This past weekend, we were back in the park in Compton, spaying/neutering 61 dogs! When we go into the community for a full weekend of service, it’s great because there are so many people who come out to the park on Saturday, see the mobile clinic and want to get their dogs done. If we tell them, “Come back next month”, we have probably lost them, regardless of the fact that we take the person’s name and phone number. On Sunday morning, we had a 40% “no show” on our appointment list but the good news was that I had 15 dogs waiting on standby from the day before. Many had been cited by animal control and needed the free spay/neuter service to comply with Compton’s mandatory spay/neuter policy.
To my great surprise, Erica came back again on Sunday with more puppies. Three months ago, she and her daughter brought their papa and mama dogs to be fixed. At the time, the pups were too young. Like most of the Compton dog owners, they did not want their dogs to have a litter of puppies but could not afford to get them fixed. Unlike most Compton dog owners, Erica did not want the puppies to go to just anyone and was prepared to “do the right thing”, spay/neuter, vaccinate and microchip before adopting the dogs out, not selling but adopting. The pups are now 5 months old and need homes. “Jolly and Molly” are two of the four puppies that we hope to find homes for by this weekend. The photos of the pups were taken just after surgery. Downtown Dog Rescue paid to have all 6 dogs spayed/neutered, vaccinated and micro chipped. Even though Erica has agreed to work with us, the longer that it takes us to find small breed rescues, foster homes or adopters for these puppies, the more likely the dogs will go to a home that may not be prepared to own a dog for the next 15 years! Downtown Dog Rescue does not have a foster network and does not take in small dog or puppies because our kennel would not be a safe place for these pups.
Working with the community is part of mission statement. Keeping dogs out of the shelter is our ultimate goal. Encouraging people to think adoption instead of selling or “getting rid of dogs” is a process, which happens over the course of months, even years in a community like Compton, one dog at a time.
Downtown Dog Rescue is committed to making a change, we need your help! If you can foster, are looking to adopt a small dog, please get in touch with Sandy today by calling 818-407-4145. Our application is online.
