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 […]