The President of the Animal Coalition of Lake County, Rita Laufer, officially retired on last August 26, after more than 20 years of service with the nonprofit organization, located in Clearlake.
“We got so many animals fixed. We would get it done free and we had wonderful vets. We would also give dog food and cat food for people. We did so many things. We used to have fantastic parties, with 250, sometimes 300 people. I would make big baskets. We’d have a big dinner and dance, and we raised a lot of money. I’ve had the same people in my organization the whole time, wonderful people. I had people that donated really well to us.”
Laufer said that twice a year, they would have big fundraisers. “I would go to the wineries, they would give us wine and we’d make big baskets to sell. I had people from all over Lake County that would come and buy baskets. I had a wonderful board,” she said.
“The Board of Supervisors was very kind to us,” added Laufer. “The City of Clearlake gave money, and we did a lot of things for the city. We gave away $10,000 so they could put grass for the dogs. We’ve done a lot of stuff. It was rewarding. You can’t believe how many animals we saved. We would go to people’s houses. We’ve had big garage sales. We collected a lot of money and we would give food for evacuees. We did so many wonderful things. And we clearly can do more.”
Laufer, who is now 81 years old of age, donated $83,623 to the Clearlake Animal Shelter, which is managed by the animal control technician Charmaine Weldon as Adoption and Rescue Coordinator. “Charmaine is an amazing person, and she works at Animal Control. She started the City of Clearlake Animal Association. She does the job with her heart. She loves animals. She takes them home every night. She feeds them and takes care of them right.”
Laufer raised $83,000 through various fundraisers and she said she brought Weldon a check for $83,623. She couldn’t believe that I had this much to give her. There’s also an ambulance that’s going to go to them too. It’s beautiful inside. It’s all new. It was never used,” she said. “Her priority is going to be spaying and neutering. She cares about animals. She’s going to put this money to good use. She’s a wonderful volunteer.”
Clearlake’s low-income community may expect in about three to four months to be able to start enjoying free services for their pets.
Rita Laufer was born in Florence, Italy, and immigrated with her family to United States at the age of 8 years old. “I lived in San Francisco before. My mother had a custom-made clothing store there. I started when I was in my late 20s, but I’ve had a passion for animals all my life,” she said.
