Animal Transport
Part of our involvement with other rescue organizations and projects includes transporting at-risk animals from shelters to animal rescue and adoption organizations throughout the United States.
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Cute Little Pittie Pups From The Harbor Shelter - October 31, 2011
Today I finally transported these little guys from their foster (the lovely Daniela) down to Baldwin Park to meet up with Glen. The pups will be going to Pam's Second Chance Rescue in Phoenix, AZ. For those not familiar with the procedure of pulling dogs from shelters, it has taken us seven days to reach this point. Once the pups are identified, the time is spent finding fosters, finding a rescue that will pull for you, finding a rescue to take them. All this entails countless emails and phone calls back and forth. Nothing ever goes easy. But in the end, we all have to stay focused on one thing: the dog. The pay-off is that he/she will have a chance at a life that is almost guaranteed to be better than the one before. If they stay where there are, they will die, that’s almost a sure bet. So we save them, one dog (or two) at a time.
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Can I Go, Now!!! - October 30, 2011
I picked up Buddy in Montecito and transported him to a rescue holding an adoption event at the Farmers Market in Los Angeles. Buddy had been with his foster family for a few months and it was decided he might do better with a different family. His foster mom loved him deeply, but it was time to move on. Hopefully he will find his forever home in L.A. and have no more stress in his young life. As you can see from his picture he is a little high energy and it will take an active family to help burn up that excess energy. He is so lovable that I am sure they are just waiting for a dog named buddy.
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The Princess - October 29, 2011
As you can see she didn’t either want to walk or didn’t want to leave the shelter. My bet is she just didn’t want to walk. She is very timid and just wants to be around people she knows. I delivered her to a boarding facility and I will be picking her up on Monday for transport to Bellas Sanctuary in Mission Hills. She will do great there until her adoption. It’s a very family type setup with lots of hands on time and that’s what she needs.
I also made a run to the Simi facility to transport Sweetie to the vet as she was not feeling well. I will be picking her back up in a few days and hopefully all will be well.
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Meet Tuttle - October 28, 2011
I could not get Tuttle to turn around and have his picture taken. We tried for 10 minutes and finally made do with what we were lucky to get. This rather senior fellow was rescued by Indelab Rescue from the Camarillo shelter. They asked me to transport him to Goleta, first stopping at Diane's grooming shop to have him cleaned up. My opinion was that he was one of the cleanest dogs I have seen come out of the shelter. Yes, he needed to be bathed, but didn’t look all that bad to me. His back-story was that his owner had died unexpectedly and I guess nobody in the family wanted him, so of course off to the shelter he went. Now, not many people will adopt a 10 year old, overweight lab. But Indelab Rescue came through and I believe this fellow is going to start a second chapter in his life, maybe one a little more active as he seems to have lost some of his abs over the years. But whatever may come, I am sure he will be one happy camper living the good life.
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Three More On Their Way - October 27, 2011
Sarge, Bunnie, and T-bone have left the building. They are now on the first leg of their journey to Tucson and from there, an adoption home. People don’t realize how many people it takes to accomplish this. And every one a volunteer. Each of these wonderful people give something to each dog that passes through their hands. Some weep tears of joy at the prospect of these guys finally having a chance at a life that they could have never known here. Others weep for all those who didn’t have this chance and are now dead. And some shed a tear for all those that we can’t save, no matter how many leave the building. All of us just keep saving one dog at a time.
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Transported One, Pulled Three - October 26, 2011
I pulled Rocki today (pictured below) to go to a very special place. I am not allowed to divulge the home's owner under penalty that I would have to watch all her films run backwards. No, really this person is so sweet and caring for the dogs, beside being known by everyone, she guards her personal privacy and I respect that.
As for Rocki, well he took to the family right off and was friends with everyone. He did his meet and greet with the senior dog who really didn’t care who he was, just leave me alone was fine with him. Since Rocki has never apparently seen stairs before, we had to have an immediate training session as there were a lot of stairs to climb to get to the house. He watched Lacy, the senior one, climb and then took right to it. When I left, Rocki was exploring the yard and it is a big one, all fenced and secure. It always amazes me how quickly dogs settle right in. Hopefully Rocki will do well here, he will have everything he will ever want.
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Off To A Better Start - October 26, 2011
I pulled two other pittes that day that went to Bellas Sanctuary down in Mission Hills. I had to mention this little guy as he has a bad skin condition and will require some meds going home with him. In time he will be fine and I am sure at Bellas he will get all the TLC he needs and wants. He was such a love.
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So Depressed - October 25, 2011
This little lady was and still is depressed after being dumped at the shelter by her former owners. She just doesn’t understand what she has done wrong. She is well-mannered and listens to everything you say. She is very alert, but as you can see in her eyes, she is depressed. I transported her directly from the shelter to get fixed and she was to be picked back up later in the day by another volunteer. Since she is now fixed, maybe she will go out on the Phoenix run on Thursday. We will see. The sooner she is out of the shelter, the sooner I am sure she will come around to her old self. Lots of TLC will go a long way with this girl.
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Another Sad Mange Case - October 25, 2011
This is what happens when you don’t take care of the problem when it first starts. If you ignore it and just hope for the best, the dog will suffer just like this poor little guy. His former owners couldn’t deal with it, so they dumped him at the pound. Original thoughts seems to run in their family.
Laurie, an independent rescuer, volunteered to take this little one and get him better and find a home for him. I know he is not much to look at now, but wait till the medications kick in and a whole lot of love is applied. It will get better from here on out, in more ways than one.
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Little 146 - October 21, 2011
On Friday I pulled k-146 from the shelter and transported her to Bella's Sanctuary down in Mission Hills. She had a skin condition and was ever so sweet. As you can see she was a kennel staff favorite and just wants to play. Well, she will get a lot of that with Justin’s group. She couldn’t be in better hands and I am sure she will find her forever home very soon.
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Gizmo Finds A Home - October 20, 2011
I also made a delivery and pickup to the spay-neuter clinic in Simi Thursday. One of the lucky ones that I transported was Gizmo, better known as k-119. I had pulled him from the shelter a week prior and delivered him to Westlake Village Animal Hospital because the shelter thought he had an upper repertory infection. He was again in danger of being killed that very next day, so we pulled him and he had been waiting at the vet's for his spay-neuter appointment before going on to his foster/adoptive(maybe home) in Oxnard. Well the big day had come and I delivered him as promised to Ted and his wife and son and it was a very happy meeting with the people, but the other dogs seemed to be having some issues with the new boy that had just dropped in. Gizmo got along with some but one was having a problem with it. They still wanted to try and make it work so we separated them for the night and we will try again in the morning. Give everyone a chance to settle down and get used to the idea. Gizmo doesn’t have many choices and I could see that he was trying to be nice, but the other dog wasn’t having any of it. We will see how it goes on Friday.
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Doggie Heaven - October 20, 2011
On Thursday I was asked by Indilab Rescue to pull a yellow lab, maybe 7-8 years old, that had been dumped at the Camarillo animal shelter and was in danger of being killed. Of course I said I would and pulled this no name, very sweet girl for them and transported her to Goleta, past Santa Barbra. Please keep in mind that doggie heaven differs with each of us, but this place has to fall in there somewhere. Tucked back in the hill was a very rustic large house overlooking the ocean. They had 2 ½ fenced acres full of all sort of different trees and plants, plus Koi pods and hills and open grass areas. There were two other yellow labs living there and when the three met it was all very cool and within 10 minutes, after a lot of doggie meet and greet rituals, they were off and running. You couldn’t tell that she had just arrived. She acted like she had been there for months instead of minutes. Such a huge visual shock of going between the shelter to this. I only hope she is fostered there for a very long time. The lady who fosters and owns the home was wonderful and just love labs, I could tell. It was no secret. If they all could be so lucky.
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Dogs Having Fun - October 16, 2011
Sunday I transported two chihuahuas to the Westlake Village Animal Hospital to get their health certificates so they can be loaded on a transport to the Utah Humane Society in Salt Lake City. At the vet clinic they were having a pet fair, with lots of rescue dogs to be adopted as well as a doggie Halloween costume contest. It was really nice to see so many dogs enjoying themselves. They were all cleaned, groomed and very happy. At times dealing with so many just coming out of the shelters, all I see is the ones at their worst, left that way by neglect, poor care or no care at all. Once in a while you have to climb out of the pit and see what the world is like out there. But then you have to go back down and keep trying to save all the lives you can.
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These Guys Were Ready To Go - October 13, 2011
You can see from the pics it was hard to hold these guys still for photos. They were so happy to be out of the Camarillo shelter and they had so much energy saved up to spend on their quest for a new home. As you can see, Jason just wanted in the big truck and tried very hard to get there by himself. With a little boost he made it. I am not sure how they feel traveling down the road in one of the big rigs. It must seem so foreign to them after having spent a lot of their previous time in kennels at the shelter. The trip to Tucson holds so many new and exciting changes for them. From what Justin has said of past arrivals at his rescue they are quite tired when they arrive but are just overwhelmed with all the changes in so short of time. All for the good and they adapt really well. All these are but steps in finding them a home that could never be found here in CA.
The last photo goes with this update from Kathleen:
"Hi all, some of you know these dogs from working with them at the boarding facility. Here are Aiela napping and Smokey watching at their foster/rescue home in Arizona. Thank you to all of you who have helped care for these sweeties while they
were with us. It's nice to see them happy and comfy and out of the kennels. And close to finding their forever homes."
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Leave And Don't Come Back - October 12, 2011
Today I picked up and transported two Akitas from the Camarillo shelter. One, blackie, was very sweet and presented no problems. Titan, on the other hand, was a different story. The kennel staff was very cautious with him as he acted very aggressive inside the kennel and the staff refused to go in there and have any dealings with him. So they moved the crate into his kennel and forced him into the crate while he was in his kennel. Then carried him to my vehicle in the crate and we loaded him at that point. He was fine during the 3 hour ride to Riverside County and when it came time to unload we reversed it and moved his crate to his new kennel and opened the door and out he went. I don’t think there are any issues with Titan that spending a little time with him and socializing won’t take care of. At Akita Rescue he will get all the attention he can handle; they are used to dealing with issues that others have caused.
Update From Patricia About The October 8 Abuse Case
"She has been named Pria by her savior, Sasha A. This video shows Pria eating and wagging her tail. Although she was starved, Pria does not exhibit any food aggression. She has a mysterious chunk missing from her ear which looks like it was done intentionally. She was filthy beyond comprehension - probably kept outside her entire life. She has been bathed and had her ears cleaned and nails clipped. Despite the neglect and abuse she has endured, Pria is a sweet and loving girl."
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The Weekly Spay-Neuter Shuttle - October 11, 2011
I transported 3 pitties down to Valley Vet Spay-Neuter Clinic from the shelter in Simi Valley. It makes for a very short, but important transport; have to get these guys fixed. On Thursday one or two are scheduled to transport to Baldwin Park then on to our rescue in Tucson, AZ. The one thing that makes this transport noteworthy is that the shelter will no longer allow us to bring medication back from the Vet for the dogs. It seems some staff members felt they didn’t have to give meds, so why bother. The shelter's position is if they need to be on meds, they can’t be in Simi awaiting transport, so get them out of there. Believe me they are not the easiest bunch of people to work with. It’s not about the dogs, it’s about them. So very sad.
Transporting Monster - October 10, 2011
I guess you can tell Halloween is getting close. I was asked to transport a pittie, named Monster, from one foster home to another in the L.A area. Now this big boy was not socialized to the degree that would be acceptable for an adoption and really needed some work and training to get him there. I didn’t take any pics as I was to busy trying to safely handle this guy and keep him under control. He was 70 lbs of solid muscle and didn’t give an inch. I can see why the foster wanted him moved to someone who might be able to handle him better. I am sure that his new foster is committed to this and will spend the time with him that he needs so badly. Hopefully he will move on to a real home and family and I won’t have to transport him again.
Must Be Senior Appreciation Day - October 9, 2011
I just happen to be at the Camarillo shelter trying to straighten out paperwork issues with the staff there, when Mary from up in Oregon called and said she would like to take the two senior huskies in one of the pens. Would I pull them for her? Of course I would! As I knew of the rescue they would be going to, I asked them where they were. Well they were on the other side of the grapevine, but were willing to turn around and come to Camarillo if I would pull those two gentle giants. Now remember they have been at the shelter quite a while and everyone was fearful that any day, like this coming Tuesday, they would be killed. I told them to turn around and I would do the paperwork while they were on their way and they would be set to go when they arrived. Well I got it all done and they showed up around noon, we went over paperwork, releases and such, had the dogs brought out and as you can see from the pics they were ready to go. They settled right in the back of the car like it was their own and they wanted to get out of dodge. As you can see from their coats, they haven’t had the best of care and I mentioned to Mary that the fur will fly once she starts heading down the road and the wind starts blowing. These two didn’t stand a chance of living one more week, now they are on a new adventure. You just never know how these things will play out.
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Another Abuse Case, They Never End - October 8, 2011
I was sent out to the Devore shelter today to retrieve a pittie that had been severely neglected. If you look closely at the photo you will see how malnourished she is. What you don’t see is the sores all over her. I couldn’t get her to stay still long enough to take close photos. It’s amazing how her sprits have held up after such neglect. I transported her to a vet in La Punta for a physical and determination of her condition. If Patricia hadn’t pulled her today, she was going to be killed today. She was on the list. Down to the wire, but most are. Now maybe she has a chance at a future and maybe a loving home out there somewhere.
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Three More On Their Way - October 7, 2011, evening
Made another trip to Baldwin Park in the evening to bring three more pitties one step closer to finding there furever home. I didn’t take many pics because it was dark outside and they just wanted to get in the big truck. Glen lets the ride in the passenger seat one at a time on the way to Phoenix. I am sure they get quite a kick out of that. Miss Piggy was one to make this trip and she was so fat it took both of us to get her in the cab. Ever so sweet, she never cooperates in loading. She will squat flat on the ground and you have to lift all that weight up over your head to get her in the cab. Lovable, but heavy. Whatever it takes to make the journey.
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Another Bad Mange Case - October 7, 2011, morning
Transported these two guys to Ballas Foundation Rescue in Mission Hills in the morning. I pulled them early from the shelter and were they glad to be out. I know the little guy was in a lot of discomfort and I wanted to get him on his way and get the stress of the unknown and traveling over with. He was so sweet and made out like he didn’t have a problem in the world. I am sure in a month or so, with treatment you won’t even be able to tell that he ever had it. The focus now is get him well.
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It Started At The Crack Of Dawn - October 6, 2011
The first transport of the day started out at 6:30 a.m. with the pickup of Gamma. she is the sweetest little pittie girl you would ever want to meet. I picked her up at her foster mom's and drove her to Oxnard’s Mercy Clinic for her to get fixed. Inside we went and I believe she knew what was up. We went and did the paperwork and I turned her over to the staff to do their thing, I said my goodbyes knowing somewhere down the road I would again be transporting her, hopefully to her forever home. Time will tell.
The next appointment had me picking up two pitties at the Simi holding facility and transporting them to Valley Vet Spay Clinic. As this was but a short ride, they arrived in plenty of time and were taken in to await their turn. At this time I drove to the Agoura shelter to finally retrieve a little chihuahua that had been adopted from us September 19th and turned in to the shelter on the 22nd. They didn’t give him a chance. Nice folks I am sure. I also found out that his microchip was the wrong one, it didn’t match his paperwork. The poor guy just couldn’t catch a break. I went to the office to pull him and found out they don’t take plastic. I didn’t have a check on me so had to leave without him and planned on returning Friday.
I drove from there to the Camarillo shelter to do a quick evaluation on a boxer they wanted to pull, but first wanted to know more about him. He was fine. I rated him at a 6.5 on my scale and with a little more socialization he will be fine for some family. I also stopped and picked a check up on the way for the chi in Agoura shelter.
Soon it was time to head back to Simi to pick up Hazel and Smokey and return them to the Simi facility. They both came thru fine with their procedure and were glad to be out of there. I returned them and drove back to the Agoura shelter, check in hand, and pulled Pumpkin from the shelter. He was very snappy and grumpy and not a happy camper. When we arrived back at his rescuers house and he realized where he was, everything changed. He was so happy to be back. Must be the altitude. I wanted to thank Vickie from Hands, Paws, & Hearts rescue for their help in pulling Pumpkin. Couldn’t have done it without them. Remember I am but a link in a long chain that makes these things happen. Without everyone’s help, none of this would be happening. It was a very long day.
Do They Look Excited? - October 3, 2011
On Monday I took seven dogs up to Terry at Stonecliffe Animal Rescue in Lemoore, about four hours north of Camarillo. These little guys all had been pulled from the shelter over the past two weeks and spent their time waiting at fosters or at the Simi holding facility until we could get the openings at Stonecliffe. Well, Terry finally had room and off we went. The little guys were all very nervous and a little apprehensive at the start of the trip, but soon settled down and enjoyed the quiet ride, looking out as the world whizzed by and wondering what was in store for them next. Always keep in mind these guys have not known a normal home in quite some time. So that does make them a little nervous and excited. When we arrived and Terry put them in the large enclosed play area to meet everyone, they were all doing the meet and greet and got along well with all the greeters. In a few minutes you would have thought they had been there for weeks. They were all looking at me through the fence as I was leaving as if to say goodbye for the last time. It really does pull at your heart as they all stare at you and you know you won’t see them again, but knowing they will now have a chance to find their forever home, makes it a little easier as you drive away.
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Please click here for details about Animal Transports in March 2012, February 2012, January 2012, December 2011, November 2011, October 2011, September 2011, August 2011, July 2011 & May 2010 - June 2011...