LORI’S CORNER: End of Life Issues
Sinbad
There were many others who have come into Downtown Dog Rescue to live out their final years in retirement from the street. Over the years, we have taken in many old ex-road dogs, allowing them a safe place to just chill. When I founded Downtown Dog Rescue, 14 years ago, I often wondered, what would have happen to these dogs if we didn’t take them into our rescue and what happens to dogs that are old, truly need to be euthanized because of medical issues that are often painful when the dog owner is homeless or is so poor that they can’t afford to euthanize their dog?
My guess was that most people in this situation take their dog to the pound. Even though the shelter, humanely euthanizes dogs, is it humane for the dog to be taken away from the owner who he/she has lived with perhaps, an entire lifetime and then put down? What about the owner’s feelings of regret that he/she had to do this just because they couldn’t afford to euthanized at a local vet where they could have elected to stay with their dog until the end.
I have the ashes of most of my dogs, like “Negro”, an old deaf pit bull that lived in my home with all of my dogs for almost two quality years before his tumor got too big and he just didn’t have the strength to keep going. This is not the case for the homeless and very poor dog owners, they have nothing when they are forced to walk away from their dog at the shelter just because they can’t afford to euthanize and cremate their beloved pet.
Operation Safety Net is set up to keep dogs out of the shelter. Most of the time, we work with the dog owner who has a medical issue or a behavioral issue and […]
LORI’S CORNER: Brandon Fouche Leader of the Pack for Aggressive dogs
Brandon believes that establishing yourself as the “alpha” is the key to having a harmonious relationship with your dog(s). Most dog behavior problems (including aggression, leash pulling, bolting, excessive barking, house marking, fighting, destructive behaviors, etc) cease completely when your dog regards you as the alpha. However, few people truly understand how to attain and maintain this position. In the seminar, Brandon spoke in detail, his step-by-step method for attaining effective pack leadership. He brought two owners with three “problem” demo dogs that we were able to observe him demonstrate his techniques. Because the group was small enough in size, we all had the opportunity to ask questions and discuss any problems or concerns that people in the group were currently experiencing with their dogs.
LORI’S CORNER: First Annual Pet Fair in Compton
I know that some of the youth and especially some of the older homeless men, like our friend and volunteer David, know people who are actively fighting pit bulls. Therefore, the best way to prevent dog fighting is to get the youth active with their pit bulls doing things other than fighting them. I’m proud to say, I work with a group of young men who own pit bulls that are very against dog fighting and dog breeding. My star example is Edgar, who volunteered all day Saturday, helping us translate in Spanish. He is the proud owner of Queenie, a red nose pit bull.
There is another small group who are definitely against dog fighting but are still actively breeding pit bulls or are contemplating creating their own blood line. Cris and Lando are two would be pit bull breeders who brought their dogs to the park on Saturday and decided to spay their female. We didn’t even discuss neutering the male pit bull because I know that’s “off the table for discussion” and I respect that.
Month after month, as Downtown Dog Rescue volunteers continue to raise awareness about the importance of making one’s dog a part of the family, we are seeing word of mouth referrals book appointments to the clinic and dog owners changing their minds about breeding. It’s an ongoing process that is built on trust and being there every month for one of the most needy communities in Los Angeles County. Compton is often considered a “write off” area, where nothing can be done because no one cares. Downtown Dog Rescue cares about the Compton community and the dogs who live there. Our goal is to eliminate the cycle of suffering, where packs of dogs roam the street looking for food and it’s very common to see dead dogs lying […]
Lori’s Corner: Pepper, a dog that touched my heart
Her story is that she was attacked by an aggressive dog and he tore part of her leg off. The person did not take her to a vet and the leg healed on its own, without any professional veterinarian care. I can only imagine the severe pain that this sweet dog endure and yet she still loves other dogs, plays really well on her three good legs and is learning to trust people. Who could blame her, consider, it was a person’s fault that she lost her leg due to carelessness and being overwhelmed with too many dogs on one property.
I have to admit, when I watch her play, really running hard, enjoying herself with all of her new friends, Sasha, Edwina, Charlie and Bruno, I get tears in my eyes. She is a dog that makes me want to do more for all of the other “Peppers” that are out there that need help. South Los Angeles, Watts and Compton are full of stray dogs and dogs that have been injured in dog fights, hit by cars and just plain neglect.
If you can’t adopt one of our dogs, please consider sponsoring a dog in need. Pepper is ready for her forever home, please spread the word about this wonderful dog!
Lori’s Corner: “When the crisis is over the work begins!”
I don’t think that I’ve ever opened up my e-mails and not read about some crisis happening, going to happen or will happen if… Usually the “if”reads “if a rescue doesn’t step up and save this dog now!!!!” These rescue pleas can be overwhelming and frustrating if I don’t stay positive. My pack of about 20 rescued dogs, have for the most part, all survived some horrific situation or were rescued on their last day or last hour at the South LA shelter.
Perhaps the biggest crisis we ever responded to was the 61st Street kennel situation, where over 118 dogs were being neglected, allow to attack and often kill each other, right in our own backyard, in South Central LA. To date, all of the dogs that we could rescue are safe and lots of them have been adopted. We are now down to the last few 61st Street kennel dogs that still need a forever home.
Seven days a week, twice a day, for many hours, I’m with the dogs. We do lots of things together, including, going to the park, going on walks, going on car rides, and of course, Billy takes dogs out several times a week for special long hikes. Just feeding and cleaning up after 20+ dogs every day is a lot of work but when you consider that each dog comes with a complex set of challenges. One of the biggest challenges is how to say, “no more dogs”, saying it and meaning it, otherwise, one runs the risk of becoming another 61st Street kennel where the president of the rescue could not say the word NO. She kept taking on more and more dogs, all in the name of no-kill. Larry was one of the dogs that went to her “no kill rescue”
Larry is a wonderful dog, super sweet, who loves all female dogs, is tolerant of male dogs but hates small dogs. He was chained 24/7 at the 61st Street kennel. He is definitely ready for a forever home but not one calls, not one e-mails and zero applications have come in for this great dog. Rather than running to rescue another dog, we focus on working with Larry, making his life, while at our kennel, the best possible life he can have. Larry was a dog that at one time, was an urgent plea from a shelter dog network, offering a rescue group money to take him, and look where he ended up, in hell. Sure he was rescued but he was chained up with 117 other dogs. Sure he wasn’t euthanized but the suffering that this dog endured at that kennel was so great that if we had not come into truly rescue him, being euthanized would certainly […]
LORI’S CORNER: THE DUKE CHALLENGE: ARE YOU GAME?
Lori’s Corner: Monthly Compton Spay/Neuter Clinic Update
On Saturday, Downtown Dog Rescue hosted our monthly free spay/neuter clinic in Compton at East Rancho Dominguez Park. As always, there were more clients with dogs that needed service than available spots in the clinic. We start our day around 7:00 AM and finished up around 4:00. We provided free spay/neuter surgeries, vaccinations and microchips for 30 dog. Ivania and Rosalie and I volunteer each month and have built up a nice following of repeat customers, with lots of word of mouth referrals from friends and family members who have used our service in the past.
Rosalie’s neighbor Troy walked his two Shepherd puppies and his Mama Pit bull over to the clinic. After speaking to him, he confirmed what we already knew, lots of people who live in Compton don’t necessarily want litters of puppies, they just don’t have the money or know where to get their dogs fixed. He also told me that some people don’t have transportation to a clinic, even if they knew where one was or if they could afford it. Mr. Lopez who came with his female dog “Blackie” walked to the clinic, two blocks, with his three small children. Blackie had a litter of puppies because they could not afford to get her fixed. The family decided to keep one puppy and will bring the puppy in June to be spayed. The dog that I was really happy to see finally spayed was a Chow-pit bull mix named “Negra”. She must have had 10 litters of puppies back to back to back! These are all reasons why we need mobile clinics in the parks. I just wish that we could offer more service to the community of Compton. There is such a great need, especially for pit bull owners. A monthly clinic is a good start!
Our goal in 2010 is to spay/neuter 700 Compton Dogs. To make this goal, we will do a double clinic next month. Our June clinic will be Saturday June 12 and Sunday June 13th. On the 12th, I’m planning a small pet fair where dog owners can come out to […]
Lori’s Corner: Coco Puff has found his home
On Saturday, Coco Puff, our older, mellow, white, big boy, American Pit bull Terrier was adopted after being in our rescue for three years, YAY!!! I’m sure that everyone who reading this post is wondering, well, who adopted Coco? Did he get a home with a nice family where he will have his own dog bed, toys and a forever home with kids and yard? Not exactly, and that’s definitely not any of the types of living situations that would have interested Coco if he could pick and give us his opinion. Sadly, in three years, this great dog never received one application despite being on three adoption sites, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, he was networked, yet no one wanted him. No one wanted him until Errol met Coco Puff. It was love at first site!
Errol is an experienced pit bull owner, who lived with a dog aggressive Male APBT named Petey for 12 years. He rescued Petey after an abusive owner let him go. The two were inseparable until Petey became ill and had to be humanely euthanized. I could see that it was tough for Errol to talk about Petey at our meeting. When I told him that Coco was not exactly cool with male dogs, it sure didn’t compare to the level of aggression he had endured with Petey. In fact, it seemed like Coco was going to be a walk in the park compared to his former dog, literally because that’s where they will be spending the majority of their time, the park. Errol lives outside and Coco is going to be his road dog. I wasn’t hesitant at all about the idea of Coco not having a traditional home, he was going with a great dog owner, with lots of hands on experience with the breed, and a track record of caring for a dog that surpassed most wealthy pit bull owners. I know a lot of stereotypical middle class dog owners who would not spend their life’s savings on their dog, something that Errol did with his last dog. Good dog owners come in a variety of socio-economic, education levels, as well as ethnicities.
Each month, Errol will be entitled to a small stipend to be used for whatever Coco might need. Downtown Dog Rescue will pay for any medical care that Coco might need for the rest of his life. None of this would have been possible without the introduction and support of Cynthia Larkin, a dog […]