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The Downtown Dog Rescue Kennel Project

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The building currently housing our rescue dogs is being sold and we need to raise $370,000 towards the purchase a new building. Two major animal advocates are generously supporting our new kennel endeavor. The ASPCA has contributed $60,000 and Best Friends Animal Society has contributed $100,000. Please help us to reach our goal. Time is of the essence!

We need to outright own a building, so these dogs are guaranteed a place to stay while we prepare them for adoption as family pets.

We've found a property for sale in South Gate, with an existing structure that can be easily modified to suit our needs. It's not a brand new, modern building, but with the right amount of work, it is the answer to our prayers.

I've put my own personal home up as collateral, which is the most terrifying thing I've ever done in my life, but I believe with all of my heart and soul it's the right thing to do.

Our goal is to pay cash for the property so that we can continue to run our program in under served communities with resources and services to prevent pets from entering the shelter system. If we have to carry a mortgage, continuing to do what we do is going to be very challenging.

If we can pay cash and outright own this larger building, not only will we be able to rescue additional dogs, but it will also allow us to give back through our shelter intervention program, covering needs that current grants may not meet.

We see a lot of families going through financial challenges. Loss of a job, home or other uncontrollable life event often leading to the family feeling as if they have no alternative but to surrender their pet to a shelter. Sometimes if a pet's need can be solved by vet care, training, food, etc., it's the difference between the animal entering the shelter or being able to stay with their family.

(CLICK LINK FOR DETAILS/L.A. TIMES ARTICLE ON SHELTER INTERVENTION PROGRAM HERE: http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/11/local/la-me-0511-banks-animalshelter-20130511 )

We need your help. No donation is too small. If you can't participate financially, please post/share this link with your friends, family and any organization/Facebook page you can think of.
Your donation or social media share helps us rescue shelter dogs in Los Angeles and continue our shelter intervention program.


With many thanks,

Lori Weise
Founder, Downtown Dog Rescue
http://www.downtowndogrescue.org/

About Downtown Dog Rescue.
We have been recognized for our work by the Department of Animal Services for the City of LA, Best Friends and Humane Society of the United States. We are a 12 year old, legitimate 501c3 Charity and an all volunteer organization that spends over 90% of our funding on the animals.

We have provided over 10,000 free spay/neuter surgeries in some of the poorest areas in the Greater Los Angeles. We have recently expanded our South LA Shelter Intervention Program to full time, preventing more than 1,000 pets from entering the shelter since April of 2013.

About the property.
The property is located South Gate, in the heart of a working class community that struggles with over population of pets - especially pit bulls. The Animal Control agency, SEACCA has given us their full support.

About the expanded DDR programs for the new kennel.
The new Downtown Dog Rescue kennel will work towards generating income for rescue/shelter intervention by offering training and doggy day care/boarding.

We are extremely adept at training and providing the love, care and structure required for happy, well adjusted dogs. We'll offer these services to the general public, and of course to our DDR adopters.

This larger kennel property and revenue generated from the new programs will allow us to continue to take dogs that are often overlooked at the shelter. This includes dogs with medical/behavioral issues and senior dogs, and more of the dogs on the verge of being surrendered to the South LA shelter.

Since DDR will outright own the property, there is a solid foundation for all of the dogs entering our program. This means there will be no time limit set for any dog based on funding.

All of our dogs that live at the kennel play twice a day every day, for several hours.
Beyond traditional training/doggy day care and boarding, we plan on hosting seminars on how to build and maintain play groups with rescue dogs, teaching more rescue and shelter volunteers how to increase adoptions by promoting play.

Why play behavior = more adoptions.
We are a unique rescue that can take dogs that often other rescues with foster homes or traditional boarding cannot take because we have a pack of dogs that teach the dogs in our program how to play. Every dog is "put to work" and has a "job" and a purpose until they find their forever home. No dog sits in a run waiting for the day they are adopted.

Through play, dogs that come to our program with dog aggression, fear, lack of socialization with people and/or dogs, build confidence and gain social skills that enable them to become more adoptable.

There will be multiple play yards for various types of dogs from small dogs to large breed dogs, to senior dogs.
At the present time, our kennel is structured so that we can't take in dogs under 35 lbs due to safety concerns. With just under 8300' feet of property, the new DDR kennel will have special runs and a play area for small dogs and senior dogs that need more quiet time. We'll also be creating a play area with agility equipment.

Please click the donate button to make a profound difference in a dog's life.
Thank you.

Lori Weise
Founder, Downtown Dog Rescue
http://www.downtowndogrescue.org/

Donations 

  • HSIU-FENG HUANG
    • $10 
    • 10 yrs
  • anonymous
    • $55,125 (Offline)
    • 11 yrs

Organiser

Lori Weise
Organiser
Pasadena, CA

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