A944981

This is not a story of adoption but of an emergency rescue and a Happy Tail all the same:

On May 4, 2008 Peter Wallerstein, a Marine Animal Rescue Specialist, received a call from LA County Lifeguard, John Van Duinwyk, asking for advice about a "coyote" on the Avenue 23 jetty in Venice Beach. John reported that the animal seemed distressed and had bloody feet caused by the barnacled covered rocks.

The animal had run full speed along the shoreline from Santa Monica beach until the jetty and a steep slope blocked her path. Looking for a way around the jetty the frightened canine got swept into the water by the surging waves. Pulled around the 100-foot jetty by a rip current, the dog was able to climb onto the rocks at the very end of the jetty and began looking for a place to hide.

LA Animal Services Officer Redfield and Peter arrived on scene at about the same time and discussed strategy.
They slowly approached the animal who was now standing on the very end of the jetty, struggling to keep her balance. Lifeguard Specialist Van Duinwyk paddled the lifeguard rescue board to the end of the jetty for water safety.

The rescue team attempted to corral the dog that was being pounded by the waves on the slippery rocks. After about 20 minutes, the dog stumbled a bit attempting to climb higher onto the rocks. That’s when the Officer Redfield was able to capture her. Officer Redfield then spent the next few minutes comforting the animal before he assisted the dog, rock by rock to the beach and into the Animal Services vehicle.

Said Mr. Wallerstein, “I have known Officer Redfield for many years and respect the work he does for the City of LA, Department of Animal Services. Officer Redfield did an amazing job. His actions under these extreme conditions should
be acknowledged and commended. Also, I would like to say thank you to County Lifeguard Captain Dennis Morales and the County Baywatch boat for their support.”

A944981 is now being treated for minor injuries as a result of her jetty adventure and will be available for adoption at the West LA Animal Care Center on May 9, 2008.

Darcy

Darcy, an 8 month-old tabby kitten, was adopted by Janet from the North Central Animal Care Center the Sunday before Thanksgiving. “I spent several hours both Saturday and Sunday at the North Central Animal Care Center considering all the cats before I decided on Darcy, which gave me a better appreciation for the very dedicated staff. It must be very difficult to want to help all animals and spoil them like I do Darcy – but LAAS staff must also deal with the realities of the pet over population and the owners who can no longer care for their companion animals.”

Darcy is very affectionate and cuddly. She is wonderfully curious and not scared of anything. She loves to sit on Janet’s neck and shoulders and she is always ready to play. “I hope all staff at Animal Services know that all their tough and hard work is appreciated and worthwhile! You may not get to see the results of your efforts, but remember that Darcy and I and thousands of other people and animals are enjoying life so much more because of your work!”

Robbie

Robbie, a 2-year old black terrier, was found wandering around the USC campus on October 19, 2007 and brought to the South LA Animal Care Center where is was adopted by Anna on October 25th.  “I saw him in the cage
and he looked exactly like my other dog Rudy so I just had to take him!”   Anna says that Robbie is a wonderful little dog and gets on very well with her eight year old dog Rudy. They play together and go on great mountain hikes. “He is a wonderful addition to the family and we are very happy with him!”  See, pursuing higher education really DOES pay off!

Rufus

Rufus, an 8-year old Chihuahua mix, was brought to the South LA Animal Care Center in mid-October 2007 by his owners who could no longer keep him due to landlord problems. He was scared and tried to bite anyone who touched him. Luckily, Dirk and Susan saw past the scarred exterior and came all the way from the Valley to adopt Rufus in November. “  He has been a great addition to the family, joining 3 kids, and a 12 year old dog and 2 year old cat (also shelter adoptees) They along great! Rufus morphed from a scared, whimpering little dog in a shelter cage into the ruler of our household in just a few days. He has blossomed, as have we. We are so happy to have him in our family!” We think Rufus is pretty happy to have found such a great family too!

Emmy

Emmy, a two-year old Lab, was adopted by Vivi from Animal Rescue Volunteers from the East Valley Animal Care Center on August 14, 2007.  She had been placed on the Red List due to behavioral problems, but Vivi saw something special in Emmy.  Her Veterinarian informed her that Emmy was most likely hormonal due to her recent pregnancy and that she also had a bladder infection, which may have contributed to her disposition while in the Care Center.  He advised Vivi to give Emmy a month for her hormones to stabilize.  One month later, Emmy was like a new dog! She was sweet and loved everyone at the adoption events.  She rolled on her back for belly rubs and got along with Vivi’s other dogs and foster animals.

Vivi also volunteers for the Search Dog Foundation and had actually been at the Care Center the day she adopted Emmy testing dogs to see if they were good Search Dog candidates. She began to notice that the Emmy in her happy and healthy state was displaying the behaviors that they look for in Search Dogs.  Vivi worked on enhancing these behaviors for just two weeks and then took her to be tested at the main office for the Search Dog Foundation in Ojai.  Emmy passed! She also had x-rays done of her hips and elbows and she passed those too. Now Emmy is on her way to Search Dog boot camp in Gilroy to learn all the skills necessary to be a certified Search Dog.

So, Emmy, who was once red listed, is now going to spend the rest of her life saving human's lives. Thank you Vivi and the Search Dog Foundation!

Lucy

Lucy is a sweet, 3-year-old Dalmatian that was rescued from the East Valley Animal Care Center by Save the Dalmatians & Others Canine Rescue on July 26, 2007.   No one really knows how long Lucy had been homeless, but she quickly found a forever home with the Alper family who fell in love with her.  With a little TLC and a good bath, Lucy’s coat transformed from grey to white and after a good brushing her hair sparkled. With a little coaxing, her appetite also came back.  Lucy quickly bonded with her new family and is now quick to lavish them with hugs and kisses.  Secure in her new surroundings, Lucy is like a new dog! Full of energy and curiosity, she spends her days bounding around and exploring her new house and yard. The Alper’s would like to thank everyone who helped their little girl find her way into their home!

Gigi

Gigi, a 5-year old Rat Terrier adopted from the Harbor Animal Care Center in May 2004, has become a local celebrity canine athlete! From “pound pup” to superstar, Gigi is now one of the AKC’s “Top Dogs” in agility and will be featured in a mural at the new Harbor Animal Care Center opening in 2008. Said adopter and trainer, Deborah Davidson Harpur, “she is my joy.” Good luck Gigi!

Monkey

Susan adopted Monkey, a pit bull puppy, from the Harbor Animal Care Center on August 22, 2006 when she was 8 weeks old. Now Monkey is one year old and her proud mom couldn't wait to share her birthday photos with us (don't worry, the cake is not chocolate, it's a carob Three Dog Bakery cake). "Thank you for saving the greatest dog of all time...Period...Ever...End of discussion. In other words, I LOVE THIS DOG!!! I had to fight three people for her and she has turned out to be completely worth it."

Monkey also has turned out to be a great ambassador for her breed. Her entire neighborhood loves her (the mailman included) and Susan has lost count of the number of people she's converted from the "I hate pit bulls" point of view. Monkey has a whole bunch of dog friends as well!

Bula

Bula, a 2.5 year old Welsh Corgi mix, was rescued from the East Valley Animal Care Center in April, 2007. He was turned in as a stray, and had been there for eleven days before his new owner, Emily, brought him home. The day he was picked up, he looked extremely sad and lonely... but things have definitely changed since then! Now, he's full of energy, spoiled by dog cookies/long walks to the park every day, and has unlimited love from his owner. His name (Bula) means "hello" in Fijian (the language of Fiji), which seems especially appropriate seeing as he loves greeting everyone he meets and exploring everywhere he goes. Thanks, LA Animal Services!

Stanley

The Leong family adopted their dog Stanley on May 25, 2006 from the West Valley Shelter. He had been a stray, but was already neutered, so he probably did have a family at one point in time. From the moment he arrived at their home, Stanley has been the single greatest joy in their lives. He is the ultimate pampered pup and has a dog bed and toys in every room of the house. He loves to take long walks, jump over things, mark every tree he sees, be pet on the head, and chase cats and squirrels. The Leong's thank everyone that works at the shelters for what they do for these great animals. They LOVE their pup!

Maddie

Maddie (Madison), a sweet seven month old border collie mix was turned in as a stray to the Harbor Animal Care Center on May 4, 2007.  When the Hooper family from Northridge saw her sweet face on the Animal Services website, they decided to make the drive to San Pedro with fingers crossed to see if she was still available for adoption. It was a perfect match! The Hooper’s couldn’t wait to tell us that Maddie is without a doubt the best dog they have ever had.  No bad habits to break, a very sweet temperament and amenable to training. “She is just great! Thank you for saving her, and making her available.”   Animal Services wants to thank the Hoopers for giving Maddie a loving home!

On Wednesday April 5th 2007, a cat by the name of Lucky decided to leave the comfort of his loving home and ventured in to a neighbors yard. After enjoying his little adventure Lucky decided to take a cat nap under a hood of the neighbors car thinking the warm engine was the puuurfect place to snooze for the night. Little did Lucky know that he was about to go for the ride of his life “literally”.

The next morning, the neighbor got in her car and headed to LAX to pick up her boyfriend. The couple noticed that something was not right with the vehicle and the freeway and pulled in to a nearby gas station. When they popped the hood, out jumped Lucky. Worried for the welfare of the cat, the couple called California Highway Patrol. Upon arriving at the scene, Officer Jennings tried to comfort a very frightened Lucky until an Officer from LA Animal Services, West Los Angeles Division arrived. Officer Jennings made it clear to everyone on the scene that he wanted to adopt Lucky once he became available.

Lucky was taken to the West LA Animal Care Center where the medical staff decided that because of the severe 3rd degree burns that covered his head and legs he needed immediate treatment from a private veterinarian. After returning to the Care Center, Lucky waited to be reunited with his family. Officer Jennings’ family visited Lucky at the often and was excited when they were finally able to adopt Lucky and bring him home.

This would normally be the end of this story, but something told Officer Jennings that he should drive past the neighborhood where the cat went missing, just to see if anybody had put up flyers for a missing cat. Much to his surprise, Lucky’s picture littered every corner of the intersection with the words “Missing Cat”. Although disappointed, Officer Jennings knew the right thing to do was to return Lucky. After making contact with the family to let them know that he had adopted their cat from the West LA Care Center, Officer Jennings personally delivered Lucky back to his rightful owners. It was clear that the family was elated that their beloved cat had been returned. Lucky now spends his days with his family and two other kitty friends, thanks to his hero Officer Jennings.

Lily is a beautiful 2 year old calico kitty with boundless energy and the skills of an acrobat. She was rescued from the West Valley Animal Care Center by Kitten Rescue and found the perfect home with April who was looking for a companion for her 10 month old kitten, Milo. After a short adjustment period, Lily and Milo now spend many happy hours playing, running and chasing each other. Milo loves playing with Lily so much that April sometimes has to take him out of the room for a break so Lily can catch her breath!

Mandy had been at South Los Angeles Care Center since February 16th. She was impounded with a possible owner Mandy BUT NO ONE CAME FOR HER. SHE was chosen to go to the Best Friends event FOR ADOPTION but unfortunately, Mandy was not able to go to the event.

We were convinced people just needed to see her beautiful golden eyes, and they would fall in love and adopt her!

Mandy was then on the New Hope list and we are happy to report that Mandy was rescued Monday April 2nd by Thumping Tails Animal Rescue.

Look how happy she is with her new owner!

Billy the lovable American Staffordshire Terrier was picked up by an LAAS officer when they were called to an apartment building that was flooding. It seems that Billy was abandoned in an empty, flooded apartment with no food or water. Billy was eating the carpet in order to survive! He was so skinny that his head was larger then his entire body, just skin and bones.

Billy was rushed to the emergency room where rocks were removed from inside him. He has been held as evidence for the past 6 weeks and immediately adopted by a rescue group upon release.

Here is a picture of Billy after gaining weight and recovering from his traumatic experience.

Rocky

Here's Rocky, the 2 yr. old rottie dumped by his owner with testicular cancer, unable to even have surgery until the anemia from the fleas was brought under control. Take a look; this sweetheart (and he truly is) is completely well, and we just placed him with a new family who adores him. This is a quote from our transporter's e-mail: These people are SO incredible and they love each other from first sight! Rocky is SOOOOO HAPPY!

This is a photo of Mama Chow and her new family in Redding.  We can't call her Mama Chow forever, so we're calling her "Babs".

For those of you who didn't follow her story, Babs came in as a stray to South Los Angeles Care Center and a few days later, gave birth.  All her babies died and she was grieving her loss.  We heard of her sad story and brought her here to Northern California where we had been bottle-feeding 7 puppies that came from a  Sacramento Valley shelter. 

Babs was introduced to her prospective new family and dove right into motherhood again.  The babies are happily nursing (while also being supplemented) and now have a loving fur mom!

Babs will be needing entropian surgery as soon as she is finished with her little family, but for now, she is happily devoting herself to motherhood

Satina, a beautiful rabbit from the North Central Animal Care Center, was recently featured on the cover of Vogue with Renée Zellweger. Renée Zellweger was promoting her new film, Miss Potter, about the author Beatrix Potter, and Satina plays her bunny muse. Congratulations Satina, star bunny!

Read the article here:

http://www.style.com/vogue/feature/012307/index.html

Photos by Mario Testino.