ARF History

ARF was founded in June of 1998 by animal advocate Mrs. Terri Panszi. At the time of founding Mrs. Panszi, worked as an x-ray technician at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Indiana, using her paychecks to pay rent in a small building that held approximately 20-30 animals. In the beginning, she was the only person involved with the cleaning, feeding and daily caretaking of the animals. She also handled all the adoptions and fundraising.


Although ARF began as a sanctuary for homeless animals, ARF has since expanded its services to the community, including programs such as SNIP (Spay and Neuter In-Need Pets), which provides free or very low-cost altering for pets of low-income families; Pounds for Hounds, a summer-time dog-walking program funded by a grant from the Delaware County Health Department; and the Nibble Nook, which offers free pet food and straw to families in need so no animal is cold or hungry.

Since opening its doors in 1998, ARF has moved to its current location on 1209 W. Riggin Road. ARF is able to stay on the property rent free, though ARF pays all utility and maintenance bills associated with the property. It now consists of 5 main buildings: the main dog house, which houses up to 30 dogs daily; a heated garage with fenced yards, which houses 15 dogs daily in 3 separate sections of the garage; a double-wide manufactured home used as a cat house, which houses 50 + cats daily in 4 separate rooms; a heated pole barn with large fenced yard that houses 20 dogs available for adoption daily; and a barn with an attached lean-to that is home to roughly 10 feral cats.

ARF is a shelter where the animals do not spend day after day in a crate or kennel, but rather in rooms equipped with beds, toys, windows and other animals, if personalities allow. ARF now has 1 full-time and 6 part-time employees to care for the animals, maintain the property, keep track of records, and meet the public during adoption hours.