Operation Safety Net – Downtown Dog Rescue

PITStop Community Assist: BRANDY & CHICO need a new home

BRANDY

CHICO

An Operation Safety Net client and great pit bull owner Alysha, has a neighbor who needs to “get rid” of her female and male pit bull within the next two weeks. Brandy is two weeks pregnant and will be given away to anyone who wants her. We all know that this will be “easy money” for the wrong type of person once the puppies are born.

I am desperately trying to get Alysha to convince the owner to spay this dog immediately. Downtown Dog Rescue will pay for the spay surgery but can’t take this dog right now. We are full. Is there anyone out there that can take her? She is reported to be dog friendly, very people friendly. Chico, her companion dog is just under a year and is also reported to be dog friendly + is very friendly with people. They are both in a home with children and have never had any issues with being aggressive with dogs orpeople.

Reaching out to our rescue is a big step for this dog owner. Typically, most dog owners just throw their dogs away on the street and move. They are trying to do things right here, regardless of what people may think. If you can take either dog into your rescue or know of someone who might be able to foster even one of these dogs, please get in touch with me ASAP: Lori@modernica.net

MEDIA ALERT: DOWNTOWN DOG RESCUE: Best Friends Network Charity Winner

Pawsitively Progressive

September 17, 2010, 5:16PM MT

By Ted Brewer, Best Friends staff writer

Pawsitive Alliance wins Network Charities grant for its innovative adoption program;

Downtown Dog Rescue is runner-up.

When Best Friends’ Network Charities launched last year, the impetus was to provide small animal welfare organizations with the support they needed to implement and sustain their life-saving programs, programs helping us achieve a time of No More Homeless Pets. As part of that support, the Network Charities announced in July it would be awarding $10,000 total in grant money to two participating charities with the most innovative, effective and collaborative programs that have already been established or are in the works. Network Charities received 44 applications for the grant.

“There were lots of great programs, and it was definitely a hard choice to pick the two winners,” says Lavanya Raju, Network Charities coordinator at Best Friends.

But the choice had to be made. We’re now pleased to announce that Pawsitive Alliance of the Seattle, Washington, area has won the $7,500 first-place grant. Runner up and winner of the second-place $2,500 grant was Downtown Dog Rescue of Los Angeles.

The program that garnered Pawsitive Alliance the win is simple, yet incredibly effective and collaborative: Bring animals from shelters and rescue groups located in rural areas around Washington, where there is an overabundance of adoptable pets, and showcase them at super adoption events in the Puget Sound area, where the human population is densest in the state and the animals stand the greatest chance of getting adopted. And that’s what Pawsitive Alliance has been doing since Andrea Logan and Yolanda Morris founded the group in 2005.

Shelters and rescue agencies in Washington’s rural areas are generally hard-pressed to find homes for the animals they care for — too many animals, not enough people to adopt. Pawsitive Alliance has helped fix that problem, by creating a venue for those adoption agencies to showcase their dogs to a captive audience. The alliance goes to great lengths to make the adoption events as fun and attractive as possible, which is drawing people to them who might be hesitant about going into a shelter and adopting.

LORI’S CORNER: Operation Safety Net Weekend

It was a really busy weekend for Operation Safety Net. We rescued four dogs that belong to homeless men that are their constant companions.

In the case of Felix’s pit bull, she had been in the shelter because she bit someone, a provoked attack, where they live in Sycamore Park. A long time breeder, he didn’t want to spay her. When we told him “no deal” he made the right choice, had her spayed, we paid all the fees, had her microchipped and they will be reunited today when he picks her up from the vet where she was spayed.

On Saturday morning, I went over to the South LA shelter with Wolf, who lives on 60th Street with three dogs. Three dogs is a little too much to handle for one man living on the street, so we agreed to take the two long time dogs, Dude and Princess out and return them to Wolf’s spot. Marla, his recent street rescue would be coming into our kennel after she is spayed and heals up. Tears of joy, from a man who has been living on the street for ten long hard years. The dogs are all that he has in the world for companionship and protection. He felt very vulnerable without his dogs and wow, they were so happy to see him when he got them out of the shelter! Everyone is now licensed, microchipped, has dog houses, fully compliant.

Without the suport of donors for Operation Safety Net, none of this would be possible. Total paid out for these two rescues was over $850. None of the dogs that we bailed out would have been adopted, all are large breed dogs and of the four dogs, three were pit bulls.

FRIDAY SHOUT OUTS – Giving Thanks!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO BIRTHDAY DONORS

FROM DDR Volunteer ROBIN SKOV

(aka mama to DDR alum AVA) AVA

A huge thank you to all my fab friends and family who donated to Downtown Dog Rescue’s Operation Safety Net program for my birthday! My goal was not only met, it was doubled!! Woo-hoo!! Thank you, thank you, thank you on behalf of all the animals you have helped through this awesome program!

Katherine Ruffner

Tracy Jagger

Beth Quimby

Laura Menck

Lisa Blau

Deborah Johnson

Sharon S Skov Key

Jessica Cliver

Bark & Purr Alliance Fund

Thomas Symczak

Paul Dirmeyer

Ruben Valencia

Mandy Miers LaPuma

Cecilia Castro

Carole Boswell

Lisa Dulyea

Helping Robin give thanks is our OPERATION SAFETY NET pittie mascot, SIMON!

Hello everyone, I’m Simon!

Thank you so much for raising $400 for DDR

through Robin’s Birthday wish!!!!

We were so excited to get the news!!!!!!

Here is our latest OPERATION SAFETY NET success story

as told by

my rescuer and founder of DDR, Lori Weise!

TASHA AND SHEBA

Tasha has lived on Skid Row since 1998. She has always known Sheba but recently became her official owner after her last owner picked dope over his dog. Every night, Tasha would dress Sheba up in her pajamas, keeping her warm and comfortable, especially now that she has slight hip problems.

Sheba getting ready for bed in Skid Row

They go everywhere together, everyday until someone accused Sheba of biting them and Animal Control took her away two weeks ago. Tasha lost all, hope did not contact me and I couldn’t find her. Central City East Security Team and Downtown Dog Rescue worked together to locate Tasha, set up a time and date to pick her up and go get her baby. The day was today at […]

LORI’S CORNER: End of Life Issues

Sinbad

Saying good bye to a beloved pet is one of the most difficult thing that I have ever had to do. Just because I’ve done it many times, for various reasons, mostly health reasons due to old age, it’s never easy and it’s always heart breaking, even when one knows, it’s really time. When I had to put my lead dog “Sinbad” down, at the age of 15 years, I couldn’t even go to work. He had been my constant companion, going to work with me, meetings, out in the dog pack, helping me get other dogs ready to be adopted, the best dog I ever owned. At the end, he couldn’t use his hind legs. For such a regal, elegant dog, it was the end. I still cry now about losing him as I write this paragraph.

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 […]

THE FAMILY DOG: Fighting To Keep Our Dogs, an Operation SAFETY NET success story

by Alysha Ramirez

Alysha and Manny’s puppies!

My boyfriend, Manny and I were having a great time outside with our pitbulls when a dog approached my yard. My neighbors about 2 houses down would always let their dog roam the streets. Their dog would always bark at my dog and I always told them to get their dog, but they always refused.

The day we were outside, their dog managed to get into my yard, of course my pitbull was protecting his territory and bit the dog. After that happened the owner came to my yard and took their dog home. A little while later, they called Animal Control. They came out and said they had to take my dogs because they were aggressive.They also said that the neighbors said that my dogs went to their yard and attacked their dog which wasn’t true.

When I tried to get my pitbulls back, they refused to give them back because they were labeled as dangerous animals. My boyfriend and I were upset and we didn’t know what to do. While we were at the animal shelter we saw a poster that said DOWNTOWN DOG RESCUE. So we happened to call it and spoke to a lovely lady named Lori Weise. She happened to be the best and helped us get our dogs back and prove that they were not dangerous dogs.

So basically what I’m trying to say is thanks to Lori and Downtown Dog Rescue, I got my dogs back.

Pitbulls are the best kind of dogs you can have.

Editors Note: Alysha and Manny showed up for their Los Angeles Animal Services Administrative hearing but their neighbor was a no-show, so the good news? The case was dismissed. Another Operation Safety Net success story.

LORI’S CORNER: Neuter or Euthanize

On Friday I received a call from Robert, a homeless pit bull owner, who had been arrested, jailed for four months and was about to lose his dog “Boss” forever if I did not help, as he put it, “Right now!” I phoned him back immediately, but it was still after the shelter closed for the day, which was too late. Boss was scheduled to be euthanized on Saturday April 24th.

The only reason that the captain of the shelter had decided to hold on to Boss for four long months was because his owner had written eight letters, pleading with the Department of Animal Services to hold on to his beloved pit bull. This amazed me because the shelter is only required to hold any personal property dog, such as was the case with Boss’ impound, for thirty days. The DAS went to amazing lengths to hold on to him for an additional three months, even though Boss is not the coolest dog in town, temperament wise.

I spoke to Robert, heard his account of how the LAPD, for no good reason, forcefully took Boss from his Cadillac, smashed the windows and destroyed his personal property. This all went down in Hollywood, which is the service area for the North Central Animal Shelter. According to Robert, LAPD officers waited for two hours for an animal control officer to come and get Boss and take Robert to jail. The officer never showed up so LAPD delivered Boss to the shelter where he stayed for 120 days. According to Robert, Boss was never aggressive but the officer hit Boss with his Billy club and threatened to kill Boss if he became really aggressive.

I listened for about twenty minutes to Robert’s account of the day that he was arrested, how he had no money to get Boss out and the fact that this dog was his world. He had owned Boss since he was just a pup. Now almost two years old, from the Razor’s Edge Razor’s Edge line, he was a dog that he had planned to breed because, according to Robert, he had “a wonderful temperament and great confirmation”.

We agreed to meet at the […]

FRIDAY SHOUT OUTS – Giving Thanks!

It’s our favorite day of the week! THANK YOU DAY FRIDAYS!
We want to give special thanks to two groups of people this week!

The first one are our fosters!
The second are the donors that gave to Lori Weise’s CAUSE Birthday Wish
to help fund OPERATION SAFETY NET!

Who do we have to help us this week?
Of course a recently fostered DDR dog!!!!
Our handsome PITStop dog of the week 2 weeks ago!
COSMO!

Ready Cosmo? Because, you will be thanking
the sweet family that will foster you!
GO!!!!!

I would like to thank Esther and Steve for agreeing to take me in as a foster. My brothers and sisters Copper, Sugar, Turbo, Louie and Henry still need fosters or adoptive homes so if anyone out in DDR PitStop land are interested, please let Lori know .

I also want to do shout outs to awesome DDR volunteers Brittany Fulgoni and Linda Bruce who have fostered our little DDR dogs!!!!

Thank you Brittany and Linda!!!!!!

Brittany, Coco, Cosmo and Abba. Sandy’s in the background!

Secondly, I wanna thank all our old AND new Operation Safety Net donors who heeded Lori’s Birthday wish (April 1st, 2010) on CAUSES (FACEBOOK APP!) and donated various amounts to help replenish the funds for this program.

$1,180 was raised!!!!!!!

I am an OPERATION SAFETY NET dog. Lori and DDR volunteers left and right have worked on me and are trying very hard to place others to adoptive or foster homes to keep us out of the shelter system.

A lot of us are older dogs and we wont stand
a chance once we enter the shelter system.

Thank You to all of of you….

Jackie Reich

Carol A. Letus + Skipper (RIP)

Frankie, Speck (RIP) and Indie Printing

Steven E. Siebert

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