Who are the Friends of ATRA?

We are the co-founders and former board members of ATRA. We are long time volunteers and financial supporters. We have rescued, fostered, adopted and loved ATRA Airedales. We did anything and everything to help ATRA become established as a dependable Airedale Rescue group.

In the early days, we were desperate to raise money to help the dogs. Our focus was on simply being able to pay the vet bills. We even went to dog shows and were paid to do clean up – “poop patrol”. However, our long term goal was to get ATRA on firm financial footing so that the frontline volunteers would never have to worry about raising money and rescuing the dogs at the same time. It took the efforts of many dedicated volunteers but ATRA’s organizational and financial resources eventually became the envy of other all-volunteer rescue groups.

Please contact any of us if you have questions, comments or additional concerns. We value open, honest communication and welcome new ideas. It is our belief that volunteer input is valuable and only makes ATRA a stronger organization. The dogs need all of us to do the best we can for them.

Special thanks to everyone who has contacted us. Your comments will remain confidential.

Due to the extraordinary response to our recent mailing, we have added a page to this site with suggestions How to Help

We appreciate the concern expressed and support for our effort. We would like to clarify our position on two issues:

1.    None of us want to return to positions on the ATRA board. We would like to remain the Friends of ATRA to offer support wherever needed.
There are many supporters and volunteers interested in leading ATRA if they are allowed.

2.    We do NOT advocate the formation of another Airedale Rescue group. However, we are supportive of any Airedale Rescue group that puts the needs of the dogs first and is transparent with the spending of donated funds.