Animal Welfare United States Project #10901

Los Angeles Pup My Ride

by Best Friends Animal Society

Project Report | Dec 26, 2013
Pup My Ride transports 10,000th pup

By Michelle Sathe | PR Specialist

Best Friends Animal Society–Los Angeles celebrates major milestone.

November 1, 2013

By Michelle Sathe

Bart didn't stand out much at the North Central Shelter in Los Angeles, where he was just one of dozens of small, scruffy dogs hoping to get adopted. Many don't leave the shelter alive, but Bart was one of the lucky ones.

On October 3, Bart rolled away on the Pup My Ride van to Greenhill Humane Society in Eugene, Oregon, making him the 10,000th pet transported by Best Friends Animal Society-Los Angeles to an adoption rescue partner across the country.

Road trips that save lives

Launched in August 2007, Best Friends' Pup My Ride program has greatly reduced the number of healthy and treatable companion animals killed in overcrowded Los Angeles shelters by partnering with lifesaving shelters, such as Greenhill Humane Society.

Bart, a three-pound black cairn terrier mix, is typical of the dogs saved by Pup My Ride. "Most Pup My Ride dogs are under 25 pounds and six years of age, with no medical or behavioral issues," says Robin Harmon, Pup My Ride coordinator. "These are most commonly Chihuahuas, all kinds of terrier mixes and poodles, but we also get a surprising number of purebreds, too."

According to Robin, the Northeast and Northwest regions of the country don't have many small dogs available through shelters and rescues, unlike California where there is a much larger supply than there is demand. Pup My Ride offers residents in these states a humane alternative to buying such dogs from pet stores or breeders.

Welcoming the pups with open arms

At Greenhill Humane Society, Bart was welcomed with open arms after the 850-mile journey. "We knew he was special as soon as we saw him. Some dogs can be shy or nervous after such a long ride, but Bart literally jumped into our arms and started his happy wiggle dance," says Sasha Elliott, communications and events manager of Greenhill Humane Society.

Pup My Ride transport specialist Gayle Alexander, who logs approximately 9,000 miles a month, says the receiving shelters are as excited as the dogs, no matter what time they arrive. "I give kudos to the shelter staff and volunteers who greet the new arrivals late at night and early in the morning, always ready for the kisses they receive," she says. "The happy barks and wagging tails always make my day."

Gayle, like Robin, has been with Pup My Ride since the program began. She started as a volunteer and became an official Best Friends employee in 2010. "I'm in awe of Pup My Ride and the lives it's saved. The number 10,000 is unbelievable," Gayle says. "I'm also grateful for all the help and support provided by our amazing volunteers. We just couldn't do it without them."

Lifesaving program

So far, in 2013 alone, Pup My Ride has transported 1,224 dogs and 156 cats from Los Angeles Animal Services and plays a key role in helping advance the NKLA (No-Kill Los Angeles) initiative, led by Best Friends Animal Society and a coalition of more than 60 Los Angeles animal welfare organizations.

"Our goal is to turn L.A. into NKLA by 2017, and we couldn't do it without programs such as Pup My Ride," says Marc Peralta, executive director of Best Friends Animal Society-Los Angeles and NKLA. "By working together, our staff and the tremendously dedicated volunteers, as well as the receiving shelters that participate in Pup My Ride, are helping us to Save Them All."

Home sweet home

As for Bart, he was adopted on October 18 by Julie Baumler of Eugene and renamed Ivan the Terrier. Julie is a member of Dog Scouts of America, and Ivan is already enrolled as a cadet scout. When he graduates, the achievement will be similar to a Canine Good Citizen certification.

"Ivan seemed like he would be fun and want to learn new things," Julie says. "I think it's cool that he was the 10,000th dog on Pup My Ride, but, more importantly, that all these dogs are going to no-kill shelters and getting homes."

For more information on Best Friends' lifesaving programs in Los Angeles, visit www.bestfriends.org/la or www.nkla.org.

Photos courtesy of Pup My Ride

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Oct 9, 2013
L.A.'s new volunteer intake team

By Denise LeBeau | News and Outreach Writer/Editor

Volunteers empowered to help rehome over 1,500 animals per year

September 4, 2013

By Denise LeBeau

It's no secret that volunteers help maximize the ability to save animals' lives and increase their chance of leaving shelters and rescue groups to find new homes. Whether it's by enhancing the sociability of pets-in-waiting or networking them online across social media platforms, volunteers play an ever-expanding role in getting animals to safe haven. So it's no wonder that Best Friends has found a way to use volunteers in a new and exciting capacity. Today, they're a vital part of the intake team in Los Angeles.

"As part of the NKLA (No-Kill Los Angeles) initiative, we work with the city shelters to move animals into our facility to find them adoptive homes," says Mike Harmon, manager of the Best Friends Animal Society Pet Adoption Center in L.A. "We have found that the mainstay volunteers of the city shelters are smart, and they really know the animals. We realized that we could be maximizing our lifesaving capabilities by empowering them to determine which animals should come to us. That can shorten the animal's stay at the shelter and free up space for them to take in someone else."

As a result, each of Los Angeles' six city shelters has a team of specially trained volunteers who are authorized to pull animals from the shelter on behalf of Best Friends. The intake volunteers are given guidelines on how to perform evaluations and what types of pets to look for, and they are able to use their judgment to decide who gets sent to the pet adoption center in Mission Hills. These volunteers ultimately pull and transport around 30 animals per week. Depending on the availability of space, up to 80 animals per week can arrive at Mission Hills, from intake volunteers and from our NKLA Coalition partners.

Helping get animals out

At the North Central Shelter, Kerry Armstrong has been a volunteer at the city shelter for over a year, and she relishes her autonomy to help get animals out. "It's a huge relief to the shelter. We're helping to quickly open up kennel space, which gives the other animals there more time to find a possible adopter or rescue group," says Kerry.

Even before she officially became part of Best Friends' intake team, Kerry had been recommending dogs to Mike regarding which ones might be good candidates to go to the Best Friends adoption center, as well as writing their adoption profiles and posting them to the shelter's Facebook page. While each dog she pulls is special, she says she always has her eyes peeled for the "black Staffie mixes - those dogs who are wonderful companion animals, but are often overlooked."

Katie Keane, who is also part of the intake team based out of the North Central Shelter, and volunteers in transporting the animals, says, "Knowing the animals are going to Best Friends means that even if they're not adopted quickly, their quality of life will be great. Between play groups and training sessions and the legions of volunteers who come in to socialize the animals, it's a great life until they find their forever home."

To find out more about Best Friends' work in Los Angeles, visit bestfriends.org/la.

For volunteer opportunities, click here.

Photos courtesy of Best Friends staff

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Jul 23, 2013
Odd couple is home again

By Best Friends staff | staff

Best canine buddies travel hundreds of miles together to find love.

June 28, 2013

By Best Friends staff

You can't help but fall for Toby and Chula. Toby is an extra-large shepherd and Great Dane-type dog with gigantic ears that flop together on top of his head like a teepee. His best friend, Chula, is a little Chihuahua mix with short, stubby legs and huge, round bat ears that flop outwards in the same way that Toby's flop together. It would be tempting to assume that the pair would be easy to find a home for, but it wasn't the case. But it turns out that a change in venue - a big, faraway change - was just the ticket.

A bumpy road

Toby and Chula were surrendered to a Los Angeles city shelter together. Even though they were both incredibly sweet, mellow and absolutely adorable, no one seemed to want them. So the two sat at the shelter. And sat. And waited. Candi Crawford, Los Angeles outreach manager at Best Friends, says that, unfortunately, it doesn't come as a surprise to her that Toby and Chula weren't quickly snapped up at the shelter. She explains, "The shelters here in L.A. are full of both shepherd and Chihuahua mixes, so finding someone who wants a senior shepherd and Chihuahua together here is tough." Toby is estimated to be nine years old, while Chula is approximately 12. Most adopters gravitate towards young dogs and puppies. And it was important to shelter staff that the two be adopted together because they were so close. But those facts, coupled with their breeds, made them a tough sell.

Moving on

When space for two senior dogs opened up at the Best Friends Pet Adoption and Spay/Neuter Center in L.A., Toby and Chula were transferred so they could try their luck in a new place. And they were just in time for the NKLA Adoption Weekend, a three-day adoption event at the La Brea Tar Pits, where hundreds of people would see them and hopefully fall in love and take the pair home.

The two were a big hit at the event. They went on stage with actor Barrett Foa ("NCIS: Los Angeles"). They showed off their legendary ears, and they slept in a pile, with Chula nestling himself onto Toby's back. Barkbox, a vendor at the event, offered a lifetime supply of toys and treats if the two were adopted that weekend. But no one came forward. When the event was over, the dogs went back to the adoption center.

A happy ending at last

There wasn't much time to be sad about the fact that no one picked them because just a few days later, someone did. They weren't home quite yet, but they hitched a ride north with other dogs from the adoption center to Salt Lake City on Pup My Ride, where they were delivered to Salt Lake County Animal Services. They planned to attend Best Friends-Utah's Spring Super Adoption, where they would be featured dogs.

The two hadn't lost hope; they did the same cute things they'd done at the Los Angeles event. This time, it worked. They were adopted, together, within hours on the first day of the event. Candi credits the move to another community: "Here (in L.A.) they looked like so many other homeless dogs in the shelter system. In Salt Lake City, they were unique." But in both places, they were loved. And when they went home, there were cheers from the dogs' fans in both Los Angeles and Salt Lake City from everyone who met them and was rooting for them to finally go home.

Check out all the animals looking for homes at the Best Friends Pet Adoption and Spay/Neuter Center.

Photos by Sarah Ause-Kichas

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