The mission behind Friends of Kona was born during Christa's time volunteering in dog shelters. We noticed an overwhelming theme. Dogs who wound up in the shelter often had behavioral issues from traumatic experiences, and their behavioral issues caused them to be stuck at the shelter for months if not years.

 

Due to the stressful environment of a shelter, dogs often are shut down when they meet potential adopters and their behavioral issues can be masked. Once the dogs are out of the stressful environment and settled into a new home, behavioral issues can appear and families who are unprepared to take on the challenge will return the dog and look elsewhere for a family pet. 

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Dog training and behavior modification is messy, imperfect, expensive work that takes a massive amount of time and resources. Many shelters and rescues do not have the funds or resources to dedicate to training, and rightfully use donations towards operations, care, and medical costs. And this is precisely why it got taken on as the mission of Friends of Kona. We believe deeply in action and continuous 1% improvement. We believe that animals (and people) have a whole lot of love to share when they can remove the things that hold them back. 

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Our organization is in its infancy and will assuredly be shaped by our incredible community. Friends of Kona is a conduit to create change in the lives of families, dogs, and our community. We are focused on connecting incredible people together, and getting brilliantly talented individuals the funding and resources they need to create the difference they were born to create.

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Initially, our organization will directly provide a training fund for the shelters that we are partnered with. ALL of the money we raise will go directly to shelters that we have vetted and be earmarked for dog behavioral work. This can help provide boarding and training for a dog prior to adoption, training sessions in the shelter, and even training subsidies for families who are struggling with the cost but are fully committed to keeping their dog.

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We partner with dog shelters who are mission focused and aligned with our purpose. We operate from the simple principle of 100% commitment. 

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Our roadmap is to continue to grow our organization and serve as a resource where shelters can apply for training help. Long term, we will likely bring many of our operations in house and facilitate more of this work directly rather than simply providing funding. 

 

We are so excited to have incredible people along for the ride as we grow and evolve. Your support truly means the world to us. If you would like to participate in a more involved fashion, please feel free to contact us directly!
 

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