general election. Well,get right on that, mic, Yeah,
oh gotcha. That's okay. Butit's a properly timed. It's just
right before the general election. Butit's sort of a tongue in cheek gala
(07:23):
theme for dogs and cats, andwe're just kind of rolling the troops and
getting stuff, getting people to supportMax Fun. There's going to be a
live auction, a live performer,live comedy. We have Kevin Fitzgerld coming
so very nice. Should be areally fun event for people to come and
show out and dress up and enjoythemselves. Tickets are on sale now and
you can do all kinds of thingsat Max fund dot org. You can
(07:45):
buy your tickets to the gala,you can peruse all of the cats and
dogs and it's funny. We weretalking off the air like you can choose
your dog, but I guess youjust have to come and stand there and
let your cat choose you if you'relooking for a cat, because that's what
cats do. Cats are like,oh you're my human. Now you just
stay in one place and wait tosee your Yeah, I wait to see
who pops up. It's fine.But you can also make a donation if
you're a pet lover. This issuch a great organization because not only are
(08:09):
they helping sick and injured animals.They're also keeping them safe and finding them
forever homes, and it's just it'swonderful. And I'm so happy that you
guys came in today, and sohappy that you brought Jamison my new best
friend. Hi, buddy, I'mgetting kisses and it smells like puppy joo
oh. I love it. Thankyou, thank you, Thank you ladies,
first of all for what you're doing, and second of all for bringing
(08:31):
the dogs in for me
Kathy Gains, the executive director,Sophia is it guerra Guerrero? Okay,
she's like whatever, just Masac,my name is fine. And Zoe Defario,
who is the adoption coordinator, havebrought in three fuzzy friends from Max
Fund because Max Fund is a trueno kill shelter and they don't just take
care of dogs. They actually takecare of dogs that have been brought in
(00:21):
off the streets by good Samaritans.They pay their vet bills, then they
keep them safe and happy until theycan find new forever homes. And they
are just a wonderful organization. Sopull that microphone down. Yeah, there
you go, Kathy. No,you're good. You look strict in there
for a second. Won't buy you. It's fine. So, Kathy,
how long have you been with MaxFund? I've been with Max Fund for
three years. And how long haveyou been around They've been around for a
(00:43):
while. Oh yeah, since nineteeneighty eight, yes for sure. When
I started doing these commercials, Icannot tell you how many emails I got
from people saying, oh my god, I got my dog from Max Fund.
So obviously, you guys have beenconnecting animals for thousands of people.
I mean tons of people said,but two friends, mind just got puppies
for Max Fund. Oh? Absolutely, And I feel it's exciting that more
(01:03):
and more people, I think recognizethe Max Fund name. I mean it
used to be because I was atMax Fun years ago. Also when I
came back to be director. WhenI was here the first time, I
got a lot of Oh, areyou guys competitors of Charles Schwab. The
answer is no, we are adopta dog maybe, I mean yeah,
yeah, we're Denver and Colorado's largestno kill shelter for dogs. Wow.
(01:25):
And how many animals do you usuallyhave in the shelter that you guys have
any even day? We might havethree hundred between dogs and cats, three
hundred plus we have about one hundredin foster care at any go Wow.
So yeah, it's a very busy. We have five buildings, kind of
a little quasi campus, and it'sit's quite the happening place if you could
(01:45):
just kind of and I give thebackstory a little bit in the spots that
I've been doing. But the backstoryof this is really kind of cool.
I mean, let's talk about Maxfor a second and why he has a
fund absolutely, yes, absolutely so. Back in nineteen eighty eight, the
original founder was a receptionist in herhusband a vetnarian's clinic, and someone brought
(02:07):
in a dog that had been hitby a car and they put they put
out a search, couldn't find anowner, and they ended up naming the
dog Max, And they put ajar out on the counter and called it
the Max Fund. And the revenuethat was generated to try and pay Max's
medical bills ended up being the seedmoney to found the nonprofit. So I
(02:30):
love that now. Now even ourveterinary clinic is part of our five oh
one c three so Honefully, I'mguessing that other vets know about you guys
as well. So do you justget calls when people how does the process
of intake work when you when doessomebody find a her animal or is and
now is it just people turning animalsin? What is the process? Oh?
Yeah, we had a lot ofanimals that are strays. We also
(02:51):
get owner relinquishments, people who justsimply can't have their animal in the home
for any for any number of reasons. Did you see a spike after COVID
We did, We did see aspike Weirdly, it was from a lot
of other organizations that didn't have theability to bring the animals back in.
We ended up taking in a lotof those animals after after COVID. That
was unfortunate, but I in someways it was probably a little predictable,
(03:15):
and that people who were at homeall the time got pets to keep them
company, and then when they weren'tthere, that pets turned into more work.
Yeah, I meanwide right, Ohyeah, yeah, for sure.
So when you guys, you area true no kill shelter, and I
love that because there's a lot ofplaces that that is not true. But
what kind of challenges does that presentfor you? Well, we are also
(03:38):
a managed intake shelter, right,So we don't we don't have contracts with
municipalities which allows us to say whetheror not we have the space and the
staff to take in animals, right, so when we're at capacity, unfortunately,
we sometimes have to send animals toother organizations or work with people.
We do a lot of trying tokeep animals in the home home with our
(04:00):
pet pantry and discounted medical services.So it's very important to us when someone
comes in and says I can't havemy animal anymore? We ask why is
that right? Is there a waythat we can help you keep your pets
right? So the good news isthat Colorado loves our pets. I mean,
and I'm guessing you have a prettybroad base of support we do.
Indeed, I feel like after thirtyeight years, there's a lot of people
(04:25):
that are supporting us. They cometo our events every year after year,
a lot of familiar faces. Well, let me ask Zoe a question.
I have the cutest little dog eatingmy card right now. He's eating but
I'm just gonna my boss is inhere, so I'll be like, I
need a new one because it's adorable. Little pumpkin boxer mix. Precious little
(04:47):
baby is eating my work card toget me in the door. So who
do we have in the studio withus today? We have, first of
all, super active dog number one. She's ready to party. Lily.
Really, if you are a Lilywill be your best friend, you know,
honestly, she's she's action packed.She is a Belgian Malanois that is
(05:09):
what she looks like too? Isshe? She is fancy. She's very
fancy and they are active dogs.So if you're looking for a running partner.
I bet she would be amazing.She would be a great running partner.
She's very smart as well. Yeah, and then the other dog is
the sweetest little pop. I kindof want to take her home with me.
I just sent a picture to myhusband that is Bunny. Bunny is
just a cuddle blog. She lookslike a mix of an Australian shepherd in
(05:31):
something. She is, Yes,and her mom is actually at the shelter
as well. So her mom isa blue healer. Oh why do we
think that dad is a cattle dogmix. She's a cutie, but she's
really chill. She is, she'scalmed down. Yeah. Well, and
then this little it's eating my workhere. Yeah, she's a boxer mix
and she is just yes. Isshe or a heel Jamison? No?
(05:57):
No? And he is a youngerTeamothan Jameson is thoroughly enjoying chewing up my
card right now. But it's okay, I'm fine with that. And now
when people come to MAXI Fund,what is the adoption process like? So
for the adoption process, we haveeverybody fill out an adoption application which can
be applied towards specific pets or justa general application, right, and then
(06:19):
it's up to the adoption staff tohelp talk to the potential adopter, pair
them with potential dogs that may bea good fit for their home, and
then once the application is filled out, we have them come into the shelter
for meet and greet. Once theycomplete the meet and greet, if they
have any other dogs in the homeor any other kids or family members,
(06:40):
we have them come into the shelteras well to make sure everybody's on the
same page and everybody gets a chanceto meet the potential new pup. And
then from there we do the adoption. So just an application, a meet
and greet process, and also justdigging in more with the shelter staff to
kind of find a pet that worksfor you. Well, let's talk now,
Sophia. You guys have a bigevent coming up in October. I've
(07:02):
been talking about it. Let's talkabout the Doghouse Correspondent Center, not to
be confused with the highly political WhiteHouse Correspondent Center. But what can people
expect at this gala. Well,it's a priply timed just because it's right
before the general election. Well,get right on that, mic, Yeah,
oh gotcha. That's okay. Butit's a properly timed. It's just
right before the general election. Butit's sort of a tongue in cheek gala
(07:23):
theme for dogs and cats, andwe're just kind of rolling the troops and
getting stuff, getting people to supportMax Fun. There's going to be a
live auction, a live performer,live comedy. We have Kevin Fitzgerld coming
so very nice. Should be areally fun event for people to come and
show out and dress up and enjoythemselves. Tickets are on sale now and
you can do all kinds of thingsat Max fund dot org. You can
(07:45):
buy your tickets to the gala,you can peruse all of the cats and
dogs and it's funny. We weretalking off the air like you can choose
your dog, but I guess youjust have to come and stand there and
let your cat choose you if you'relooking for a cat, because that's what
cats do. Cats are like,oh you're my human. Now you just
stay in one place and wait tosee your Yeah, I wait to see
who pops up. It's fine.But you can also make a donation if
you're a pet lover. This issuch a great organization because not only are
(08:09):
they helping sick and injured animals.They're also keeping them safe and finding them
forever homes, and it's just it'swonderful. And I'm so happy that you
guys came in today, and sohappy that you brought Jamison my new best
friend. Hi, buddy, I'mgetting kisses and it smells like puppy joo
oh. I love it. Thankyou, thank you, Thank you ladies,
first of all for what you're doing, and second of all for bringing
(08:31):
the dogs in for me
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