nonprofit spotlight WRITTEN BY DENA DAW PHOTOGRAPHED BY BRYAN REGAN
AnimalKind
AnimalKind board vice president Brad Hill, store manager David Martinez, and board president Frank Gordon.
ANIMALKIND, founded by Joan Ott in 1998, originally started as a spay/neuter awareness campaign to address the overpopulation of adoptable cats and dogs in shelters across North Carolina. According to the Public Animal Shelter Report released by the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, more than 35,000 pets were euthanized in 2021. Although prevention is the best solution, spaying and neutering can cost hundreds of dollars depending on the size of the animal. Over the years, AnimalKind’s mission — to end the unnecessary euthanasia of dogs and cats in NC — has evolved to include programming designed to provide financial assistance to low-income pet owners. 88 AUGUST 2022
The three pillars of AnimalKind are the ReTails Thrift Shop, the $20 Fix, and the SpayNC Helpline. Founded by Sabine French and board president Frank Gordon, ReTails Thrift Shop has a little bit of everything, from furniture and electronics to women’s clothing, all housed in a 4,000-square-foot space. 100% of net profits support AnimalKind’s mission to help disadvantaged NC residents get their animals spayed or neutered. “The reason ReTails is so popular is because it’s a treasure hunt — you can find things in thrift stores that are actually quite valuable,” said Gordon. “If you spend a lot of time in thrift stores checking them out, ReTails is on a different level, and people like
