Homebuyer Highlights: For MaryAnn Wright, Animal Welfare Is a Calling
“Home” has a special meaning to MaryAnn Wright – it’s a sanctuary, not only for humans but for the animals she has dedicated her life to saving, reuniting with families and advocating for over the decades. Raised in Dearborn, Michigan and the proud homeowner of an incomparable custom home, designed and built by Lee Wetherington Homes in LakeHouse Cove at Waterside, she has played a pivotal role in reshaping animal rescue efforts and community education in the Great Lakes State. MaryAnn’s passion, time and treasures have impacted more than just animals – it’s evident in the MaryAnn Wright Animal Adoption and Education Center, a nearly 20,000-square-foot nonprofit shelter that’s home to Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit.
“It’s a shocking statistic, but only 30% of animals that are in people’s homes are from animal welfare organizations – 70% of people buy their animals,” said MaryAnn. “They’re afraid, ‘I’m going to go to an animal shelter and it’s going to be sad, it’s going to be smelly, I’m going to get a dog that bites, or it’s not going to work with my family. What’s so different when you go to an animal welfare organization is that, unlike many breeders or puppy mills, we conduct thorough medical and behavioral evaluations, work with the animals to understand their temperament and determine the best environment for their new home and family.
“They have their vaccines, they’re sterilized, they go through our behavioral assessment … they know our trained staff will be able to say, ‘this is a dog that will be great with kids, or this dog will be good with big dogs or little dogs.’”
MaryAnn’s journey with animal welfare began when she became involved with Friends for Animals in 1999 – six years after the organization was founded because of what five residents saw at the Dearborn City Animal Pound. The shelter, provided by the city, wasn’t meant to house animals and was overcrowded, lacked light, proper ventilation and, in many cases, euthanized animals if their stay was over 24 hours. Friends for Animals took over the facility and its animal control operations in 1996 and, two decades later, a $12.5 million capital campaign started to build a new adoption and education center that bears MaryAnn’s name.
“We have a history of saving 100% of adoptable animals – no matter how long it takes us to find them a new home,” said MaryAnn. “As a result, we’ve saved almost 100,000 animals.”
Friends for Animals’ reach has since expanded beyond the Detroit metro area. Phase two of the MaryAnn Wright Animal Adoption and Education Center finished 18 months ago – and phase three opens in May. The center not only has two-room “condos” for the dogs, but multistory “apartments” for cats, and has even catered to pigs, goats, rabbits and chicklets over the years. With a staff of approximately 30 people and over 300 active volunteers, Friends for Animals now provides a number of community programs, from Read to Rover to Operation Feed Fido, Doggy Day Out, and low-cost or free vaccinations and microchipping.
And among the many heartwarming success stories, one that stands out to MaryAnn is that of Gracie Mae, a dog who was lost a year ago when her family moved across the country and was recently reunited because of her microchip. Another is Phoenix, rescued from a life of severe abuse, physically and behaviorally rehabilitated over many months and adopted by a young man – and they’re now inseparable.
For MaryAnn and the organization she loves, fundraising for day-to-day operational needs remains a priority for the future, expanding educational programs and behavioral care.
“I’m so fortunate in my professional life to have done well,” said MaryAnn, who has adopted her dogs and cats from Friends for Animals, including Dexter and Mazey Blu. “I don’t have children. Animals and this organization are my passion.”
