Thank you CNN for recognizing the importance of keeping pets with their families.
“So many times people just feel they have to surrender their animal. It’s their only option. In reality, if they understood all the resources that already exist for them, or someone to guide them through the process, they are glad and happy to keep their animal.” Lori Weise – Founder of DDR
To read complete interview and watch the video, visit CNN Heroes here.
The numbers are in for the South LA Shelter Intervention Program for the month of June. Drumroll please…we assisted 126 pets, keeping them in their first, forever home, instead of watching them be surrendered to the shelter. That’s 126 more lives saved and safe.
10% of the cases we assisted in were redemptions, meaning that somehow the family dog got out of a yard, jumped over a fence, or wandered away from home. In order to redeem their pet, families must pay shelter fees. In most cases, the family had some money but could not afford to pay the entire cost. Our SIP program was able to pay any remainder fees, support these families, and send dogs home. But not without first addressing the reasons why their pet had gotten out of the yard in the first place!
4% of the 126 dogs we helped had behavioral issues, and the dog needed some form of training. Despite our counselor Amanda’s best efforts to keep all pets with their families, sometimes it didn’t work out. When behavioral issues escalate to a certain point, or a family is unwilling or unable to commit to necessary management protocols, behavioral issues can be deemed too severe. 5% of the cases we focused on in June needed help rehoming their dogs, like 4 month old Luz. Good news – she has already been adopted!
2% of our families reported that their landlord had changed the rules and they could no longer keep their pet in the home. 12% needed our help spaying/neutering their dog or cat, and thanks to a grant from the ASPCA, we are able to offer this service free of charge. Lastly, 3% of the people we helped had senior pets with terminal illnesses requiring humane euthanasia. These families did not know about any other option other than to surrender their pet to the shelter in order to end their suffering. Euthanasia can be quite an expensive veterinarian service, one many families cannot afford. However, we are so grateful we were there to intervene and give them a more humane alternative. They were able to hold their beloved pets in their arms as they slipped away.
All in all, the biggest reason that South LA families brought in their pets to surrender them to the shelter was because of financial reasons. 63% could not afford to pay for medical care. We see a range of people entering those doors, some in tears because they spent their “last savings” on vet care that didn’t cure the dog or only treated part of the health problem. Others have no money to contribute and know their pet is suffering. Many times we’ve heard, ” I love my pet, but he is sick. I would rather put him in the shelter so he can get well and get adopted.” The sad reality is that in most cases this would never happen at the South […]
Thanks to a generous grant from the ASPCA, we were able to offer free spay/neuter surgeries and vaccinations to 43 more pets in the Compton Community. Since 2006, we have continued to expand upon our community dog clinics, focusing on the South East communities which include Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Compton, Lynwood, Maywood, Paramount, Willowbrook/Watts and our home base, South Gate. Most of the families let us know that without our support, they would not have been able to sterilize their dogs.
Thanks to a great location, East Rancho Dominguez Park on the corner of Atlantic + Compton, we always have more families interested in getting their pets fixed than we have available appointments. In addition to the surgeries performed on the Amanda Foundation Mobile Clinic, we wrote out vouchers so that pet owners will be able to take their dogs and cats to Lynwood Animal Hospital and get the same free surgeries. Being in the community, answering questions, giving people information on pet health, licensing and listening to the challenges lots of our families face is all part of the success of our program.
Big shout out to Star, a canine student at our weekly free dog training class in the park. She came to the clinic with her family and got spayed. We had such a great conversation, they love her so much. Like many families, were a little reluctant to get her spayed because they thought at a year old, she may be too young and she could die during surgery. Here she is (photo above) on her ride back home.
We also brought Gummy Bear (right) into the DDR adoption program. At four months old, he was neutered and vaccinated, and is ready now for his forever home. Gummy Bear who was rescued by a Compton Community member who asked for our help.
If you live in one of the South East Cities, need to get your dog spayed/neutered, give us a call 818-407-4145. If you support this type of community based work, consider making a donation here, Donate.
Our recent, completely free Watts Dog Clinic was a huge success. How do we measure success? There are the numbers: 40 dogs were spayed or neutered, and over 200 dogs were vaccinated, micro chipped, and licensed. But more than just the numbers, an amazing team of caring people gathered together for one reason – to provide services for an underserved community of Los Angeles. Watts does not have even a single animal hospital operating in its area.
There are many groups that united to make this day special. Thanks to our friends at the Watts Coffee House (on the corner of 103rd and Wilmington) we had a terrific location, right in the center of the community. One of the biggest challenges that many dog owners in Watts face is lack of transportation.
Having a variety of services in one location, and making it a great location, was an enormous benefit. The Coffee House also helped us get the word out, which led to a line of people down the block on 103rd Street. What a crowd!
First we must thank the Amanda Foundation and their amazing team of vets and vet techs who provided all of the veterinarian services. Then there’s the Department of Animal Services staff and volunteers who were on hand to provide information about the many services that Los Angeles City shelters offer as well as one-stop licensing. A SCVMA team of veterinarians also came out and volunteered their time by offering medical advice, a new initiative at our clinics.
Members from the ASPCA Safety Net and Spay Clinic Team volunteered and provided services to families with dogs who needed more than just basic vaccinations or sterilization. For example, we met a cocker spaniel who had a serious eye injury, and thanks to the ASPCA, this sweet dog was examined and treated at an animal hospital early this week. Our own shelter intervention counselor, Amanda, did an amazing job with her outreach efforts and wrote vouchers for animals needing extensive medical care, issues such as mange, ear infection, and even one senior dog with a terminal liver issue. Everybody was assisted, and there wasn’t a dog with a medical problem was who was turned away.
By coming together to work as one cohesive team, volunteers from Watts Project, Ghetto Rescue FFoundation, and Downtown Dog Rescue passed out hundreds of pounds of dog food and treats, fitted hundreds of dogs with new collars and leashes, and passed out other goodies such as toys, dog beds, and shampoos. We even had a pet ID tag engraving machine, which made over 100 free dog tags for the community’s dogs.
A big thanks also goes out to trainer Larry Hill from Puppy Imprinters who came out and signed people up for dog training classes, as well as to Aromatherapy Groomers for coming out […]
Last week, a woman named Eusebia brought her dog Chucho to our South LA Shelter Intervention office, having lost all hope. Weeping, she could barely tell our counselor Amanda her story. How she got to this point. She and her children loved Chucho, but their landlord received a cancellation of the property insurance because Chucho was labeled a German Shepherd. She was given 72 hours to move or get rid of him. As a single mom out of work, barely covering rent and food, she was in no position to move. To make matters more complicated, she was battling a deep depression, suffering PTSD as a survivor of domestic violence. Like many families we meet, Chucho was their “rock”. Sadly they all came to the shelter to say goodbye. The family had been up all night crying, thinking that they would never see their beloved pet ever again. Can you imagine how that might feel? Amanda read the letter from the insurance company. She took action by calling the landlord and then the insurance agent to get more information. What she discovered was that by getting Chucho to be categorized as a shepherd mix, combined with the fact that he was already neutered and licensed, he qualified to become a service dog for Eusebia, based on some personal medical information that she shared with Amanda.
But we had to over come one more obstacle: The landlord wanted a letter, and the medical doctor was referring Eusebia to a specialist which would be a month-long wait. She didn’t have that much time, so we sent her to a doctor we work with and in less than two days, her case was completed. Not only did Chucho get to stay with his family, he was now able to go almost everywhere with them. The smiles on this families’ faces was all Amanda needed to see. There are so many families with pets out there that need an advocate, that need help to get through a tough time. The Shelter Intervention Programs are now at the Los Angeles Animal Services’ South LA Shelter, East Valley Shelter, and North Central Shelter, as well as several County Animal Care and Control shelter such as Carson, Baldwin Park, and Downey.
The Shelter Invention Program is unique in that it creates customized solutions for families and their pets. Although it is a replicable program, we do not offer one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter responses. We meet each family where they are, and problem solve to keep a pet in a happy home however we can. Rarely are two cases the same, and yet this is perhaps what makes it so exciting. It’s a program that provides on the ground, real answers to questions that can make a difference between life and death. Just as Chucho who is still alive today, still prancing around his home, and still very much adored. It was our pleasure and […]
We are collecting donations of dog food, collars and leashes, flea medication and other supplies to pass out to Watts dog owners in need. You can donate via our Amazon Wish List Shop Now!
Our goal is to vaccinate 100 dogs and puppies living in Watts, while providing life saving information on how to see the signs of parvo, how to feed and care for a new dog or puppy. Why it’s important to use flea treatment and more. The Amanda Foundation Mobile clinic will be part of our day, providing free spay and neuter by appointment.
We want to thank our friends at the Watts Coffee House for offering their parking lot as a location for our special day. Thank you Watts Project volunteers who are serving as our street team, passing out over 1500 flyers into the community. A special shout out to trainer Larry Hill and his team from Puppy Imprinters who will be doing training demonstrations and offering advice. The Southern California Veterinary Medical Association will be volunteering hours, providing wellness information. Our friends at Ghetto Rescue Foundation will be volunteering to help check in dog owners and make everyone feel welcome. Aromatherapy mobile grooming will be at our event, bathing, brushing and grooming dogs. Every dog will go home with a pet ID tag. We will offer free DHPP, rabies and microchip Staff from the Department of Animal Services will be on hand to license dogs.
Are you a DDR volunteer who wants to volunteer, email Loriweise@gmail.com.
I’ve always loved this quote by poet Robert Frost: “Good fences make good neighbors.”
It’s not just because these are clever words written by a clever man — it’s because this quote has the power of truth behind it. At the South LA Shelter Intervention program, we see this piece of wisdom in action time and time again. Taking it one step further, in South LA, good fences (or gates) save lives.
Fence and gate repairs is one of the services we offer to help keep dogs out of the shelter and in their homes. The majority of these requests are initiated by animal control officers who visit a home and cite a dog owner for not adequately containing their dog in the yard. This can be a very challenging citation for a dog owner, especially if he or she is a renter or doesn’t have the money or skills to make the necessary improvements to secure their yard.
That’s where we come in and offer assistance as best we can.
Before sending out a handyman to support the family, we must first obtain permission from a landlord to repair or replace a fence. This can be a greater obstacle than you might imagine. For example, in one of the areas that we regularly service (90003), there are approximately 17,500 homes, condos, and apartments within 3.6 square miles. Roughly 68% of the people living in this very densely populated area are renters. Therefore every repair that we make to a property requires not only the approval of the dog owner, but first the approval of the property owner. This requires our time and also much convincing as many property owners are not initially receptive to the idea.
Other times we meet families who feel pressured to relinquish their pets due to disagreements with neighbors. In these cases, simple fence or gate improvements can create peace between neighbors. Harmony is an invaluable quality when it comes to one’s living situation, and to the safety of a loved pet. The families that we help commonly say things like, “Everything was okay until a new neighbor moved in with their dog.” This is because families regularly share driveways or live on lots where two or three houses share the land. People live in converted garages, or even single family houses that have been converted to accommodate multiple families, each renting different parts of the divided house.
Our job is to try our best to make it work, for the family’s sake and for the animal’s. One simple solution is putting up a sheet of metal, separating the front house from the back house. This can keep two dogs from “fence fighting,” and therefore may keep these animals from being surrendered to the shelter.
Another common fix is lining a chain link fence with aluminum siding, which prevents small dogs from slipping out and getting into the street (where they are often hit by a car or attacked by larger dogs.) Unfortunately, there are parts of […]
One of the most common reasons why people surrender their animals is: “I’m moving and I can’t take my pet.” In 2014, across the six Los Angeles Animal Services shelters, a total of 296 cat owners and 835 dog owners cited moving as the reason for turning in their dog or cat. The other most common reasons that followed were having no home at all (claimed by 20 cat owners and 72 dog owners) and landlord issues (245 cats and 955 dogs came into the system due to this problem.) Over the years, we’ve heard many passionate, animal-loving people say that these owners “dumped their pets in the shelter.” But I can’t help wonder — did they?
Please consider that many of the families that we serve earn less than $20,000 per year for a family of four. Consider that the average family earning minimum wage will spend 141 percent of their income struggling just to meet the most basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing. Now consider the choices they have to make — not necessarily that they want to make — when it comes to their lives and their animals.
Surely there is a percentage of people who never connected with their pet in the first place, and who should never should have acquired the pet to begin with. Perhaps moving was just an excuse used to surrender their animal to the shelter. However, based on our experiences at the South LA Shelter, this isn’t the case the majority of the time. We know differently. We see that most people do care. And they’re doing the best they can.
Princess and Bruno are a good example of what we do. They were brought into the South LA shelter by their owner in tears. He never thought he would find himself in the situation he was in — out of work, with poor credit, having lost his home, and with no prospect of a permanent place to live. Their owner was basically homeless when a generous friend offered him a room to rent, on one condition: He could not bring his dogs. Fortunately for this man, our counselor Amanda was able to find foster homes for Princess and Bruno, and with the help of our volunteers Jennifer and Mia, we were able to find them loving forever homes. We were all too glad to help. But the point is, if their owner had not been in the financial state he was in, these two dogs would have never needed to be rescued. They had a loving home to begin with.
According to Congresswoman Maxine Waters,“We have known for quite some time that there are widespread generational and systemic factors that exacerbate the racial wealth gap.” So why isn’t this income gap part of a larger discussion, especially when it comes to planning programs that save pets’ lives? Why aren’t we focused on narrowing the gap, which would benefit both people and animals?
Many of you, our cherished supporters, donated to help Nicole, her daughter […]
