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Home > Out of the Cage! > November 2004 > Featured Alliance Participating Organization: Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition (BARC): Energizing a Neighborhood and a Mission Featured Alliance Participating Organization Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition (BARC): Energizing a Neighborhood and a Mission
Anticipating a revival of this unremarkable neighborhood, lifelong Brooklynites Vinny Spinola and Tony Spoto moved to the area in the mid-1980s and opened the BQE Pet Food Exchange. To their surprise, they soon became a central resource for neighborhood residents who routinely picked up strays and brought them to the store for help.
Being devout animal lovers, Vinny and Tony began to rescue as many of the strays as possible. They enlisted the assistance of volunteers, foster care people, and a local veterinarian, and they sought out potential adopters. By 1987, the numbers of rescued animals increased to such a level that Vinny and Tony decided to "quit their day jobs" and open an animal shelter. It would be called the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition (BARC). Fortunately, plans for the shelter fell into place fairly quickly. They acquired a donated space for the kennels from a local resident. The Humane Society of New York (HSNY), where both men were volunteers, provided them with used kennels and other supplies that would have been discarded during a renovation of the HSNY shelter. As part of the arrangement, Vinny and Tony agreed to board, for the duration of the renovation, more than a dozen of the Humane Society's dogs that were awaiting adoption. (The dogs never returned to the HSNY shelter — Vinny and Tony found permanent homes for every one of them.) Since its inception, the BARC Shelter has been subsidized in part by proceeds from the store, which now bears the name BQE Pet Supply. It offers a wide range of pet foods, grooming and health products, and pet accessories. The store, shelter, and vet's office are located at the corner of North First Street and Wythe Avenue.
According to Vinny, BARC Shelter adopts out 50 to 60 animals each month. The shelter is nearly always at capacity; as soon as a resident is adopted, another one comes in — transferred from Animal Care & Control (AC&C), rescued from the street, or surrendered by an owner. BARC also helps orchestrate "assisted adoptions," where an animal ready for adoption is promoted on the BARC web site's Courtesy List while remaining in a caretaker's home. As a valued resource for the community, BARC offers a range of animal assistance services, including behavioral counseling and training. On-site veterinary services are provided by 23-year veteran, Dr. Elaine Felton, who has been caring for BARC's homeless animals for nearly a decade. BARC also attempts to meet the special needs that often arise among animals and their people in the community, such as providing low-cost training, medical services, food, or supplies to those with financial hardship. From Neighborhood to Citywide Resource Since establishing itself as one of the premier brick-and-mortar shelters in the city, BARC's contribution to the creation of a more humane NYC has grown by leaps and bounds. In 2002, BARC became one of the founding members of the Mayor's Alliance, and this year hosted the Alliance's multi-participant adoption event in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. A regular participant in the star-studded BROADWAY BARKS! adoption event, BARC also produces its own adoption extravaganza every autumn — the BARC Annual Pet Parade and Dog Show in McCarren Park, now in its eighteenth year. Animals from shelters and rescue groups around the city join BARC's own adoptable beauties in this highly anticipated, fun-filled day of games, a pet parade, information sharing, and, of course, pet adoptions. For Vinny, the event offers special significance: "It gives us the opportunity to see some of our alumni — former BARC dogs — enjoying a fun day with their families."
This year, BARC unleashed its first-ever cat event at the shelter, where BARC cats were joined by adoptable cats from the ASPCA, with the hope of finding them new forever homes. Food, fun, and games delighted young and old alike, and nine furry felines met their loving match at the event. In addition to reaching out to adopters, Vinny and Tony also understand the importance of maintaining strong relationships with supporters. BARC's volunteer program is a model for successful volunteer involvement and welcomes a diverse range of individuals and groups. For example, corporate-sponsored volunteer teams from Goldman Sachs, Deloitte & Touche, J.P. Morgan, J. Walter Thompson, and The Gap, among others, regularly walk dogs and cuddle cats at the shelter on "corporate volunteer days." Often, members of these corporate teams return on their own to volunteer with the animals. "Our dogs get walked more than most dogs in people's homes do," Vinny reports proudly. He believes that BARC's flexible volunteer schedule is key to the program's robust participation and success. Impressed by BARC's contributions over the years, State Assemblyman Joseph Lentol recently arranged for the shelter to receive a $50,000 grant from the State of New York. "We're delighted with the award," says Vinny, "in part because it offers concrete recognition of the hard work being done for the animals by so many people." What are BARC's plans for the future? According to Vinny, the goal is to continue doing what they're doing, and more of it.
Recently, BARC undertook an unusual project at the shelter — a Feng Shui consultation, performed by celebrated Feng Shui expert Michele Sayres (who incidentally is married to ASPCA President, Ed Sayres) and a team from the New York City Feng Shui Guild. Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese system of analyzing and altering the flow of energy in an environment to produce desired change. Upon learning that the shelter building was once used to breed laboratory mice and, prior to that, a butcher shop, Michele and the team offered to visit the shelter, analyze its energy, and "clear" any negativity that might be lurking there. But they found none, and Michele offered this explanation: "Vinny and Tony have brought so much love to this endeavor that it probably dispelled any bad energy that once resided there." However, Michele and her colleagues plan to revisit the shelter and suggest measures to promote a continuing flow of positive energy — actions as simple as moving a desk or as complex as repositioning a staircase. Clearly, positive energy is what BARC Shelter is all about. Anyone who has ever met Vinny or Tony…or visited, or volunteered at the shelter…or met any of the BARC dogs or cats (or the rooster — but that's a whole other story!)…or had the pleasure of meeting Vinny and Tony's own crew of companion Chihuahuas (Cow, Rizzo, Pia, and Petunia) and cats (Pinky and Hannibal)…they all know: doing right by the animals is positively what generates the amazing energy one experiences at BARC Shelter. To learn more about BARC's programs, view its adoptable animals online, or find out how you can help support the shelter, please visit the BARC Shelter web site.
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