Hero's story broke me and I vowed to do everything in my power to give him a new one...

On the 6 year anniversary of rescuing one of my soul dogs - who just recently passed, I was sent a post about 2 dogs at the Baldwin Park Animal Shelter in Los Angeles. Their owner was deported and these 2 beautiful seniors were abandoned at the shelter on Christmas day. One, Hero, was IDENTICAL to my boy Chance that had passed. As if that wasn't heartbreaking enough, they were separated due to a distemper outbreak and all dogs had to be quarantined individually with zero interaction with any staff and not allowed to leave their kennels. I cried myself to sleep that night with a plan to help network them to be able to get them out and keep them together. Receiving his daily photos and videos broke me and brought me back to when I first saw my boy's post 6 years ago. Between that and speaking to shelter volunteers daily, it was clear he was a loving, sensitive boy and was breaking down mentally and emotionally.

For 28 days Hero sat alone 24 hours a day, deteriorating after losing his humans, being separated from his animal companion, catching an upper respiratory and eye infection, then someone from the public came and adopted his sister and Hero was left behind. I was in no place physically or financially to take on another dog - especially one I had never met as I now live in Southern Oregon, but in that moment I knew he was brought to me for a reason and I was supposed to help him.

It took a village and a week of relentless coordination and planning, and his responsible rescue plan came together. My amazing friends over at Mutt Scouts assisted with pulling him from the shelter on January 22nd and coordinating getting him seen by one of their vets directly from the shelter. Another amazing friend with the incredible foundation Tazzy Fund stepped in to cover his first vet visit - Exam, Bloodwork, Fecal, addressing his skin dermatitis and clearing him medically to be able to safely be integrated into a home with other dogs. And another incredibly talented friend and trainer, Soyoung, who operates a boarding and training business (and ALWAYS has a full house) happened to have a space open and he went straight to her home after the vet.

This is where we need your help and the reason for our fundraiser - Hero is currently decompressing at Soyoungs and he will begin assessments and training with her. I've committed to a timeframe with her and supporting his personal needs during that time that will cost me a minimum of $3500. This is currently the only responsible option due to not knowing anything about his sociability - possible behaviors and his size/breed, and him being my personal liability with my inability to get involved physically until late February due to logistics and work travel. This will also set him up for success and for me to know if he could be possibly be integrated safely with my pack.

He will continue to be my financial responsibility beyond that point and he's a large white senior boy with skin conditions who will require additional medical which I will be fully covering for the forseeable future (and possibly the rest of his life) as well as will have substantial costs associated for travel and extended stays to integrate. Any help with this initial need for him, I am incredibly grateful for and every penny raised here will go to the above.

I will continue to share photos, receipts and updates and what your support directly is doing for this beautiful, deserving guy. And THANK YOU to Ren and the rest of the amazing volunteers and staff at Baldwin Park Shelter who advocated for them - got them seen, and gave Hero (and so many dogs every day) whatever you could to make their day even a little brighter while your hearts break for them.

Thank you so much,

Naia (& Hero!)