More than 1,500 animals have found homes thanks to a Potomac couple who decided retirement meant rescue, not golf.

Mindy Farber and John Camp cofounded Friends of All Critters at Shelters (FOACAS) in August 2020. Five years later, their all-volunteer nonprofit has grown to more than 80 members, according to the Washington Jewish Week.

The idea started with a phone call. A friend asked Farber where to find a poodle mix for adoption. Camp, a commercial real estate developer familiar with every corner of the state, suggested reaching out to a shelter in Cumberland, roughly two hours northwest of Montgomery County. That shelter, in one of Maryland's most financially disadvantaged cities, was the state's first no-kill municipal animal shelter but struggled to place dogs locally.

"The dynamics [are] so much different between our area and their area that we have the ability to get dogs adopted where they don't," Camp told the Washington Jewish Week in a story published Friday, Aug. 21. "That's why a lot of the dogs stay in there for months, even years, in cages."

FOACAS now pulls dogs from rural shelters within a three-hour drive of Montgomery County, spanning parts of Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia. Most animals are housed with foster families in the D.C. metro area rather than in a facility. Prospective adopters go through an application, a meet-and-greet and a home visit.

Farber, a civil rights attorney inducted into the Montgomery County Human Rights Hall of Fame in 2016, previously served on the boards of PetConnect Rescue and the Montgomery County Humane Society. Camp is a former board chair of Nonprofit Village in Montgomery County.

The nonprofit's work extends beyond adoptions. FOACAS raises money to subsidize veterinarian bills for owners who cannot afford them, provides grants to feed dogs in underprivileged counties and runs a training program for dogs that are overlooked or have behavioral needs. The organization also works with bar mitzvah students to teach young people about animal welfare.

Farber and Camp say their next goal is building FOACAS into an organization that outlasts its founders by growing membership and fundraising capacity.

Residents who want to help can donate supplies including food, beds, leashes, harnesses and crates at 9221 Bells Mill Road in Potomac. More information and adoption applications are available at foacas.org.