Thumbnail photo courtesy of Camp Barry's GoFundMe page If Del Norte County had a Noah, it would be Rhonda Barry, Gloria Bobertz says. From ducks and chickens to dogs and cats, Barry, who operates Camp Barry with her son Matt, “is about the animals,” Bobertz told Redwood Voice Community News. But with the organization’s landlords looking to sell the property, Camp Barry will need to find a new ark soon. “It’s going to be a huge loss if they can’t find a place,” said Bobertz, whose dog Cash was one of the first litters Camp Barry took in about seven years ago. “The Dogs of Del Norte County, or the dog pound here, yes they give the dogs shelter and they try to find them homes, but they don’t go the extra mile with the dog and make sure that dog is well rounded and adjusted to go live a new life.” Barry said her landlords are looking to sell the property her dog sanctuary currently sits on. In fact, she told Redwood Voice on Thursday, they may already have a buyer. Once the sale goes through, Camp Barry will have 30 days to move out, Barry said. In the meantime, though Camp Barry has facilitated 49 adoptions between January and September, the organization isn’t taking in anymore rescues until they can find a new place, Barry said. She has since created a GoFundMe campaign with a primary goal of acquiring a property “where our rescue will never again face being uprooted.” “We have found land that we’re interested in purchasing, it’s just getting the funds together to do so,” she said. “It doesn’t have anything on it, so we’d be starting from the ground up. But in the long run it would turn out to be significantly cheaper than the land we’re on and it would offer more for our long-term goals.” The GoFundMe has raised $1,015 of an overall goal of $5,000. However, purchasing the land and building the shelter would take about $150,000, Barry said. “We also need to take electricity from the curb onto the piece of land, we have to drill a well, we have to put in a septic system,” she said, adding that the property is off Lake Earl Drive. “If we can’t find a new building to either lease or get our own piece of land to work off of, we can’t do anymore intakes, we’re done.” According to Barry’s GoFundMe page, in addition to purchasing their own property and erecting a shelter building, Camp Barry’s long-term goals include constructing a boarding facility that will offer a safe space for a family’s pets at no cost if they’re in an emergency. Another long-term goal is to construct a sterile building veterinarians can use to spay and neuter local animals. “Our area has very limited options for affordable veterinary care,” Barry states on the GoFundMe website. “By providing a dedicated space we can help expand access to these services, reduce overbreeding and ease the burden on shelters and families alike.” If the organization isn’t able to meet its goal, the dogs in Camp Barry’s care will remain with them. Additional funding will be shared with other local animal rescues and shelters. Barry began working with the local animal rescue community as a foster family for the Humane Society of Del Norte. She said she also began offering shelter for people who were surrendering litters of puppies they couldn’t keep, noting that, in addition to providing spay and neuter services, the Humane Society primarily operates a cat shelter. She started operating Camp Barry out of her home in 2018. Camp Barry achieved nonprofit status in 2021 and moved to its current location on Parkway Drive about three years ago. Barry continues to work with the Humane Society, providing access to low-cost spay and neuter services, as well as take in unwanted litters of puppies. During the Smith River Complex wildfires in 2023, Camp Barry cared for 72 displaced pets until their families were able to return home. Camp Barry has rescued about 150 puppies since August 2024 with about 80% coming from the marshy wooded area east of Crescent City. Barry said her organization has also helped more than 400 animals stay with their owners by offering training, including basic obedience, and solutions to keep them from escaping. “We don’t charge for those,” Barry said of the training. “We do it donation-based because a lot of people that we work with can’t afford to pay for training and it’s important to us that they’re able to keep their dogs in their homes.” On Thursday, Barry said that there are currently five adoptable dogs remaining at Camp Barry. Its most recent intake was a stray they took in when the Del Norte County Animal Shelter was closed. Barry told Redwood Voice that he will be the last rescue until Camp Barry finds a new home. It’s Barry’s willingness to work with animal parents that makes her unique from other local rescues, Bobertz told Redwood Voice. “If somebody adopts a dog and a year or two years later life circumstances happen or perhaps the dog isn’t a good fit or they’re having problems, (Camp Barry) will either take that dog back or they will work on the problems the dog’s having,” she said. Bobertz has been working with Rhonda and Matt for about seven years, giving unwanted puppies a chance for adoption, traveling to spay and neuter appointments and helping the animals come out of anesthesia once those procedures are finished. Through them, Bobertz said she has learned things about animal rescue she wasn’t aware of, including why new intakes are isolated from the rest of the pack as well as how much networking is necessary. “Perhaps this area is saturated with a (specific) breed, you can reach out to another rescue and they might be able to take the dog in,” she said. But, Bobertz said, Camp Barry is “near and dear to my heart just for Cash alone.” Bobertz’ German shepherd-husky mix was among the first litter Camp Barry took in. They were found in a banana box on South Beach with the lid taped shut and “free” written on the side. Today, Cash is a therapy dog and is also trained to detect human remains. He also helped Bobertz teach kids in Del Norte County’s summer camp program dog safety. “Some really good dogs have come out of Camp Barry,” she said. “And Cash happens to be one of them.”