ARF Hamptons Director Kimberly Nichols Discusses the Summer Ahead

High season in the Hamptons isn’t just for its human residents and tourists – it’s for its four legged ones as well.

That’s what the Animal Rescue Fund (ARF) of the Hamptons is looking forward to, and they have a stacked calendar of events aimed at increasing donations, volunteers, and adopters throughout the summer and fall.

Founded in 1974, the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF Hamptons) has long served as a crucial haven for cats and dogs across the region. With a no-kill policy. the organization has rescued and rehomed more than 30,000 animals, offering each one the care and patience they need until they find a permanent, loving home.

Dan’s Papers sat down with Kimberly Nichols, ARF’s executive director since 2023, to discuss a few of those events.

A Chat with ARF Hamptons Director Kimberly Nichols

Memorial Day is in just over a month! When will ARF kick off high season on the East End?

The big one coming right up is Pet Celebration Day, and that’s Saturday, May 17. That’s free, and that’s homecoming for dogs. It’s the most heartwarming event that we do. It’s absolutely incredible, because hundreds of people will come and bring their ARF dogs. Someone has bought a cat in the past, but they don’t really like to travel much, so it’s mostly dogs, and we get to see the dogs we rescued living with their families and growing up. We celebrate the dogs that have been adopted, and celebrate all animals. We encourage anybody to bring their pets and come, and there’s plenty of opportunities for them.

We’re doing low cost vaccines. There’ll be free micro chipping, there’ll be nail clipping, which is always a super popular one. And then there are also lots of activities for the kids, like face painting. There’ll be a lot of our dogs and puppies available to play with. The trainers will be on site so you can run your dog on the agility course. We have about 25 tables, which is huge. There will be a lot of vendors, most of them pet centric. We will have a ceramicist that does custom pet bowls. We have different pet companies, and then we have the ARF tables, like LemonARF, where, the kids are actually running that table.

That’s a fundraiser that they do throughout the summer. They get kits to set up lemonade stands to help raise money for the animals of ARF. It’s a free event, although obviously the food trucks there are not.

The next event on the calendar appears to be the Bow Wow Meow Ball.

Actually, we have one before that. So we have one brand new event that we are doing for the first time this year, and it’s called Rescues and Rosè, and that’s Saturday, June 14, which is National Rosè Day. So we’re going to do it here at ARF, and it’s a young professionals event. This came about because there’s been a big group of people who really want something the Bow Wow Meow Ball isn’t quite the level that they want to commit at. So this is young professionals gathering together to support ARF. We’re going to have a great DJ, some incredible food, and of course, rosè, and it’s 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. here at ARF. The goal is to get another generation actively involved with ARF, and I know this group has a passion for animal rescue, and they love their cats and dogs, and it’s just a way for them to get involved. Because young people are very busy in their lives, and they may be new to charity work, and so it was important for us to find an event that was fulfilling for them without it being cost prohibitive or time prohibitive.

That’s great. Circling back, what’s the Bow Wow Meow Ball?

That’s Saturday, Aug. 16. It’s a hugely important night to us. We raise about almost a third of our budget through the Bow Wow Meow Ball, and that’s the incredible generosity of the donors who come to this event. At that ball, the animals are the stars. They’ll be walking around at the ball. And the videos that are shown that night are some of our animals’ stories. We also have the adoption van out for animals to be adopted. Nobody goes home with a dog that night, but they can come back the next day if they fall in love. But it’s it’s purely about the animals, and I think that’s why the Bow Wow Meow Ball has been so successful. It’s authentic. It shows why we’re all here. This is a love that we share, and it’s a cause that is we all feel passionate about, and so we stay true to that – they, the animals, are the stars.

We are incredibly happy that we can host it in the William P. Rayner Training Center. So most of the year, other than that night and and the rescues in rose a that Training Center is an essential piece of the puzzle of keeping animals at home. If someone’s having trouble with their dog or they question some type of behavior, our trainers can work with them, or they can come here for socialization, or Puppy Obedience, or basic obedience all the way through to Canine Good Citizen. It’s an incredible facility. It’s perfect for dog training, so we can do it year round, no matter what the weather is. But then Aug. 16, it turns into this magical space where almost everything is donated – the linens are donated, the flowers are donated, the greenery is donated. And it’s magical.

Wonderful. So that’s the last event of the summer – but with fall being a popular season now, it’s almost like the Memorial Day to Labor Day mindset for the East End is becoming outdated. What events does ARF have planned for the fall?

On Oct. 11, we have our Stroll to the Sea. That is our dog walk, which starts at Mulford Farm and goes to Main Beach. So it’s a mile to the beach and a mile back. It starts at 9 a.m. and we have all these vendors there. There’s so much stuff that they give away. It’s this absolutely incredible, fun morning. And then when we cut the ribbon, and hundreds of people and hundreds of dogs start walking down to the beach, it’s beautiful. It’s so much fun. You can tell even the police, who are stopping the traffic and everything, they’re having a great time. Everybody’s having a great time.

Do these events lead to an increase in volunteers and adoptions, as well as donations?

All of the above. For example, this weekend, we’ll be at Birdie’s Ale House in Southampton. he allows dogs into her Ale House, and she’s a volunteer here, and she’s taken on one of our shy fosters. Any time we get to go out and interact with the public and introduce them to our dogs and cats, you gotta love it when you watch that match be made, and you watch someone fall in love with an animal. It makes it all worthwhile. We have a 50-year reputation of really we we make sure that everything is is covered.

Visit arfhamptons.org to learn more about ARF and adopting a pet.