Voice for the Voiceless
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RESCUERS, rescue supporters, and volunteers do not walk on water. We don't wear capes and tights or leap tall buildings. We aren't better than anyone else, but we do pursue a cause that we believe makes us better than we were before we started. We make mistakes; we feel we can't do enough; we go broke; we have too many dogs at home; we rant out of frustration; we lose our tempers and get snappy; we have to reject people sometimes for the good of a dog. We are not always likeable. What we do is draining, emotionally, financially, and physically. Please bear with us and forgive us our flaws, because we are doing work that's bigger than we are. -Author Unknown
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http://www.laanimalservices.com Tues-Sat 8am-5pm Sun 11am-5pm Monday & Holidays: Closed
* East Valley 818-756-9323 14409 Vanowen St, Van Nuys CA 91405
* Harbor 310-548-2632 / 213-485-8789 or [email protected] 957 N. Gaffey Street, San Pedro 90731
* North Central 213-847-2440 or 213-485-5767 3201 Lacy St. Los Angeles 90031
* South Central 213-485-0117 or -0119 1850 W. 60th St. Los Angeles 90047
* West LA 310 207-3156 / 310-207-3266 11361 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles 90064
* West Valley 818-756-9325/6 20655 Plummer Street Chatsworth 91311
* East Valley 818-756-9323 14409 Vanowen St, Van Nuys CA 91405
* Harbor 310-548-2632 / 213-485-8789 or [email protected] 957 N. Gaffey Street, San Pedro 90731
* North Central 213-847-2440 or 213-485-5767 3201 Lacy St. Los Angeles 90031
* South Central 213-485-0117 or -0119 1850 W. 60th St. Los Angeles 90047
* West LA 310 207-3156 / 310-207-3266 11361 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles 90064
* West Valley 818-756-9325/6 20655 Plummer Street Chatsworth 91311
IF NOT ME, WHO?
The "collages" below are screen grabs I've put together from videos that volunteers make to network shelter dogs. Standard shelter photos show a dog at it's very worst, so sad and stark the impulse is to find a tissue, move on to something happy, forget that heartache image. A photograph can be the one and only thing a dog has to save his life but a 'mug shot' is usually far, far, far from what the dog really looks like. Networking, alerts to get the word out, depends on information as well as pictures so video is a magical tool to 'tempt' a rescue to say yes or make someone come to the cage and take a second look. If I can up the odds of staying alive by adding a graphic that gives a sense of the dog, that's what I'm gonna do, as often as I can, for as many as I can.
The "collages" below are screen grabs I've put together from videos that volunteers make to network shelter dogs. Standard shelter photos show a dog at it's very worst, so sad and stark the impulse is to find a tissue, move on to something happy, forget that heartache image. A photograph can be the one and only thing a dog has to save his life but a 'mug shot' is usually far, far, far from what the dog really looks like. Networking, alerts to get the word out, depends on information as well as pictures so video is a magical tool to 'tempt' a rescue to say yes or make someone come to the cage and take a second look. If I can up the odds of staying alive by adding a graphic that gives a sense of the dog, that's what I'm gonna do, as often as I can, for as many as I can.
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MY HEROES
So to hell with media magnets like the Kardashians, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and a slew of "celebs" grabbing at the spotlight day after day.
I know a young woman named Allie, she'd drive a couple hours one way to a High Kill shelter and sit with dogs that were going down that day. I found this out when i asked why her knees were sore - from kneeling, being low to the ground, for hours. I wanna see news segments, a series episode, talk show appearances featuring someone like Allie and so many of the nameless who struggle for decency for the dying. Show mercy to the doomed. Women who walk the cages and spoon out compassion from a tin can. Andrea writes endless story-like pleas for South Central innocents and Katya strolls rows of kennels to find the right dog for someone who can't go in and face what she does. Paula sends out pix and asks for another round of networking for West Valley hopefuls. Chela craddles the medical pups, gets video and writes moving words hoping to find rescue, Carol & Jennie type up endless dog descriptions and beg for transport donations for little off-the-map Wasco, Delano & McFarland.
Give me two minutes and I'll give you ten more names. Even a few guys go into cages to give their heart and soul. These unknowns are truly inspirational. You won't find them clamoring for credit, they are self-effacing, modest and brave. This is who America should celebrate. Who needs the empty and vacuous, the materialistic and unbridled ambition of egomaniacs screaming for more.
Move over Lindsay Lohan, put these dedicated volunteers on tv screens across this country. Against all odds, they fight.
So to hell with media magnets like the Kardashians, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and a slew of "celebs" grabbing at the spotlight day after day.
I know a young woman named Allie, she'd drive a couple hours one way to a High Kill shelter and sit with dogs that were going down that day. I found this out when i asked why her knees were sore - from kneeling, being low to the ground, for hours. I wanna see news segments, a series episode, talk show appearances featuring someone like Allie and so many of the nameless who struggle for decency for the dying. Show mercy to the doomed. Women who walk the cages and spoon out compassion from a tin can. Andrea writes endless story-like pleas for South Central innocents and Katya strolls rows of kennels to find the right dog for someone who can't go in and face what she does. Paula sends out pix and asks for another round of networking for West Valley hopefuls. Chela craddles the medical pups, gets video and writes moving words hoping to find rescue, Carol & Jennie type up endless dog descriptions and beg for transport donations for little off-the-map Wasco, Delano & McFarland.
Give me two minutes and I'll give you ten more names. Even a few guys go into cages to give their heart and soul. These unknowns are truly inspirational. You won't find them clamoring for credit, they are self-effacing, modest and brave. This is who America should celebrate. Who needs the empty and vacuous, the materialistic and unbridled ambition of egomaniacs screaming for more.
Move over Lindsay Lohan, put these dedicated volunteers on tv screens across this country. Against all odds, they fight.
photo: Sylvia Elzafon
"In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete,
gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained,
living by voices we shall never hear." - Henry Beston
gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained,
living by voices we shall never hear." - Henry Beston