Thank You For a Great 2015! Here’s To More In 2016.
As 2015 comes to a close, we want to reflect back on all that you’ve helped us do – our donors, supporters, volunteers, adopters, friends, partners, and fans. For starters, our Shelter Intervention Program (SIP) continued to keep pets out of the shelter this year on a much larger scale. We offered free spay/ neuter surgeries, vaccinations, and dog training. We gave away monthly food, fixed broken gates, repaired fences, supplied dog houses, and paid license or redemption fees so pets could go home. We heard from families who were assisted through SIP, and they were proud to report on how they helped others in their community after experiencing our support. This domino effect of kindness is the type of lasting change that ripples. We’re thrilled to share that since April of 2013, we’ve been able to save 5,000 pets from entering the South Los Angeles Animal Shelter.
Over the past 20 years we’ve witnessed the impact of extreme poverty in Los Angeles. Our goal is always to do more. We provided free services, held spay/neuter clinics, and walked the streets of underserved communities so that we could actually talk to people and listen to them. We thought about what we heard. What resources do they need? How can we deliver? Those are the questions DDR has been and will continue to be based on. Those are the questions that fuel our ongoing programs for those who need it most.
Since 1996, we’ve provided free spay/neuter surgeries for thousands of dogs, and up until recently, we were the only nonprofit offering these services in Compton. Just us and our little project, which grew and grew. Now cut to today, and this summer we began partnering with the Southern California Veterinarian Medical Association, whose members volunteer with us in one of the poorest communities in LA. Together we’ve offered vaccinations and microchipping for hundreds of animals, but it’s been more than just about providing free services. It’s giving people who love their pets the chance at the veterinary care they want, but simply can’t afford. And in South LA, where the incidence of preventable infectious diseases such as Parvo and Distemper are high, this translated into saving lives. The best part is, the community is spreading the word for us — our spay/neuter appointments are now booked overwhelmingly by referral. We’re helping the neighbors, cousins, and friends of dog owners who we saw last month or last year. And although the year is about to end, we are holding two more clinics before the ball drops on the 31st. Plus, DDR’s partnership with SCVMA proved the value of working directly in the community. They will now be working with additional nonprofits, expanding free services in more areas of need.
As I hope you know, DDR also owns and operates its own kennel facility, located in South Gate, one of the at-risk neighborhoods we serve. […]
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.
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.
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.
The phrase looking for a forever home usually refers to a homeless pet but in this case, it’s a homeless family. Tippy, a 10 year old Lab mix has a family who loves him so much, they decided to live in their car instead of surrendering him to the East Valley Shelter. We met Nicole, her daughter and Tippy when they came to the shelter for resources. Two weeks ago, we asked for help raising funds to get this family of three out of their car and into the Motel 6 where they are still living in Sylmar. We raised enough money to sponsor their stay until April 15th.
