History of Animal Switchboard

The history of Animal Switchboard is really the story of the six people, Grace Handley, Virginia Handley , Gloria Chavarria, Eric Mills, Elisabeth Keller, who filed the Article of Incorporation for Animal Switchboard in May of 2005.

Our story begins over thirty years ago with Virginia Handley . Virginia's interest in animals began with a $10 contribution to Friends of Animals in 1969. This led to a letter to Cleveland Amory, well known author and founder of The Fund for Animals. Virginia, her mother, Grace Handley, and Gloria Chavarria founded the original Animal Switchboard. Cleveland was interested in Virginia 's new organization and proposed a meeting. They met in Los Angeles, and that meeting led to his appointment of Virginia to head the San Francisco office of The Fund for Animals, and its California representative, a position she held until Cleveland 's death.

The original Animal Switchboard functioned as a phone hotline for people in need of animal related assistance. It helped thousands of people, acting as a counselor for persons facing all kinds of problems involving animals. Its functions included locating and referring people to low cost spaying and neutering facilities, operating a “lost and found,"list and acting as an intermediary between people who were looking for companion animals and those who were looking for an alternative to the public animal shelter for animals that they had to give up. The original Animal Switchboard operated successfully in San Francisco until Grace Handley died in 1990. Since that time, it has continued under the dedicated support of Gloria and Virginia. .

In 1973 Virginia met the legendary Gladys Sargent, a Sacramento institution, advocating animal rights causes since 1946. The two became close companions and an extraordinarily effective team, appearing before legislative committees and commissions for the next twenty five years until Gladys' death in 1997.

Eric Mills was then and is now the coordinator of an Oakland-based organization, called ACTION FOR ANIMALS (AFA), which he founded in 1984. AFA has a monthly calendar of events for Bay Area animal activists. Eric is well known for this pioneer work on behalf of rodeo animals, but his interests and involvement on behalf of animals covers all sectors. Today, Eric spends much of his time lobbying on behalf of animals in the State Capitol.

Virginia realized that the effectiveness of the animal rights advocates was being compromised by the animal rights' movement's lack of a political action committee to publish a voting chart and contribute to humane legistlators. Virginia, Rose Lernberg, Eric Mills and others founded PawPAC in 1980, the first animal rights political action committee. Today, PawPAC monitors and rates all California legislators, functioning as a critical arm of the animal rights movement.

Twenty years ago, the Fund moved its San Francisco office to Fort Mason where it served until its closure in May of 2005 as a critical San Francisco resource for animal protection. Elisabeth Keller, who for years assisted in staffing the Fund's San Francisco office, continues to do so for Animal Switchboard.

The new Animal Switchboard has taken over the office space formerly filled by the San Francisco Fund for Animals' office. As that office has for the past twenty years, the new Animal Switchboard will continue to serve as a vital educational resource for Californians, sponsoring special educational events at the Fort Mason Center . It is continuing the hot line functions started by the original Animal Switchboard, and it continues to maintain an extensive animal protection library, both written and video, centering on animals that is open to the public. One hundred percent of Animal Switchboard animal/person power is from volunteers. There is no paid staff. You can make our organization stronger by volunteering too. Please click on our link above, “Volunteer” and volunteer. Your donations are gratefully appreciated. Thank you.