Quality of Life Rehab & Foster Inc. is committed to providing Marion County’s needy animals with the best quality of life.
Not even being attacked by a pack of captive coyotes could diminish Aspen Olmstead’s love of animals. Instead, she responded by creating the Ocala-based Quality of Life Rehab & Foster Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
“I grew up with dogs, cats, rabbits and reptiles. When I was a kid, my favorite place to visit was Sarasota Jungle Gardens,” says Olmstead, 48, who moved from Sarasota to Ocala when she was 12. “I worked with animals from an early age in various capacities. In 2000, I was a wildlife keeper at Silver Springs Park when I was attacked by coyotes that had been raised there. I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder following that attack, but I never stopped loving animals.”
Olmstead is also an artist who has had three art installations, The Web We Weave, Heron and Dragonfly, displayed in Tuscawilla Park over the years. She is a self-described found item artist, who re-purposes things discarded into art.
Olmstead carried that philosophy of giving animals in need a better life when she founded Quality of Life Rehab & Foster Inc. in 2005. Joining her from the beginning has been her partner Bryan Corbett and her daughter Ambria.
“I was very intentional with our name. As an artist, a name means something to me,” shares Olmstead. “That particular name was chosen because it is important to remember that an animal’s quality of life must be put before its quantity of life.”
Having grown up with and worked with wildlife, Olmstead began with that focus.
“We quickly found out how cost prohibitive getting licensed, rehabbing and fostering wildlife was,” notes Olmstead. “So, we decided to change our focus to companion animals such as cats and dogs while partnering with wildlife rehab organizations when needed.”
Olmstead’s grassroots organization has continued to grow and expand beyond cats and dogs to rabbits, birds, reptiles and farm animals.
“The little animal rescue idea that I had in my head has grown to a village of amazing people and partner organizations,” says Olmstead. “We have about two dozen foster homes on a rotating basis and use our social media network to foster or adopt out an animal. We are very nonjudgmental in our approach to helping out an animal that has been either rescued or surrendered. The most important thing is to get that animal to its forever home.”
VITAL PARTNERSHIPS
In December 2021, Quality of Life Rehab & Foster Inc. partnered with the Humane Society of Marion County, Sheltering Hands, Marion County Animal Services and Voices of Change Animal League (VOCAL) to form Cat Alliance from Tips to Tails (CATT). The Marion County Commission then partnered with CATT.
“Everyone involved knows that Marion County has a major ongoing homeless cat population and CATT was formed to address that,” explains Olmstead. “It’s a trap, neuter, vet care and release program, and it has been very successful.”
Olmstead also has a separate partnership with Sheltering Hands and VOCAL, which allows Quality of Life Rehab & Foster to utilize their veterinary services and receive assistance with pet food needs.
“Since March 2021, we have taken in 1,035 animals, adopted out 504 and currently have 161 animals available for adoption to date,” says Olmstead. “If our foster homes are full, we sometimes have to transfer animals to other organizations because we don’t have a brick-and-mortar facility right now.”
Through the Quality of Life Rehab & Foster Inc. website and Facebook page, people interested in surrendering or adopting an animal can contact the organization.
“We work on an animal-to-animal case. We are especially concerned for those animals susceptible to entering our shelters system and those abandoned or injured by run-ins with man,” says Olmstead.
And since Olmstead’s organization is a foster-home based one, possible adoptions must be handled in a creative way.
“Anyone who wants to adopt an animal goes through our website/Facebook page and first fills out an adoption form,” says Olmstead. “Once we check the person out thoroughly, we arrange to meet with the animal at a local pet store or park to see how the animal responds. If all goes well, we might even go to the person’s home to check that out. And if the adoption doesn’t work, we will take the animal back, no questions asked.”
Olmstead has her ongoing wish list, saying, “We always need more volunteers, foster homes and donations.”
But topping the wish list is a physical home beyond Olmstead’s and the foster network.
“We could do so much more with an actual facility on maybe 10 acres,” shares Olmstead. “We could handle more farm animals, and we would have a place where people could actually come to interact with an animal they want to adopt. I think this is the natural next step for us to grow and continue to serve the animals of our community.” OS
To learn more, go to qualityofliferehab.com
