About Us
The Lakota Animal Care Project, or "Lakota Animal Care" as we are more commonly known, is a community-based effort to provide basic animal health care for dogs, cats and horses on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Tribal members from our communities are trained as Lakota Animal Care Givers to help improve the wellbeing of all our community members, of all our relations. We work in teams of two and operate out of a minivan equipped as our mobile unit which we use to get around to provide mange treatment, vaccinations, flea and tick treatments, basic wound care, deworming, and, when needed and possible, emergency transport to the nearest veterinarian.
Lakota Animal Care Givers in front of group's van
There is no vet on the Reservation. The closest vet is actually in another state. Whenever we come across a health care problem we can't deal with, if we are able to, we transport animals in need to vets for treatment. In addition to our basic animal health care program, we also have a great program for kids called"Sunka Scouts" where kids help the Lakota Animal Care Givers with special projects and learn about animal care.
Sunka Scouts assisting a Lakota Animal Care Giver
We also do a fun "Reading to Animals" program with the schools where we bring in different furry friends for the kids to read to. Kids like reading to animals and the animals seem to like it too.
Students at Wounded Knee school read to a dog in class
Thanks to a grant from a foundation, we now have a spay/neuter program that makes it affordable for families to get their dogs fixed and will help reduce the number of unwanted animals.
Stray dog with mange being fed dog food
Finally, through our adoption program we help find homes for homeless or unwanted animals.
Family at Petco in Rapid City adopting a dog
The Lakota Animal Care Givers are well-respected Tribal members who have intimate
knowledge of the communities and who have received training from veterinarians
and others who have volunteered time to help with trainings. Lakota Animal
Care Givers work in teams of two, providing door-to-door basic animal health
care and maintaining records of each individual animal. Lakota Animal Care
Givers begin working as volunteers under the tutelage of certified Lakota
Animal Care Givers. Once they are ready, they take a rigorous oral and
practical exam. If they pass, they become certified to work as Lakota Animal
Care Givers.
Our Advisors & Board of Directors Numerous highly experienced individuals, both Lakota and others,
serve as Volunteer Advisors to the organization. These include Veterinarians,
Animal Care Specialists, community development specialists, and those involved
in humane animal education programs. Advisors provide technical backstopping
and advice. The Board of Directors is comprised of capable, dedicated individuals all of whom volunteer their time as Board members. The following individuals serve on the Board. Dr. Wayne Haney, DVM, is a veterinarian with the Lawton Animal Shelter. Dr. Haney owned and
operated his own veterinary hospital for more than 20 years, an AAHA accredited
facility providing health care for dogs, cats, birds and exotic pets. Dr.
Haney also served in the U.S. Army Veterinarian Corps. He has made numerous
trips to Central America to help with medical needs in those countries. Dr.
Haney is associated with the Native American Veterinarian Services (NAVS), a
group which helps take animal health care to Native American Reservations in
Arizona and New Mexico. He believes it is critical to understand and comply
with the cultural traditions and practices of communities visited.
Virginia Ravndal, Founder of the Lakota Animal Care Project, is a wildlife
ecologist and formerly the Principle Technical Advisor on Biodiversity
Conservation for the United Nations. She has worked in more than 45 countries
and is often asked to undertake assignments in which indigenous peoples are
concerned. Ms. Ravndal has extensive experience with animals. She established
a school for dogs and an adoption outreach program at a shelter in Mexico, has
worked with therapeutic horse riding programs for handicapped children, trained
therapy animals, and has made many visits to hospitals, orphanages, schools,
homes for the elderly and other places with these animal companions. She is
also the founder of Camp Laugh A Lot, a fun nature-study camp for kids from
the Reservation.
Dr. Peggy Behrens, DVM, is the Chair of the
veterinary technology program at the National American University (Rapid City,
SD). She was awarded South Dakota Veterinarian of the Year in 2002. Dr.
Behrens has served on the South Dakota Veterinary Medical Association Executive
Board for 10 years and from 2007 to 2008 served as President for that
Association.
Ms. Dawn Singleton-Olson
has spent most of her life working with animals and in the animal health field, with some radio broadcasting in the mix. She graduated from the University of Iowa with degrees in English and Communication Studies and has a certificate in Zoo Management from North Carolina State University. Her interest in fundraising and working with non-profit organizations prompted her to earn certificates in Fundraising, Grant Writing and Non-profit Management from Metropolitan Community College in Omaha. Early in her career, Dawn worked as a technician for several veterinary practices in Iowa and Nebraska and as a barn manager for training/show stables in both states. She also worked as a laboratory technician in vaccine production for Schering-Plough Animal Health. Dawn was a supervisor at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska for five years and was responsible for a captive breeding and reintroduction program for the endangered black-footed ferret in cooperation with the US Fish & Wildlife Service. She chaired the National Education & Outreach Subcommittee for the Ferret Program and developed classes, educational programs and speaking presentations as well as the organization's website: blackfootedferret.org. Prior to working at the Zoo, she was a zoo docent for five years and enjoyed conducting tours, giving classes, hosting birthday parties and public speaking. For the past dozen years Dawn has worked in veterinary sales for two national distributors-most recently for IVESCO LLC. In 2005, her then-employer-Professional Veterinary Products-gave Dawn the opportunity to volunteer with animal rescue in the Gulf following Hurricane Katrina. She felt fortunate to work with Best Friends Animal Society, and this life-changing opportunity was the catalyst for her to become more involved in volunteering and fundraising. Dawn continues to volunteer with Best Friends (as geography allows) and also volunteers closer to home with the Nebraska Humane Society as an adoption counselor, dog walker and with fundraising. Dawn also volunteers with the Omaha Police Mounted Patrol Unit and is a Trustee on their Foundation Board.
After thirty years in training, marketing and advertising positions for Fortune 500 corporations, Mr. Tom Alexander, retired to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2000. He currently volunteers as the Humane Education Coordinator for the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society. He also serves as the Advisor to the Shelter Youth Board, a partnership between the Shelter and Jane Goodall InstituteÕs Roots & Shoots youth program. His previous Board of Directors experience includes the Heart and Soul Animal Sanctuary, Kindred Spirits Animal Sanctuary, Kitchen Angels, and the Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for APNM (Animal Protection of New Mexico), PAWS (People for Animal Welfare Society), and the Lakota Animal Care Project. For the past nine years, he has worked on New MexicoÕs Week for the Animals Task Force, an official event by proclamation of the Governor of New Mexico.
Mr. Will Lowrey
Will Lowrey works as an IT Process Engineer for a large financial institution in Richmond, Virginia, but devotes the majority of his time to a variety of animal welfare causes. Will has been involved in pit bull rescue for many years, having founded or served in a leadership role for multiple pit bull rescue organizations over the years including GracieÕs Guardians, the pit bull division of the Richmond Animal League, Ring Dog Rescue, and the Misunderstood Pit Bull Rescue. Will is on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Animal Fighting Task Force, a group of law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and veterinary and rescue resources pooled to combat animal fighting across the State. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Rescue of Chained K9's, a group whose objective it is to free dogs from lives at the end of chains, a common problem in Virginia. Will is also very active with animal disaster response, having deployed across the country many times with the Humane Society of the United States, helping dogs, cats and horses. He helped establish and serves on the leadership team for a local county animal disaster response team. In addition, Will is a long-time volunteer with Richmond Animal Care and Control, the public animal shelter in Richmond, Virginia where Will lives. Will also volunteers with Pit Bull Rescue Central, a national pit bull rescue and education organization. Will is active with a handful of other local groups including the Coalition to Unchain Dogs, and Richmond Friends of Animals, a group working to better the lives of animals. Will has volunteered with the Lakota Animal Care Project over the past year, traveling to the Pine Ridge Reservation to do activities with the Sunka Scouts, helping to write grants, and sharing his time and expertise in other important ways.