Animal Rescue in Los Angeles
Six hundred passengers. Fifteen airplanes. This sounds like any ordinary hour at LAX, but on December 6, 2014, hundreds of volunteers came together for this very special airlift. Six hundred adoptable dogs were pulled from death row in shelters throughout the Los Angeles and surrounding counties and sent to no-kill animal rescues in other areas of the country. These planes delivered dogs from the overcrowded shelters in SoCal to regions where people are waiting to adopt, not shop. Everyone involved embodied the mantra, “Evolve, get involved.”
For far too long, Los Angeles has been known for the crisis of overcrowding in its animal shelters; this is not what one would expect from a community as creative, productive, and compassionate as the greater Los Angeles area.
According to the ASPCA:
- 500,000 companion animals are euthanized every year in California.
- In 2009, LA County shelters took in 83,252 cats and dogs, of which 50,692 were euthanized.
- In the same year, City of LA shelters took in 54,129 dogs and cats. Of those, 19,547 were euthanized.
This tragedy of killing adoptable pets has been decreasing due to an outpouring of support. However, the crisis is so extensive, it’s going to take more volunteers, donations, and resources to transform the climate of killing to caring humanely in LA and the Golden State. Fortunately, individuals and organizations are making the commitment to a compassionate society when it comes to our companion animals.
One LA-based collective that is receiving well-deserved nationwide attention is Save the Chi. Popularized from their starring roles in films such as the Beverly Hills Chihuahua series, among others; the Chihuahua’s celebrity status created a buying frenzy that resulted in explosive over-breeding. They grew in numbers to the extent that shelters in the Southwest are 30% full of them. As a result, according Ann Pollock, director of Chihuahua Rescue of San Diego, 300 to 400 Chihuahuas are euthanized each week in SoCal because there just aren’t enough beds to house them, making them one of the most euthanized breeds. Yet in other regions, people are waiting in line to open their homes and their hearts to these playful petite pups.
Lucky for LA, Rusco, star of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, is becoming a hero in real life. The official Spokesdog for Save The Chi, he is calling the entire country to action to aid his friends in shelters. Alison Eastwood, animal crusader, actress, and filmmaker, is a supporter of the initiative, which is only one example of her extensive commitment to animals. She has her own foundation for homeless pets, Eastwood Ranch Foundation, has produced and hosted Animal Intervention for the National Geographic channel, and recently raised much-needed funds for Chimp Haven, a well-deserved sanctuary for retired research chimpanzees in Louisiana.
Save The Chi’s efforts include rescuing Chihuahuas from death row and relocating them (via air and ground transport) to where they are in demand – utilizing the star power of Rusco to draw attention to the issue, provide education, and help out-of-town rescues and humane societies receive media attention in their local areas.
Another LA-community animal lover,rescuer, and TV producer is Mike Leggit who brought a star-studded special to life. On Thanksgiving Day, 2014, Fox Network aired the Cause for Paws Dogathon hosted by Hilary Swank and Jane Lynch. Celebs who appeared to bring attention and love to the issue of dog adoption included Miley Cyrus, Betty White, Channing Tatum, and Sharon and Kelly Osbourne. Mega donations raised for Pet Finder Foundation will support front-line rescue efforts nationwide.
The aforementioned December 6 Holiday Airlift rescue operation extravaganza was spearheaded by local hero and Woodland Hills real estate developer Yehuda Netanel, a native of Israel and co-founder of Wings of Rescue. WOR flies mercy missions of dogs and cats on a regular basis out of Southern California to trusted safe havens all over the country.
He and his plane, along with hundreds of volunteer pilots and their planes, have flown to new homes thousands of animals who would have been otherwise killed in shelters. Each year, they create bigger transports, more awareness, and gain more support in the way of pilots and funding.
To help reduce overcrowding at home, The Lucy Pet Foundation operates mobile spay/neuter vehicles which perform surgeries in SoCal areas prone to over-breeding. Formerly the president and co-founder of Natural Balance dog food, Jerry Herrick has a vision to go nationwide. In order to help dogs become more comfortable while they are waiting to be adopted, Eileen and Brad Smulson distribute blankets to shelters through their foundation Operation Blankets of Love.
These stories reveal that every one of us can make a positive impact to change the status quo and to eliminate the need for euthanasia. Here are things you can do:
- Network pictures of dogs at shelters on all your social networking sites, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Visit Shelter Me, a savvy new online life-saving platform created by animal-loving writer/director Steven Latham to help homeless pets get adopted. shelterme.com
- Adopt ONLY from rescues and shelters, and urge everyone you know to do the same.
- Foster – Take in a dog who was in danger of euthanasia at a shelter, give him or her love and more time to find placement, and help socialize and love them after their horrifying experience of being lost, abandoned, and thrown in the clink.
- Donate much-needed funds to LOCAL rescues.
- Volunteer time and skills to projects or rescues that work to save lives in high-kill shelters.
- Create your own endeavor, make a difference.
Linda Raya Carel is the founder and director of LA 4 Animals Foundation, created to utilize the resources of Los Angeles to help the homeless pets of the region. The goal is to educate and engage the animal loving public in being part of the solution: LA4Animals.com
