What is ARK

ARK was established in 1990 by Elizabeth Oliver who still represents the organization today. Elizabeth Oliver originally came to Japan to teach English, but after seeing many injured animals she enlisted the help of some friends to rescue them. At that time she had virtually no financial aid and depended on the generosity of people to donate such necessities as dog food. Over time more people became involved in her activities and as the number of rescued animals grew, several volunteers were hired as full-time staff members.

After the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake hit Japan in January 1995, ARK was faced with its biggest challenge which became a turning point for the organization. Over that year ARK rescued more than 600 animals from the quake-hit area, far over the capacity that ARK could handle. However, thanks to the media, word got out around Japan about ARK’s activities and we were able to build more facilities and hire more staff members.

Since its establishment ARK has succeeded in expanding its activities and facilities, and in August 1998, was authorized by Osaka prefecture as a non-profit organization and became an accredited  Nintei NPO in 2016.

Since ARK was founded in 1991, many dogs and cats have been rehomed. It has all happened thanks to the people who have supported ARK's activities. ARK staff will continue to work hard to save as many animals as they can.

• 3274 Dogs
• 1390 Cats