|
Sam Whiting; San Francisco Chronicle
It started with a stray cat crossing the field during an Oakland A's
game in 1990. Now Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) has 20
employees, 700 volunteers and a $3 million budget.
The National League Manager of the Year would rather spend his offseason
at home in Alamo, matchmaking pets with people, than chasing a golf ball
around the Arizona desert like most of his cohorts.
Last month ARF topped off a huge new complex that will open next year
in Walnut Creek. To fund it, La Russa, 57, and his wife, Elaine, will
hold their 12th annual Stars to the Rescue benefit at the Dean Lesher
Regional Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 11. Tickets are $300,
$100 and $75 at (925) 943- 7469.
On pets at home.
Right now we have three dogs, nine cats and a rabbit. They are all rescues,
and each has its own story of how it came into our home.
On dogs and cats living together.
It's a great scene. You sit there and you've got cats walking all over
you. That's the mark of being an animal rescuer. You've got to have some
cat hair somewhere. We have a poodle and a lab/terrier mix. He patrols
the house and is everybody's buddy. The latest one is a Chihuahua.
On growing up without animals.
We didn't have dogs at the house and I'd ask why, and it turns out my
mom, when she was younger, got bit by a cat and they -couldn't catch the
cat, so she had to go through those two weeks of rabies injections in
the stomach. It traumatized her so much she had this phobia about dogs
and cats. As I was growing up and -didn't understand I would drive her
nuts - "I need a dog. I need a dog."
On making up for lost time.
Elaine and I have been together almost 30 years, and the first thing
we shared was this love of animals.
On becoming an activist.
I can remember when our tax forms were four figures. We -didn't even
get to 10 grand, and we would take a portion of that - $25 here, $30 there
- we were into all the animal issues.
On the inspiration for ARF.
We're playing the Yankees on a Friday night, here in Oakland, big crowd,
this is 1990, the third year in a row that we're going to be champions.
A cat runs onto the field. It's one of the feral cats from the Coliseum.
Runs all around, goes toward right field and panics. The cat walks in
front of me and into the dugout. I open the door, it goes in the bathroom,
close the door, finish the game.
On taking action.
First thing Saturday morning, I went down to the Oakland animal shelter
and the guy says, "Tony, we just -don't have any room. The cat is
going to come in the front door, be euthanized and out the back."
I took the cat to Contra Costa County, and the same problem here. One
of our volunteers took the cat. We named her Evie after Evie Haas.
There was a need, so we started ARF as a small animal-rescue organization
with no facilities.
On Stars to the Rescue.
Because of what I do for a living, I always had an inroad for athletes
and entertainers. That January of '92, we did our first (concert). We
went out and asked John Fogerty from Creedence Clearwater, who was an
A's fan, and Chris Isaak, Mickey Thomas from the Starship. We've never
paid entertainers a dime. We'll make $200,000 and have expenses of $15,000.
This year we have Chicago. And Robert Cray, a terrific blues vocalist.
That ain't bad, is it?
On getting razzed by ballplayers for being a cat lover.
We have players that are hunters, so there's this running thing that
they throw their hunting magazines on my desk with a deer being sighted.
So I'll go out and tear it up in front of them or throw food on it.
On commuting to St. Louis to manage the Cardinals.
What happens during the season is my wife and daughters (Bianca, 23,
and Devon, 20) stay here and I go to St. Louis for ball, then I come back
on off days. When I have a Monday off, I'll come home Sunday night, spend
Monday and take the redeye back to St. Louis.
On getting homesick.
I miss them all equally. But I know who misses me more: the animals.
On cat dander.
At one time I did get an allergy when I was with the A's. I took the
test. We thought it might be cats, and I was already told if I'm allergic
to cats, I'm moving out. The cats aren't moving out. They're a part of
the family more than I am. It turned out to be something else.
On getting over the baseball season.
This season the loss to the Giants was the toughest one that I had experienced.
I've managed 20-something years, been to nine postseasons, got to the
World Series three times. But this one was the worst of all.
On the star power of Darren Baker.
People are fascinated by kids and animals. If I'm in our dugout and I
could have our little Chihuahua Twiggy there, I would have attracted almost
as much attention as Darren did.
E-mail Sam Whiting at swhiting@sfchronicle.com.
(Published January 5, 2003, San Francisco Chronicle)
Back To Top
Back To Press Room
Back To Home |
