DDR IN THE COMMUNITY: DDR AT BEST FRIEND’S NO MORE HOMELESS PETS CONFERENCE 2010, Las Vegas
Pictures courtesy of Josie Gavieres
Pictures courtesy of Josie Gavieres
Precious went to live with Dog Man for about a month. He treated all of her open sores, fed her well and won her trust until she was strong enough to come and live at our kennel. She had no connection to me or any of the dogs. Billy and I were extremely cautious about introducing her to dogs because she had a lot of scars, was missing one of her toes and had tears on her ears that sure looked like the result of a lot of fighting. We took things really slow with her and I estimated that she might be the type of dog that would do best in a home with no other dogs. She never showed any aggressions but also didn’t show any interest in playing. This went on until one day we put her in the yard with Clancy. It was love at first sight! If there ever were two dogs that loved each other in our rescue, this was the pair. Several months later, she is out with most all of our dogs every morning and every evening. There are some dogs that we do not put her out with, Freeway is the number one “bad match” but I get that. In fact, those two ladies hate each other so we just keep them separate.
I was more concerned with the chain around her neck. I didn’t get a chance to inquire about the chain, when someone else in line, holding her very well groomed poodle began to tell Solara’s owner how bad it was to chain her. She had all the correct facts. I remained silent as the poodle lady became more vocal. When she was done, I asked him about how long she spent on the chain everyday and he replied, “Only when I go to work”. He told me that she slept in the bed with him and was more of a house dog than a yard dog but they had no fence and for now, the chain was his only option. As we waited for Solara’s turn to go aboard the mobile clinic, I watched the interaction between the two, Solara was very connected to him and he was very gentle with her. Unlike some of the other dogs, Solara was the model dog, walking up the stairs, wagging her tail. When the couple came back to pick her up, they brought one of her puppies, a wonderful 12 week old female. I offered to take her into our rescue and they told me that they would think about it and I believe that they will. Regardless, puppy will be spayed at our next clinic on October 9th.
LORI’S CORNER: PITBULL family galore: Why Spay/Neuter is essential in our communities
On Saturday, Downtown Dog Rescue was back at East Rancho Dominguez Park in Compton, offering free spay/neuter, vaccinations and microchips to dog owners living in Compton. Our day was booked solid, people on the waiting list had to be turned away there were so many dogs. We will be in Compton again next Saturday. Being in the clinic every month, we develop relationships with people in the community, as does any good business and our mobile clinic program is a business. We are in the business of getting every Compton dog spayed/neuter, a monumental task but one we are slowly chipping away at.