Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge
Chris Taylor, executive director and RBARI board of directors

Thirty-one years ago, a small group of citizens in Bergen County concerned about the plight of abandoned animals found common ground and created what is today a safe haven of hope for homeless dogs and cats. Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge, Inc, (RBARI to those in the know) is one of the county's only "no-kill" shelters and operates on a simple mantra of all animals have the right to humane treatment.

"It the mission of RBARI," says Chris Taylor, the shelter's executive director, "that we take in homeless dogs and cats to the best of our ability and place them with people who will love and care for them." Close to 300 RBARI volunteers work round the clock to insure those in the shelter are fed, exercised and socialized, says Taylor who has been with the shelter since 1992. It can be somewhat of a juggling act in getting their animals adopted, she admits, especially in light in what has become for many families a back-breaking economy. "We only have so much space here and so it can be heartbreaking and frustrating sometimes to have to turn away animals. In an average year we place 800 dogs and cats but with these difficult times it becomes a challenge to find families willing to take home a pet." But Taylor adds with conviction, "We have a tremendous foster program here at RBARI."

"This is truly a labor of love," says Taylor, who is also a foster mom for the shelter's skittish kittens. "The foster families are our backbone. When you foster a puppy that has been abandoned or an older dog whose elderly owner can't care for him or a cat that has special needs and you take it in and give it the simple things -- food, play and love -- you know you are saving a life. When you foster you are making a difference."