This is a transcript of the Spur of the Moment episode “Healing in animal welfare with Dr. Apryl Steele.” It is provided as a courtesy and may contain errors.

Apryl Steele: This is a huge project and it’s a project like none I’ve ever heard of ever in anywhere, which really excites us.

Jocelyn Hittle: Welcome to Spur of the Moment, the podcast of Colorado State University’s Spur campus in Denver, Colorado.

Apryl Steele: We really believe that empowering people to own pets and to help care for those pets while they’re in that relationship is really important.

Apryl Steele: Animal welfare is a very homogenous profession. That’s not okay. It’s not okay to just say that’s how it is. We need to go back, way back. Why is that?

Jocelyn Hittle: On this podcast, we talk with experts in food, water, and health, both human and animal about how they are tackling the big challenges in these areas.

Jocelyn Hittle: I’m Jocelyn Hittle and I am joined today by Apryl Steele, the Executive Director of Dumb Friends League. Dumb Friends League will be a partner with CSU in our new Vida Building, part of the Spur campus. And they do wonderful work in the Denver area and beyond. Welcome, Apryl.

Apryl Steele: Hi Jocelyn. Thank you so much for having me today.

Jocelyn Hittle: Thanks for being here. Apryl, can you tell us a little about Dumb Friends League? What does the organization do?

Apryl Steele: Sure. So the Dumb Friends League is an animal welfare organization that started in 1910. And back in 1910, dumb was a very common term for animals that don’t have the capacity of human speech. So it was not associated with some of the connotations as far as intelligence that it is today. We definitely get that question a lot about, “Are you saying animals are dumb?” And we absolutely are not saying that, but we do believe that we are the voice for animals who cannot speak. Yes, they communicate with us, but they don’t speak.

Apryl Steele: The Dumb Friends League is known as a shelter, but we’re so much more than a shelter. We have several shelters, including the Malone Center, which is in Denver, the Buddy Center, which is in Castle Rock. And this month, we’re opening a shelter in rural Colorado, in Alamosa.

Apryl Steele: We receive about 20,000 animals a year. And with those animals, we do everything we can to make them healthy and behaviorally sound and to place them. That is about 58 animals a day, and almost all of those come from our community. We do receive some animals from Oklahoma, but we really are prioritizing animals in Colorado over other states so we can make sure we’re taking care of our own backyard first.

Apryl Steele: We have a entire veterinary team that addresses the medical needs of these animals. And then we have an eight-person behavior team that addresses the behavioral needs of the animals, too.

Apryl Steele: But more than just the shelters, we also serve the community. In several ways. We are thought leaders in socially-conscious sheltering, which is a movement that we started in Colorado and is happening nationally and even internationally right now.

Apryl Steele: We provide services to people who have pets that need urgent veterinary care, and they cannot that veterinary care through our Solutions Veterinary Hospital. And we’ll talk a little bit more about the future of Spur and what we’re going to do there.

Apryl Steele: We do vaccine clinics. We also do a lot of spay and neuter that’s either highly subsidized or free for the community. And this next year, we’re looking at spaying and neutering over 13,000 community animals on top of all the animals that we spay and neuter at the shelter.

Apryl Steele: So we are doing quite a bit. We work on some legislative issues as well to try to make animal welfare better in Colorado.

Jocelyn Hittle: I’m so impressed to hear that list of activities and some of the numbers associated with it. You all are quite large for this kind of organization, aren’t you?

Apryl Steele: Yeah. You know, it’s absolutely amazing. We are in a community that supports animals and values animals in ways that very few communities do in the world. And because of that, we are able to do some really impactful work.

Apryl Steele: Next year, our budget’s probably going to be about $26 million. And that is all from community support, fundraising events. You could pick up our organization and plop it down in almost any other community in the country and it wouldn’t be successful because our community is what makes us successful.

Apryl Steele: But if you think about it, we raise from our community $15 million every year to help animals. And this is just people that voluntarily say, “Hey, this matters to me and I want to make a difference.” And to have a community that steps up year after year after year so we can sustain these programs and do this work is quite humbling and pretty amazing.

Jocelyn Hittle: Apryl, you mentioned the Dumb Friends League treats the animals that come into the shelters and also treats community animals. I think you said 13,000 spays and neuters. Can you say more about the community component?

Apryl Steele: Sure. So we have a couple different pieces to it, we call it our Community Veterinary Services. So historically our mobile units have been a big part of that work, the Meow Mobile and the Lulu Mobile, which go out and spay or neuter cats and dogs. Cats have always been free, and dogs have been highly subsidized at about $50 per spay/neuter.

Apryl Steele: This isn’t intended for people that can afford to go to a veterinarian and develop a relationship and have that the benefit of what that relationship brings to the relationship between the pet and the human. But it’s meant to serve people that can’t afford to do that.

Apryl Steele: In the pandemic, those mobile units were hard to manage and keep people socially distanced and safe. And about four years ago, we opened a spay/neuter clinic just for cats. And at that space, we will bring cats in 50 to 80 a day and spay and neuter them. And for the first three years, we had some funding nationally, so it was completely free and vaccinated these animals as well as spayed and neutered them.

Apryl Steele: We’ve just started charging a very minimal fee. I think it’s $20 for a spay or neuter of a cat at this point, including vaccines; and moving forward, we’re looking forward to having that spay/neuter opportunity move to the Spur Campus as well. And we also do spay and neuter for dogs, but on specific needs.

Apryl Steele: We’ve partnered with different animal protection and whether they’re dealing with an animal that’s out of compliance with the animal ordinances and they need to spay and neuter in order to get into compliance, we will help provide that so it’s not a barrier for pet ownership for people in that community. And then we’re also looking in the future to focus on spaying and neutering pit bulls, because we do have an overpopulation issue with pit bulls, but not really with the other breeds at this point in Metro Denver.

Jocelyn Hittle: Interesting. Apryl, why so many more cats versus dogs in your spay/neuter activities?

Apryl Steele: Sure. So, and this is sort of changing this year, but overpopulation has in Metro Denver, especially front range, somewhat in all of the Colorado, dog overpopulation, we’re getting a handle on it. We’re having more people that want to adopt dogs than we are having people bring dogs to us, which is such a great problem to have. It means that we can adopt dogs that are older, that have some more chronic needs. And people are eager to give those dogs at home instead of just the cute puppies. But we have such a demand for adoption and people want to do the right by animals and not buy them, that we are even able to partner with some other communities to bring in animals for that.

Apryl Steele: Cats have been a different story. You know, cats are common in our communities, stray cats, free roaming cats, and guess what? They breed in our communities, and so that’s a perpetuating problem. And much of the work we’re doing is addressing the community cat issue.

Apryl Steele: We still spay and neuter community cats, which are feral and unowned cats at no cost trying to address that overpopulation issue. We are still seeing quite a few cats coming into us.

Apryl Steele: Interestingly, during the pandemic, that has changed for all of the front-range shelters in Colorado. We don’t know what it’s going to be like afterwards, but cats have really still been the challenge with overpopulation.

Jocelyn Hittle: Can you talk a little bit about what you see as being the important components of, and maybe it’s the human/animal bond, or maybe it’s other things, but as you think about the links between animal health and human health, what comes to mind for you? What has has been part of your experience in the work that you do?

Apryl Steele: I love that question because there was a time, not that long ago when there was a common belief system that if you can’t afford an animal, you shouldn’t have an animal.

Apryl Steele: As we are realizing both the physical, mental, and emotional health benefits of pet ownership, this is becoming a DEI issue. It’s becoming an issue that if animals are so hard to come by that some rescues are charging $2,000 for a puppy at a rescue, that makes it so people that don’t have significant means cannot even find a pet or get a pet. And that’s not acceptable because we know that pets do so much.

Apryl Steele: So many people, especially during the pandemic but always, are isolated and pets are the safe relationships that they can have. It’s the place where they feel no judgment and they can have a really bad day. And it’s still going to be the same loving relationship as when they have a really good day.

Apryl Steele: Many of the folks we work with at Solutions Veterinary Hospital in that underserved community are folks that are very isolated, even more so than people that have full capacity to have full-time jobs and are interacting in different social structures. We really believe that empowering people to own pets and to help care for those pets while they’re in that relationship is really important.

Jocelyn Hittle: And I’m guessing that the past year has really highlighted that even more than usual. I mean, the isolation that so many people are feeling and how it is disproportionately felt by different populations.

Apryl Steele: Yes, it’s interesting. Adoption demand has been intense and there’s a lot of fear. I see articles going around talking about when everyone goes back to work, which it’s never going to really be normal like it was before, I don’t believe. But when people do start going back to work, are they all going to relinquish their animals to the shelter?

Apryl Steele: There was a national study done recently that showed that 75% of people actually intend to get a second dog… This was dogs specifically… To keep their dog company when they go back to work. I don’t know where they’re going to get those dogs, but it’s interesting to see what the pandemic has done to this issue.

Apryl Steele: As far as the isolation and the needing the relationship with an animal and how meaningful that is, that has also gotten very intense. And we know that our Solutions Veterinary Hospital and at that hospital, we’re just addressing really serious conditions that probably the animal would not survive if they did not get care.

Apryl Steele: And we’re talking obstructed intestinal tracks, inability to urinate, severe glaucoma, things that are critical and need attention right away. It’s a first-come first-served basis, at least during the pandemic, because do we want to just be able to take care of the most urgent needs first.

Apryl Steele: People are lining up sometimes at 4:00 AM to get that care. And often by 8:00 AM, we’re full. We’re at capacity for all of the surgeries we can do for that day. And as you can imagine, people care so much about this animal, that animal means so much to them, especially during the pandemic. And then we have the economic pressures of not being able to afford the care that that animal is going to need, and they have to consider an economic euthanasia or some other horrible decision-making process.

Apryl Steele: They get intense and angry, and it’s been tough. It’s been tough on our team. It’s been a real challenge. So we’re really looking forward to expanding that opportunity at Spur.

Jocelyn Hittle: That sounds like it has been really hard for you and your team. And you guys are all providing such a valuable service, not only to obviously to the animals and the owners, but also to the community in general, especially during a particularly tough time.

Jocelyn Hittle: You’ve touched on some diversity, equity and inclusion components of what you do. Can you reflect a little on what the last year or so has meant, and what you have done differently? What has been enhanced? Or if there are conversations you’ve been a part of for a long time that you’re now seeing being elevated more due to Black Lives Matter movement, and the other conversations that have been more prominent in the last year.

Apryl Steele: Sure. And this is a very important topic for me. So it’s been interesting. For years, we’ve had conversations about the people that tend to support our work and the people that adopt from us tend to be one type of population. And the people that utilize our other services are a much more diverse population. We’ve been having two conversations all along about how do we engage different folks in the different pieces of this and move that along.

Apryl Steele: We’ve done some good work and we’ve really failed in some areas, too. And I think the one thing that I’ve learned the most about the Black Lives Matter movement and the whole DEI conversation is, it’s messy. And it doesn’t mean you don’t keep trying and you don’t keep moving forward, but it’s easy to offend and it’s easy to miss something and it’s easy to do it wrong; but the fact that people are trying and that they’re wanting to partner and they’re being sensitive to missteps is super important.

Apryl Steele: So animal welfare is a very homogeneous profession in Colorado, at least, but even nationally. So is veterinary medicine. And so a couple things about DEI is that’s not okay. It’s not okay to just say, “That’s how it is.”

Apryl Steele: We need to go back, way back. Why is that? You know, there are studies that show that in elementary school, there’s a pretty equal desire to be a veterinarian between races and neurodiversity folks and all the different types of diversity that we could talk about. It really feels like some people get told they can’t, or they get talked out of it, or they get diverted from that path.

Apryl Steele: And one of the really neat things about the Spur Project, and I know I’m kind of preempting that conversation, is that we’re going to be able to engage these folks in veterinary medicine and animal welfare and get them excited about the work, and then hopefully help them map out a career path through that excitement.

Apryl Steele: We have expanded our board of directors to be more diverse this year, so that feels really good. And then the other thing that we’ve done is we have a lot of jobs. We have, well, right now we have 280 employees and next year with Spur and some other things, we’re probably going to have about 340 employees.

Apryl Steele: So we have a significant employment opportunity and many times, especially for some of the more executive positions and the exempt positions, we’re not getting any applicants that are diverse. It’s all white women. And in our field being male is diverse. So it’s a little bit different than some of the other fields.

Apryl Steele: So what we’re talking about is when we have our candidates and we’re going to start interviewing, do we say, “Okay, we’ve got here. This is what we’re dealing with. Again, another candidate pool without diversity,” or do we say, “No, this is not good enough.”

Apryl Steele: We are here, but let’s have a conversation further. Let’s continue to connect through social networks and get people excited about a career opportunity that they may not even realize exists and really be proactive in enhancing that diversity pool for our jobs and positions.

Jocelyn Hittle: Yep. So it’s super important, and I think that understanding kind of where those inflection points are in the pathway to these different kinds of careers; you mentioned elementary school and middle school sort of thinking of how can we sort of step our way backward to helping kids at a younger and younger age be able to envision themselves in a career pathway and keep that vision for themselves as they get older and various different factors influence how they think about themselves and how they think about their future. So, very important. Thank you.

Jocelyn Hittle: As you mentioned, that is one of the things that we are hoping to do with the CSU Spur campus, which is part of the redevelopment of the National Western Center, as you know, to be able to bring kids and families through our doors and get them excited about careers they might not have been thinking about for themselves and to try to retain that excitement and to help point them toward the educational pathways that will lead to those careers and make it really easy to keep that interest and commitment to those career paths that they think they can do when they’re really young, but maybe that tends to drift a little as they get older.

Apryl Steele: Yeah. Light the spark and feed the flame is what we need to do.

Jocelyn Hittle: Oh, there you go. That was a so much more concise way of saying that. Thank you.

Jocelyn Hittle: So let’s talk a little bit about Spur and your role there. You’ve mentioned that the Solutions Clinic will be expanding there. So you will be offering some veterinary care, but can you tell us a little bit more about what the League as you call it will be doing at Spur and why it’s a good fit?

Apryl Steele: Sure. So there’s three ways. I feel like we’re really strongly intersecting with Spur and Dumb Friends is thrilled to collaborate with Colorado State University. We’ve been in these planning sessions, what… Five years now?

Jocelyn Hittle: Something like that.

Apryl Steele: I know you’ve been much longer than that, but just having it come to fruition and seeing what it is. This is a huge project and it’s a project like none I’ve ever heard of ever anywhere, which really excites us. So we are going to have a… Spay/neuter clinic is going to move over to the second floor at Spur and we will be doing cat spay/neuter there. We were also going to have a full service veterinary hospital only for underserved folks.

Apryl Steele: We are a little bit concerned that it’s going to be hard to keep only the underserved community coming to Spur, because it’s going to be such a beautiful building. And it’s going to be such a place where people walk through and want to be a part of.

Apryl Steele: So initially we’re going to use it for overflow, from our Solutions Veterinary Hospital that exists now. And when people come to relinquish an animal, if they’re relinquishing an animal to the shelter only because of a medical reason that they feel like they can’t do right by their animal because of their resources, but they truly have a good relationship and want to keep that animal, we’ll refer those folks over for care at this Spur Solutions Hospital.

Apryl Steele: And then veterinarians in our community who have made a diagnosis and the pet owners can’t afford the care, they don’t have the ability to provide that care, will also be able to refer over. That’s our intention right now.

Apryl Steele: So for the full-service veterinary hospital, we’re going to have that subsidized care and it is very highly subsidized by our donors. So most of the procedures we do there probably cost 25% of what it costs in private practice.

Apryl Steele: That’s not because private practitioners are overcharging; it’s because we have subsidies from donors to help cover that and we’re not making a profit. We’re actually investing over $3 million a year in the program.

Apryl Steele: So that’s a piece of Spur. And then what’s super exciting though, is that the surgery suite, the dental suite, and one of the exam rooms are going to be completely on view for the public.

Apryl Steele: So we’re going to have glass walls instead of opaque walls. And when the surgeons are in there doing their work, they’ll have the capacity to communicate with the public. And the folks watching to see, ask questions. Whether those are children getting their spark lit, or if they’re adults that are just curious and there’ll be all kinds of surgeries and all kinds of dental procedures.

Apryl Steele: So it’s not behind closed doors anymore. People can really see what veterinarians do and what veterinary technicians do and what veterinary medicine is all about and how to care best for their pets, which is also an important piece.

Apryl Steele: And then that leads me right into the humane education piece of it. So we’re working really closely with CSU’s I have to say incredible humane education and education exhibit goals to create experiences for the guests.

Apryl Steele: So we will have our team helping with humane education programs about how to care for animals, animal welfare issues, even anti-bullying lessons that we use animal compassion to help people understand bullying.

Apryl Steele: Then we’re still looking at how we fit this together and who does which piece, but there’s going to be experiences of doing a physical exam or CSU is going to have a virtual reality room and it’s going to tie together really neat to get people excited about veterinary medicine and animal welfare.

Jocelyn Hittle: Yep. It’s one of my favorite features of the Spur Campus as well, what we call on-show veterinary hospital as part of the Vida Building. I’m so grateful to your team for being willing to do that. It is different to be doing your work, your profession, and also explaining it to people at the same time. So how are you thinking about preparing your vets to do that? The whole team, not just the veterinarians.

Apryl Steele: Yeah, that is one of my current challenges. So thanks, Jocelyn.

Jocelyn Hittle: Sorry.

Apryl Steele: So we are a very introverted profession, veterinarians in general. There are exceptions and we’re looking for those exceptions because it does take a level of ability to enjoy being on view and to talk to the public and take questions and be able to concentrate on what you’re doing and answer questions at the same time.

Apryl Steele: We have a lot of fears. We fear that the pet’s owner will be watching the surgery and feel like it’s something they could handle. But when they see their pet anesthetized, it’s a really difficult emotional process for them.

Apryl Steele: But we’re really excited about it, and really we’ve taken the approach that this is going to be so impactful that we’re going to figure out ways to make it work. And we’re going to have volunteers outside of the space that are able to explain what’s happening in the space. It’s not going to be only on the shoulders of the people in the room. We have microphones that are hands free, so the doctors don’t have to try to do other things other than what they need to be doing when that animal is having surgery.

Apryl Steele: It’s going to be fantastic and we’re going to figure it out. It’s going to be something kind of like COVID. It might change along the way until we get it figured out.

Jocelyn Hittle: Let’s talk a little bit about you. As we have already discussed, the Spur Campus, one of our goals is to inspire kids to engage in these topics of food, water, and human and animal health and the environment, and also to help maybe demystify the career paths and how you get to be a contributor in those fields.

Jocelyn Hittle: So I’d love to hear a little bit about your story, how it is that you came to be leading an organization like Dumb Friends League. And did you always want to be a veterinarian? Tell us a little about your journey.

Apryl Steele: Sure. And yeah, I love to tell the story because in some ways, society might expect that I would become a veterinarian because I’m a Caucasian female, but in a lot of ways, I was the child that wasn’t expected to do much.

Apryl Steele: So I was born and raised in Denver and Denver Metro area. When I was three, my parents got divorced. And so I had a single mom and she worked multiple jobs. So starting at about when I was six, I would take care of myself from about 6:00 AM till 10:00 PM and make my meals and just made it work.

Apryl Steele: We moved eight times before I was 14. So there was a lot of living in poverty and moving from community to community and not building roots and longstanding relationships.

Apryl Steele: When I was 14, I actually moved out and lived on my own for quite a while and managed high school and working at fast food restaurants to pay the rent. And that was a fascinating time for me as well. So neither of my parents had graduated from college and I had all the excuses not to do what I’ve done.

Apryl Steele: And I’ve always wanted to be a veterinarian, and I do not know why. I had a cat that I loved dearly, and that cat was my true connection growing up. It was like that child in isolation having a relationship. And like we’ve discussed with COVID and other relationships, it’s probably why I relate to that so much.

Apryl Steele: Her name was Thumbs because she had extra toes and we didn’t go to a veterinarian regularly. You know, this was in the ’70s and very early ’80s and we didn’t have the means to do that. There were no opportunities to be able to do that.

Apryl Steele: One day she was sick and my mom finally decided she had to do something and took her in and she had leukemia virus and they had to euthanize her, and that was really impactful to me. I didn’t get to say goodbye. I didn’t know what sick was. You know, it was kind of that child learning about death.

Apryl Steele: For some reason, even though I didn’t go to the veterinary hospital at that point in time, I decided at that point I wanted to be a veterinarian. So I was eight or nine when I made that decision. And I joke sometimes it’s just because I’m so stubborn. I don’t want to change my mind that I got through to becoming a veterinarian. And other times when I’m more serious, it’s really about my compassion for animals and knowing that healing is a calling and that’s how I felt.

Apryl Steele: So I went to undergrad at CSU and after one year I had my whole life plan. All student loans and a few grants. There was not any funding for this.

Apryl Steele: And then it’s kind of a long story, but I was helping a friend and I signed up for the Army with her because she was terrified and she had no other options. And I joined the Army just with the intention of going to basic and advanced training and then going straight to the reserves and missing one semester of school and undergrad.

Apryl Steele: But the day I went to basic training, Saddam [Hussein] invaded Kuwait, there was all of a sudden a war we never thought was going to happen. I got activated and I was in the Veterinary Corps inspecting food. So I spent a little more time than I expected doing that.

Apryl Steele: But then I got back on track and got back into undergrad and then got accepted to veterinary school at CSU. And I loved my experience at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. I think that was probably the happiest time of my life. Just learning how to heal and building relationships with other students. And the education was just incredible.

Apryl Steele: When I graduated, I graduated on Friday and started working on Monday. The veterinarian I signed up to practice with went on vacation for a couple of weeks. So I ended up doing all kinds of things all by myself and jumping in and the training in veterinary school was great. And I was able to be a veterinarian all by my lonesome. But it was great when he came back, he could mentor me too. I think that’s really important.

Apryl Steele: And I didn’t mention this, but part of what we’re doing with Spur is teaching and teaching veterinary students, and we’re also having interns. And that mentorship and teaching is also something I’m very passionate about for many reasons.

Apryl Steele: I practiced medicine in Denver for 18 years. I built my own practice. I loved the clients and my team there. It was wonderful. And then the CEO of the Dumb Friends who had been in that role for 44 years, approached me out of what I thought was total blue and asked me if I would be his successor. And I thought he was crazy.

Apryl Steele: I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything other than being a veterinarian and healing. And I’d finally gotten to a place in my career where I took six weeks off or rode my bike from Denver to Virginia and have these breaks and just really enjoy life a bit.

Apryl Steele: So I didn’t see the opportunity for what it was initially, but once I did, I realized how many human and animal lives I could impact through this leadership, but through this role. So one of the things throughout my entire life I’ve done is said yes.

Apryl Steele: And even when there have been those voices in my head that say, “Are you sure you can do this?” I was really good at quieting those. And there’ve been many times when I look back and said, if I knew what it was going to take to do this, I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to do it.

Apryl Steele: But you know, sometimes ignorance is a little bit bliss if you’re good at responding, figuring things out on the fly. And you know, it comes down to ethics, leadership, and just willingness to have real conversations with people. And I think that those skillsets can help in all different kinds of leadership opportunities.

Apryl Steele: So I’ve been with the League about 6-1/2 years, and I’ve been the CEO for 3-1/2 years. It’s been amazing.

Jocelyn Hittle: Well, they are very lucky to have you at the helm and you and the organization have done incredible work here. Can you talk a little bit about what a day in the life looks like for you?

Apryl Steele: Yeah. It’s funny you ask because that was the first question I had when I was asked to do this role. And so I reached out to one of my clients at good friends, Kim Day, who’s the CEO of Denver International Airport. And I said, “What’s it like? What do you every day? I’m sure it’s not surgery and talking to clients.”

Apryl Steele: Every day is different. It really is. Some days I do a podcast, but often it is a quite a few emails. I probably deal with 200 or 300 emails easily every day. Meetings, talking about how best to support our teams, what best strategy to move forward, working with our board of directors, making sure they’re really engaged and excited about our work. A lot of what I do is try to inspire people, inspire donors, to feel like they can make a difference.

Apryl Steele: So many people want to make a difference and they have trouble finding a place where they know their gifts really will make a difference. Then when we connect around that and they’re grateful for the opportunity to give us support, it feels amazing. So that’s a big part of my work.

Apryl Steele: Some advocacy and thought leadership work; serving on national boards is a part of what I do. But really, the most important part is taking care of our team and making sure they’re supported, that there’s people care.

Apryl Steele: We have a saying, which is the culture that I am trying to perpetuate within the organization, which is, “In every interaction, you have to maintain your integrity and enhance the other person’s dignity.” And if you’ve done that, then you’re good to go. You can have hard conversations, you can say no, but you say it in that way. And it’s been really fun to watch the evolution of it.

Jocelyn Hittle: Yeah, that sounds a lot like the days of many leaders, I would guess of organizations of various different types, those different chunks of work that fall to you as the leader of a team and the creator of culture and a person who needs to inspire both internally and externally. But it’s wonderful that you are able to do that for an organization that is about the thing that was the genesis of your career.

Apryl Steele: Absolutely. When I need a stress break, I can go downstairs and touch animals, which is not what many CEO’s can do.

Jocelyn Hittle: That’s right. They can’t go scratch an ear or get a little time with a puppy probably. So.

Apryl Steele: And a couple of weeks ago we had, well, it’s probably been more like a month ago now. We had an exposure to COVID within our veterinary team at the shelter. And so almost 80% of them had to be on quarantine.

Apryl Steele: So I actually went down and did surgery for a few days. It was a whole bunch of fun, but not what most animal welfare CEOs would do on a random Tuesday. It was great, though.

Jocelyn Hittle: It’s good to get back to the roots and…

Apryl Steele: Heal a little.

Jocelyn Hittle: That’s right. So we’re getting close to wrapping up here, but I want to give you a chance to tell people more about how they can find you and Dumb Friends League on social media. How can people learn more about the organization and where can they follow you?

Apryl Steele: Right. So thank you for the opportunity to share that. And we want to partner… Everyone that’s listening, come be a partner with us. This is really exciting work.

Apryl Steele: So DDFL, that stands for Denver Dumb Friends League. Technically Denver’s not in our name anymore, but that’s still what the website is. So ddfl.org is our website with all of our links to all of our platforms. But on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, it’s @DumbFriendsLeague and on Twitter, it’s @DDFL. So follow us, engage with us, ask us questions, watch our fun stories, be a part of what we do.

Jocelyn Hittle: Great. Thanks. Yes. I hope everyone will take the time to follow you all. I can imagine that following you on social media, especially TikTok and other videos, you get a lot of feel-good content.

Apryl Steele: It’s pretty amazing. Yes.

Jocelyn Hittle: Before we wrap up, I have a Spur of the Moment question for you. This is one that is a surprise for you. You do not know what’s coming.

Jocelyn Hittle: So if you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Apryl Steele: I have this conversation frequently with my wife, and I’ve narrowed it to two. It would probably be sushi, although pizza’s a really close second. I’m one of those people that never could get too much pizza, but sushi is just as delicious and a bit healthier. So it’d probably be sushi.

Jocelyn Hittle: Fair enough. And there’s well, I don’t know. There’s a lot of variety in both of those. You can do a lot of different things with both of them.

Apryl Steele: Sure. It’s cheating to answer that way, I know.

Jocelyn Hittle: Well, it’s not. I think it says strategic. That’s the market of your strategic thinking skills.

Apryl Steele: There you go.

Jocelyn Hittle: Great. Well, thank you so much, Apryl, for being here with us today. We are so excited we were able to have this conversation and thrilled to have you all and your team as part of the Vida Building at Spur, opening just around the corner in January of 2022. So thanks so much for your time today and thanks for your partnership.

Apryl Steele: Thank you for the opportunity and this is an amazing partnership. Thank you.