Our Story
Greetings from Kindred Spirit Animal Rescue Center Inc. Our facility is located in the small rural community of Fairdealing, Missouri. Our community of 1400 residents is about 25 minutes southwest of Poplar Bluff. We wanted to tell you about ourselves and how Kindred Spirit came to be. We are Hank and Della Hadley.
Growing up in western New York in a small community, Della and I were always around animals. We married in 1992. I have four grown children and Della has two. Our six children have blessed us with a total of 11 grandchildren. Della has been a day care teacher for the past 15 years. Della is employed with Early Head Start in Poplar Bluff.
In 1994, we moved to Sarasota, Florida to care for my ailing mother. I had been in a wheelchair for about five years due to MS and multiple back surgeries. After undergoing six years of therapy and the persistence of a dear friend, Sophia Cryer and E.F.T. (Emotional Freedoms Techniques) I became able to walk with the assistance of forearm crutches. Today, I am crutches free.
In 2004, I went to The Humane Society of Sarasota County, Inc. to offer my time as a volunteer. At first they were afraid that I would hurt myself or scare the animals with my crutches. Well, I was able to convince them to let me try and they gave me the okay which started me and Della on our journey of working with shelter and rescue animals.
I began going to the shelter one or two days a week. Soon I found myself there everyday walking the dogs and spending time with them and the cats. The following year, the Kennel Manager offered me a job to help clean the kennels and feed the animals. Of course, I jumped at the chance. I loved my job and learned so much from the staff at HSSC. Soon after, I was given the position of Receiving Department clerk handling all of the intakes of the animals being surrendered for adoption by their owners. I was then promoted to Assistant Kennel Manager. In 2007, I was promoted to the position of Kennel Manager.
Over the years, Della and I had been to Missouri several times to visit friends on our vacations. We fell in love with the area. During our visits, Della and I recognized the need for an animal rescue in this part of southeast Missouri. After several long talks, we decided to give up everything in Florida and to move to Fairdealing where we established Kindred Spirit Animal Rescue Center.
It was challenging for us in the beginning. At first, people were not very accepting of us and the job pay was about half of what we had been use to making while living in Florida. We were both working full-time at the same time getting the rescue up and running. But we pushed on and in 2008 we received our State Agriculture Animal Care Facility License, incorporated, and received our State Tax Exemption. In 2009 we received our Federal IRS 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt status as a Not-for-Profit Animal Rescue,
It has been a hard road for us personally. In our first year, Della and I put over $40,000 of our own money into the rescue. We created a wish list flyer to distribute in our small community. We were looking for simple items like bleach, paper towels, old blankets and towels, food for the animals, etc. We didn’t receive much help but once the community knew Kindred Spirit Animal Rescue Center was open we started finding animals just dumped in our yard. We knew that was what we were here for and accepted the animals never knowing where they had come from. One of the best things that happened for us in our first year was meeting Dr. Ginger Segraves, our veterinarian. Dr. Segraves and her Awsome Staff have been great supporters and she is worth the 35 minutes drive whenever the animals need her.
There have been many times that we have gone without to make sure that the animals we have taken in receive the proper care they so deserve. During 2009, we used an additional $8,000 of our personal funds to make sure Kindred Spirit continued moving forward. If it had not been for the support both financially and morally from our wonderful family and so many of our dear friends in Florida that believed we could do this, Kindred Spirit would have never succeeded. We thank them all for their love and support and believing in our dream as much as we do.
The continued need for financial support to keep Kindred Spirit Animal RescueCenter MOVING FORWARD is a given. We are so pleased that our supporters will now have the benefit of our receiving our 501 (c)(3) tax exempt status. All donations are now tax deductible.
Our plans for the future include improvements to our barns, dog kennels and dog runs, plus a free-roaming cat building. We would love to set up a program to help families with low incomes or on assistance programs to be able to have their family pets spayed and neutered so they don’t have to give them up or find homes for the unwanted off-springs from their pets. We believe in what Kindred Spirit Animal Rescue Center is doing for our community and their animals. We know with your support we will be able to continue to do this needed and very important work that we so believe in.
Pet Friendly in Missouri!
Hank and Della Hadley
