Lara Weinblatt with an Orphan Annie Rescue dog.
From Ziggy the therapy dog to the visiting pups at the “Stress Free Zone” during finals week, one of the perks of attending Oglethorpe getting to share our campus with some cuddly classmates. At a school of animal lovers, it may not come as a surprise that alumna Lara Weinblatt ’16 co-founded Orphan Annie Rescue, a nonprofit dog and cat rescue organization serving Atlanta’s Brookhaven and Dunwoody communities, in 2013—while still a student.
Lara had been involved in animal rescue since she was 13, but it wasn’t until she reconnected with a friend with similar interests that the two decided to start their own rescue organization. “This seemed like the most logical path for us,” said Lara. “After much at-length discussion, we officially founded OAR in late 2013 and earned our 501(c)3 status in early 2014.”
Oglethorpe’s campus served as headquarters during the early days of Orphan Annie Rescue. The first animal rescued was a dog found behind the baseball field. “Because he was so terrified, he was acting aggressively, so we had to use a net to catch him. Once we caught him and put him on a leash, he calmed down. The poor guy was extremely matted and dirty. We immediately took care of his vetting needs and got him groomed. He turned out to be a Cockapoo. We found him a loving home.”
Balancing schoolwork with her nonprofit work was difficult, Lara recalls, and she often had to make a choice to put school work first and rescue second. But, Lara says her psychology major prepared her for her chosen career path.
“While most may think psychology does not apply to helping run an animal rescue, that is inaccurate,” she explains. “Being involved in animal rescue exposes you to all sorts of people and situations. My psychology classes helped me tremendously when dealing with difficult situations and people.”
One of the many perks of Lara’s job is taking photos with the animals. She says, “Saturdays are the busiest days of all because these are when we hold our adoption events. We also take photos of the new animals in the rescue, talk to adopters, and walk the animals.”
Just as OU gave Lara the foundational skills she needed to achieve her dreams of operating a nonprofit, she and Orphan Annie Rescue have started to give back to the OU community. In recent years, they have partnered with the OU chapter of Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity and Fulton County Animal Services for multiple fundraising events.
For Oglethorpe students and others inspired by Lara’s story and interested in helping out at Orphan Annie Rescue, Lara encourages you to visit their website and fill out a volunteer application.
“We have needs in areas such as helping out at our adoption events, fostering, transportation, and fundraising,” she says. “Creative individuals are always welcome. We are in constant need of new photos of our animals, new write-ups for the animals, and flyers. Exposure is also very important. Even if you cannot physically volunteer, we would love for you to spread the word about us. You never know who you might reach.”
