Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Years of experience with dogs from the reservation have shown us that most of these animals are perfectly suited for providing therapy and support to vulnerable people.  In fact, despite often being under-socialized, traumatized and in poor physical shape, only a very small percentage of Reservation canines show aggression.  They tend to be "all flight" rather than "fight."  We attribute this to two reasons.  Firstly, these dogs are extremely mixed genetically, and this typically leads to a well-adjusted dog with good survival instincts.  Pure bred (or close to pure bred) dogs are the ones that most often exhibit behavioral or physiological problems.  Secondly, reservation canines need to survive, often in an environment where an aggressive temperament would place them at a competitive disadvantage.  Simply put, those that are aggressive don't make it.  They either get shot or succumb to fight wounds or in some other way get removed from the population.  The ones that survive to breed at the ones that are mostly harmless, even if shy.  These dogs often need emotional support but also can provide much healing to people who need it most.

ARC is a federally registered 501(c)(3) charity, so your donation is tax deductible in accordance with current tax laws governing nonprofit giving.

If you are inspired by ARC's mission, there are many ways to donate and support our programs.  The easiest is our Donate Now! button on our homepage, which links to ARC's Paypal account.  This provides a recurring donation option, should you choose to give to ARC monthly.  The Arlee Rehabilitation Center also has a VENMO account.  Both options deduct roughly 3% from your donation for processing fees.

If you prefer to avoid those fees, you can make out a check to the Arlee Rehabilitation Center and send it to our mailing address at:

Arlee Rehabilitation Center

700 Woodworth Ave.

Missoula, MT 59801.

ARC also has various sponsorship opportunities throughout the year.  We accept tuition sponsors ($250) for youth attending our Pawsitively Healing Camps.  We seek table sponsors ($500) for our annual fundraising Gala.  We also have occasional sponsorship drives for low-income spay-neuter assistance.

Our vision is far-reaching, and the needs we address go deep, so we are always looking for long-term sponsors and those inspired by our mission who would like to include ARC in their will.  Planned Giving and Legacy Gifts are one of the most powerful ways to have a lasting impact.

ARC also holds live and silent auctions at its annual gala, and we are always grateful to consider in-kind donations, whose fair-market retail value is also tax deductible in accordance with Federal regulations governing nonprofit giving.

We are currently in discussions with the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes about identifying a future healing site for ARC on Flathead Reservation Tribal land.  We have a sparsely staffed office in Ronan, MT at the Lake County CDC headquarters, which is located at:

407 Main St. SW

Ronan, MT 59864

However, we receive our mail at our Federally registered address:

Arlee Rehabilitation Center

700 Woodworth Ave.

Missoula, MT 59801

You can reach us directly at (406) 207-9338, info@k9arc.org or Facebook messenger with questions.

ARC is an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization - a non-governmental entity.  As such, it is not formally associated with the Tribes.  However, we are looking forward to working closely with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), and our founding and guiding philosophy includes a pledge to not only serve primarily the Tribal communities of the Flathead Reservation but also to engage the Tribal community in the active participation in ARC's mission on all levels of the organization.

Furthermore, we leave open the possibility into entering into formal, cooperative, and contractual relationships with the Tribes in the future, if these arrangements better help us better serve the needs of the local communities.  In fact, our Paws on the Ground (POG) program envisions this arrangement as a mechanism to enable the future implementation of a Tribal Animal Ordinance for the Flathead Reservation.

Our policy is to prioritize dogs needing rescue and rehabilitation of the Flathead Reservation of western Montana, but we envision and embrace the possibility of serving and transferring dogs from other Montana reservations if a time comes when local needs are being adequately being met.  We might, on a very rare emergency occasion, accept an animal from local areas outside reservations.

ARC's mission is to serve the communities of the Flathead Reservation.  Although we do not provide support, therapy or other social programs to non-Reservation residents, we do not distinguish between Tribal and non-Tribal members who live on the Reservation.  Nonetheless, we foresee and hope that our services will be utilized by many Tribal members, and we intend to encourage this in all possible ways.  In fact, this is written into our Cultural Sensitivity Position Statement.

The strategic vision of ARC consciously brings together several areas of focus that can motivate giving: reduction in child suicide risk, animal rescue, community development for a Native American Reservation, support for victims of domestic and substance abuse, and more.  We are always looking for grant sources through foundations, endowments, corporate and Federal programs, etc.  We also have specific plans for two annual events each year, offering opportunities for community building and giving (see the "Events" tab of this website).  We have other plans for funding our work as well, including seasonal rentals of our village units, possible contracts with Tribal or County entities, ASPCA and HSUS funding for specific program areas, capital campaigns, a video-driven social media fundraising program, and more!  If you are interested in supporting our work or have other ideas that may help boost ARC's fundraising capacity, please contact us at director@k9arc.org.  We are always excited to make new friends.

We do not yet have a facility.  ARC has plans for a future facility, which would not only serve our programs but also, through collaborative agreement, hopefully empower the Tribes to implement some of their future plans.  ARC's future is envisioned as a site that accommodates not only a central building (of culturally specific design) with holding kennels and program facilities, but also a village with compact therapeutic units (possibly including small cabins, prefabricated units, a seasonal tipi village, etc.).  There will also be secure fenced outdoor areas and a structure accommodating storage and spay/neuter clinics.

There are many strategic reasons for ARC's location.

(1) We recognize that Arlee’s progressive demographics, unique to Lake County, provide an especially fertile and welcoming community for community initiatives.

(2) We recognize that Arlee projects such as the Warrior Movement, the Garden of One Thousand Buddha and other community initiatives provide opportunity for collaboration within a community-wide network with significant power to effect change and provide help to those in need.

(3) We recognize that Arlee’s relative proximity to Missoula provides opportunities for attracting resources, services, access to professional labor pool and general support for effective and visionary projects.

(4) We recognize that Arlee’s relative isolation from services available at least 30 minutes to south and north creates a vacuum and opportunity to generate resources for an otherwise underserved local community (including the surrounding communities of St. Ignatius, Ravalli, Evaro and other rural areas in the southern half of the Flathead Indian Reservation.  For instance, there is no professional veterinary clinic in Arlee.

Good point!

(1) The development of a successful professional nonprofit on the Flathead Indian Reservation offers a prime opportunity to attract investment and cash flow into a relatively economically underprivileged area, providing not only resources but also employment opportunities.

(2) The presence of the Salish Kootenai College, the Char-Koosta News, S&K Technologies, The KwaTaqNuk, Mission Valley Power, Seli’š Ksanka Qlispe’ Dam, CSKT Tribal Government, available social services, general Reservation infrastructure, and many other Tribal businesses, initiatives, programs and organizations offer fertile ground for launching and developing a successful professional nonprofit and offer great potential for collaboration with existing entities.  These opportunities are much slimmer on some of the other regional reservations, so starting from scratch would be a huge logistical challenge elsewhere.

(3)  However, the successful launch and growth of this project model could ultimately be a springboard and pilot project for rehabilitation centers on other reservations where social, humane, infrastructural and economic challenges are much more acute than on the Flathead Indian Reservation.  Within a decade we hope to provide logistical support for branches on other Reservations.

(4) There are no effective professional programs or services for responding to animal emergencies in the field on the Flathead Reservation, meaning that private citizens who witness canine abuse, neglect, abandonment, etc. have no recourse. There is no Animal Control in Lake County or on the Flathead Indian Reservation, there is no county-wide animal ordinance, there is very minimal law enforcement capacity to respond to animal related cases, there is minimal institutional capacity for the sole animal shelter (located in Polson) and two small private rescues to absorb cases from the entire Flathead Indian Reservation or respond to sudden crises.

(5) CSKT officials have expressed interest in a new canine housing facility on the Reservation and a collaboration that would make it possible to implement a new Tribal Animal Ordinance, which has already been discussed but tabled due specifically to the absence of an adequate facility 

Yes.  Horses played an important role in Salish and Kootenai culture historically, and we are open to incorporating equine therapy into our future programs.  This adds a significant logistical and economic challenge to the program, and there is an independent group on the north end of the Reservation (roughly an hour's drive north) already working on developing an equine therapy program.  For this reason, we envision an equine component on a smaller scale, perhaps in conjunction and cooperation with other entities on the Reservation.

Canines have been successfully used in therapy and support in a variety of contexts: PTSD, terminal illness, depression, end-of-life, domestic abuse, reentry from incarceration, etc.  We plan to develop programs that are versatile and available in a variety of ways.  On the Reservation specifically, historical cultural trauma is a unique challenge, and we also recognize that animals are uniquely able to help people who may be reluctant to work with a human therapist for emotional, cultural or other reasons.

In basic terms, SEL acknowledges that education is more than just math, English, science, etc.  In fact, some of the most important education has nothing to do with these subjects.  Rather, it has to do with learning how to cope with life, relationships, trauma, etc.  Often, these skills are learned "naturally" within our family or communal units.  However, sadly, certain populations and individuals are deprived of the nurturing conditions needed for this "education" due to various economic, historical, psychological, environmental and other reasons.  SEL is an approach that helps youth build resiliency and the skills to navigate life's challenges.  Animals can be very helpful in this process, although they are not intrinsic to the SEL model.  ARC is thrilled to have the generous and amazing support of the founder of the Pawsitively SEL curriculum.  This curriculum will serve as the foundation for our youth program, even as we adapt it to the specific cultural and therapy needs of the Flathead Reservation community.

Recent years have seen an explosion in freely-breeding community and feral cats on the Flathead Indian Reservation with consequences for local ecology, humane concerns and growing frustration among concerned citizens, and there has been a near-complete absence of free spay-neuter services or trap-release programs to address this problem.  There is a well-developed low-income assistance program for spay and neuter services through animal rescue services in Polson, but the vast majority of cats served by this program are owned (people will rarely pay to co-pay for cats that are not theirs).  Moreover, the majority of cats on the Flathead Reservation are community or feral cats living in the rural communities.  Therefore, the program cannot adequately address the problem.

At this point, the easiest way of getting in touch with us is via Facebook or contacting our founder and Executive Director at (406) 207-9338 or emailing him at director@k9arc.org.