Winter 2023

142 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 3 For the Love of Animals Animal Fr iends Rescue Project Celebrates 25 Year s and 25,000 Animals Ser ved B Y R ENE E B R I NCK S S ince she started volunteering with Animal Friends Rescue Project (AFRP) 11 years ago, Michelle Starr has filled diverse roles. She helped with the nonprofit’s 25th anniversary celebration in September, about three months after joining the AFRP Board of Directors. She’s welcomed 115 dogs into her home as a foster volunteer, accommodating some for a few weeks and others for more than a year. Starr has taken on various weekend cat care projects and—through her dog boarding, grooming and day care business, All-Starr Pet Services—she also provides complimentary treatments for dogs leaving local shelters. “A lot of times, they just need a spa day to look and feel their best,” Starr says. More than 400 AFRP volunteers, like Starr, help abandoned, stray and abused companion animals, primarily in Monterey County. Four founders established the organization in 1998, launching with a small garage office and an adoption corner at a Pacific Grove pet store.Today, about 15 staff members guide foster, adoption, medical care, and spay and neuter pro- grams for dogs and cats. “We are a foster-based rescue. Our main goal is finding those animals Darla Jo Vanschuyver, Dr. Burger, Luz Moreno and Victoria Bruno are part of the team at the AFRP Veterinary Clinic in Ryan Ranch where animals are treated everyday, thanks to the hard work and dedication of AFRP staff and volunteers. Photo: Kelli Uldall