McCain visited Viet Nam years after the war. Making amends with an animal control director may not be historic, but it could be a big step toward reaching your goals. Donuts, Lunches and Listening Email or call the animal control director and ask if you can come by for a short talk. He won't answer your call or email? Stop by with a couple dozen donuts and see if you can catch him in his office. If you get to talk to him, great; if not, leave your business card with your cell phone number asking him to call you. Leave the donuts and spend some time talking to whoever you can, taking care not to get in the way of their work. Be sure you learn something and be positive and friendly; especially, learn names and direct contact info for anyone who seems friendly. The start of a positive relationship! Officially the purpose of your call or visit is to find out what areas the shelter needs help in the most, and to request animal intake and euthanasia statistics to help you understand the size of the shelter overpopulation problem. But your real goal for the visit is to simply begin a new positive relationship. If the people you talk to are able to give you some statistics right then, that's great. If they need some time to get them together, that gives you another reason to come by again and build your relationship further. If you are able