We were lucky to catch up with Foster Army Animal Rescue recently and have shared our conversation below.

Foster Army, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

At Foster Army Animal Rescue, we take in pets most in danger of being put to sleep at the shelter. This includes ill, injured, underage, senior, hospice, special needs, and misfit pets.

A lot of people ask why we spend so many resources on pets of this type. The financial, time, and energy commitments to rehabilitate and find homes for these animals can be daunting. Every pet we take in is a risk as far as severity of medical and/or behavioral issues.

Despite the challenges of each animal, seeing them grow and thrive – both physically and in spirit – is amazing. When they get adopted and we see them bond with their new families, it makes the gamble we took so worth it. Our rescue has truly found our niche: helping these special pets find their way in the world.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

The Pet Rescue Thrift Store was founded in 2015 to raise funds to help homeless animals in the Inland Empire.

In 2018, we changed our name to Foster Army Animal Rescue. We continued our thrift store’s efforts to showcase unique “new-to-you” items, which is the main source of income used to pay for veterinary care and supplies for the sick, injured, underage, and overlooked animals FAAR rescues. As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, FAAR is dedicated to helping these misfits, who are most at risk of being put to sleep.

Since then, we have also engaged in community clean ups, donated food and supplies to other non profits, and have funded free vaccine, nailtrim, and microchip clinics for the community. In 2024, we were able to fund our first-ever free spay and neuter clinic. We hope to continue this program – named Operation: Spay & Neuter Riverside – in the coming year.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

As a thrift store, selling online is a bit of a challenge, as our stock is ever-changing and unique.

We started an online store called www.FAARTS.org casually to see if anyone would be interested. To our surprise, there was quite a bit of interest, and we began to feature high-end gently used and vintage items online.

As our thrift store began gaining traction, COVID brought our physical store to a screeching halt. We were temporarily closed due to health mandates. Thankfully, that gave us time to really focus on the online store, using strict safety and quarantining protocols on all incoming donations. We provided contact-free pickup and drop offs. If it wasn’t for our online store, we may not have survived the Shutdown.

Once restrictions were lifted, we decided to keep and grow our online efforts. In addition to FAARTS.org, we also now sell on EBay, Mercari, Depop, Poshmark, Grailed, and Offer Up. We are now able to sell all over the US; of course the profit helps immensely, but – even more than that – this new audience gives our rescue animals national exposure.

Any advice for managing a team?

Managing a mostly-volunteer organization is challenging and humbling. So many different people from every walk of life coming together with a common love for animals is truly amazing. Compassion Fatigue is a major concern in our industry, so maintaining a supportive environment is paramount.

All employees (paid and unpaid) are asked to take a pledge to treat customers, adopters, donors, and each other with respect and kindness, regardless of ethnicity, sex, religious creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, nation of origin, or disabilities. FAAR leadership encourages diversity, and provides proper training and development to ensure understanding of goals, objectives, policies, and procedures. We encourage creativity and initiative in resolving problems while providing clear guidance on any limitations. We strive to recognize achievements and behaviors that are in support of our mission and provide positive motivation for employees and volunteers. We have zero tolerance of bullying and mean-spirited gossip.

With these values in mind, we never stop trying to maintain a peaceful and kind environment.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fosterarmy.org
• Instagram: @fosterarmy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fosterarmy
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@petrescuethriftstoreriverside?feature=shared
• Yelp: https://yelp.to/kU4d4INqyL
• Other: @fosterarmy on
  Mastodon
  Threads
  Blue Sky
  Tik Tok

Image Credits

N/a