Fresh Name, Growing Services: ARF is Now Joybound People & Pets
Mel is enjoying the benefits of the new Grooming Academy at Joybound People and Pets (formerly ARF). photo: Cole Kuiper
Spring is a time of fresh starts, renewal, and growth. After a rainy winter, our vibrant green hillsides beckon us to get outside and explore the new life bursting all around us. Similarly, after 32 years as the Animal Rescue Foundation, ARF has started its next chapter as Joybound People & Pets.
Anyone who loves dogs knows a wagging tail is a sign of joy, as is a cat’s affectionate nuzzle. To be among animals is one of the most joyful places to live. That unbreakable bond between people and pets – and the irresistible joy it brings – is the inspiration for our new name.
The name Joybound also better reflects the full scope of our work. With dog and cat rescue and adoption at the heart of our mission, Joybound forms, supports, elevates, and celebrates the human-animal bond through a variety of services such as training and veterinary care, food and supply assistance, therapy and service-animal programs, and rich learning resources for all pet families.
More and more studies are bearing out what animal lovers know firsthand: that the bond between people and pets brings numerous benefits including alleviating stress, fighting depression, addressing social isolation, improving physical fitness, and aiding overall healing. In January, a new study from the JAMA Network found that pet ownership may even help lower the risk of dementia in people living alone.
Nationally, lawmakers are considering a bipartisan bill known as the Providing for Unhoused People with Pets Act (PUPP Act), which would create a grant program to provide homeless shelters with funds for supporting clients with pets. By helping these shelters to accommodate pets, provide basic emergency services, and more, this bill would allow more people to stay connected to the animals they love during tough times.
Spring is also a time for sprucing up. After a rainy winter walk, there’s nothing more delightful than a freshly washed, trimmed, and clipped pup. That’s why we were thrilled to break ground this month on an innovative dog grooming school and salon on our Walnut Creek campus. The Engelstad Grooming Academy will provide vocational training to people facing barriers to employment, including veterans, survivors of domestic violence, formerly incarcerated individuals, and others, preparing them for well-paying, in-demand jobs in the growing pet-related sector. Academy students will learn by doing as they bathe and groom Joybound’s shelter guests, making them even more irresistibly adoptable. We will also offer affordable grooming services to our entire community. The academy is on track to open before summer.
Joybound’s new Grooming Academy is just one of the many ways we’ll continue to provide essential loving care for pets and focus on the well-being of their people at the same time. In fact, the human-animal bond has tremendous potential to help animals, people, families, and entire communities to be healthier, more connected, and more joyful. Because, after all, when we are bound in joy we are also bound for joy.