For Sharon: Helping cats and dogs in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, all in beloved wife's name

Sharon Bodenhafer loved her “critters.” Dogs, cats — she adored them all.

She loved them so much, in fact, friends joked about being jealous when they visited Sharon and Chuck Bodenhafer at their homes in Fort Myers Beach and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

“They said if they were ever reincarnated, they wanted to come back as one of Sharon’s critters,” Chuck Bodenhafer says. “That’s how well she took care of them.”

Sharon may be gone now — she died of cancer in 2017 — but she’s still taking care of critters in Southwest Florida. All thanks to her husband and his single-minded mission to help as many animals as possible.

“Her spirit would want me to keep all the animals alive that we could,” Bodenhafer says. “And particularly all the rescues.”

Helping cats and dogs: Cape Coral's first animal shelter opens

Animal Refuge Center: Cat weddings, dog lodges and 23 more things about Fort Myers' ARC

He’s been busy, too, with some big-ticket donations at two of Southwest Florida’s biggest no-kill shelters:  Animal Refuge Center (ARC) in North Fort Myers and the Cape Coral Animal Shelter & Veterinary Clinic.

Thanks to Bodenhafer's donations, the Cape shelter bought a dental X-ray machine and other equipment in 2020. And this May, ARC opened a 2,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art veterinary clinic that tripled their medical space and added some much-needed new medical equipment.

It normally would’ve taken years to raise the money for the $600,000-plus clinic, says ARC president Wayne Leinen. But thanks to Bodenhafer’s donation, they didn’t have to wait — and neither did the 250-500 cats and dogs that call ARC home at any given time.

“It was a massive gesture of kindness and empathy for animals,” Leinen says. “It’s the most expensive donation/project that we’ve been able to undertake. … There’s no way to say thank you enough.”

Now Bodenhafer’s been at it again with two recent donations — although these were on a much smaller scale. He commissioned two art benches from Fort Myers artist Vicky Firestone at both ARC and Cape Coral Animal Shelter.

Each sculpture-like bench depicts a different pair of Sharon and Chuck Bodenhafer’s favorite dogs and cats. And those seats get a lot of use at both places: ARC’s volunteers often take a break on the benches while walking dogs, for example, and people pose on them at the Cape shelter after adopting a new pet.

Cats and coffee: Cattyshack Cat Café hits 500 cat adoptions in just seven months. And more cats are available

Carole Baskin: 'Tiger King' star on haters, tiger attacks, Mighty Mussels appearance

Bodenhafer, 77, got the idea after seeing similar benches at another shelter he supports, Humane Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne. It’s yet another way to memorialize his wife and their mission to rescue as many cats and dogs as possible.

“I liked the idea so much … that I decided I would have a bench painted in her honor,” he says.

Sharon Bodenhafer was 69 years old when she died. The hair stylist and pilot spent her life saving as many of her “critters” as she could — fostering cats and dogs and caring for them until she could find them "forever homes."

Her husband — who owned a large Indiana insurance company before selling it to Wells Fargo in 2006 — says he loses count of how many critters they saved over the years. Maybe 30. Maybe more.

“We didn’t have children,” he says. “That’s why we’re doing all this for the animals. …

“We always had critters, (and) we decided long before she got sick that we were gonna take whatever assets we had and try to give them in honor of the critters and try to help rescues.”

Bodenhafer wants that to continue long after he’s gone, too. That’s why he recently started the Chuck and Sharon Bodenhafer Critter Foundation. All future donations will be given through that nonprofit, he says.

Those donations include Bodenhafer’s ongoing sponsorship of ARC’s annual Starlight Auction fundraiser and a planned 14,000-square-foot expansion at Cape Coral Animal Shelter.

Bodenhafer feels good about all the animals they’ve been able to save with their donations. Take, for example, that ARC clinic — officially known as the Sharon Bodenhafer Critter Clinic.

The clinic sees about 100 animals a week for vaccines, dental work, medication and other preventative care, Leinen says. Plus a few surgeries a week.

That medical help was able to start right away, too, Bodenhafer says. “The first day that it was officially open and they had all their supplies, two dogs were saved. And so it’s kind of a good feeling.”

Artist Firestone says she’s happy to be a part of Bodenhafer’s mission to save Southwest Florida’s animals.

“I’m just feel so honored," she says. "I’m so fortunate to have met this very kind, awesome, generous man.”

Leaders at ARC and Cape Coral Animal Shelter feel the same way.

The Cape shelter's dental equipment has helped cats and dogs for two years now, says Executive Director Liz McCauley. “Chuck bought us some really state-of-the art equipment that we’ve been using every day. … It’s helped tons of animals, and we’re so grateful.”

Bodenhafer declined to say how much he’s spent on the benches and most of the other donations he’s made in Southwest Florida.

Besides, he says, he’d rather not focus on the money.

“It honors Sharon and the animals that we had,” he says. “And so you can’t put a price on that.”

Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. Email him at crunnells@gannett.com or connect on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape, Fort Myers animal shelters get big donations in Bodenhafer name