Arf! Arf! Is a Hamptons Sound

Among the many 50-year milestones being observed in “the Hamptons” over the last year or two–reflective of the fundamental changes that were taking place there in the early 1970s–is a four-legged one. This golden anniversary year for the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF), now a celebrated (and sometimes celebrity) charity, will culminate in its annual Bow Wow Meow Ball in August. This item from one of the free publications on Long Island’s East End gets into a bit of the history, but the fundamental context is that, by 1974, the area’s shift from an agricultural-fishing community with a smattering of summer beach wealth, to a year-around retreat for New York’s professional class, was in motion. The sentimentalizing of pet animals that (mercifully, in many eyes) accompanies a switch from outdoor farm to indoor house companions is a classic reflection of such transitions. ARF is not the only adoption shelter in the pet-happy area, but it’s become a big dog: in 2022 it had gross receipts of almost $5 million as it readied its latest expansion, a large indoor training hall at its headquarters in woods near East Hampton Airport. Range Rovers frequent the parking lot, even if more modest local volunteers and staff keep the place going. When the summer gala is past, the place gets more down to earth, but for the furry set of the East End, there will be no going back to the barn.

ARF Turns 50: A Talk With Executive Director Kim Nichols