Animal Posse Community Compassion: The Washington Humane Society's Impact - Animal Posse

Episode 19

Community Compassion: The Washington Humane Society's Impact

Published on: 6th June, 2025

We sit down with Tiffany Smith from the Washington Humane Society in Washington Parish, Louisiana, to explore the vital services they provide.

Join us as Tiffany shares an inside look at the challenges and triumphs of animal rescue, focusing on their crucial spay/neuter initiatives, vaccination programs, and other essential efforts that are making a tangible difference in the lives of animals and residents across Washington Parish. Discover the compassion and commitment that drives this dedicated team as they work to improve animal health and control pet overpopulation.

Tune in to learn more about the Washington Humane Society and how you can support their life-saving mission!

#AnimalWelfare


#SpayAndNeuter


#PetHealth


#CommunityCare

Transcript
Dixie:

Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the

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people and rescues making a

difference in the lives of animals.

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Hi, Tiffany, . How are you?

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Tiffany: I'm good.

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Dixie: Thank you so much for

coming on the show to talk about

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The Washington Humane Society.

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Could you introduce yourself and your

role with the Washington Humane Society?

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Yes.

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Tiffany Smith and I am the Vice President

of the humane Society, Washington.

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And how did you first get

involved in animal rescue?

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Tiffany: As a kid I always loved

animals and wanted to be a vet but

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never could get past the point of

being able to put 'em down if they're

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injured or even, sick and stuff.

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And so we rescued, growing

up with my family,.

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And then, probably a

little over 10 years now.

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I met up with Magnolia Chapter back

then 'cause we were a sister facility

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off of the humane side of Louisiana.

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Met up with them and just

started volunteering my time

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and just went from there.

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Dixie: Were you involved in the formation

of the Washington Humane Society?

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Tiffany: No, they had formed

probably a couple years before

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I started volunteering there.

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Dixie: And what is your mission

and what areas do you serve?

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Tiffany: We serve mostly

Washington Parish.

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But we do help outside

of our parish as well.

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Our goal now we to have fosters and

animals up for adoption and so forth.

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But as time goes on, we lose fosters and

we don't have that ability really to.

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hold onto foster.

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So what we do more now is the spay,

neutering program trap cats to get

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feral cats fixed and released back

to where they were and to help the

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public just, educate the public

on the importance of spay neuter.

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The importance of adopting.

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We work with other facilities and other

rescue groups to try to help move animals

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from the south up north where they

have a much successful adoption rate.

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We just try to help where we can, when

we can and try to help the community

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and how we can with with animal needs.

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Dixie: And how long has the

Washington Humane Society been

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operating in Washington Parish?

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Tiffany: I've been helping them

for about 15 years and they

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started before I, came aboard.

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So I would say probably

20 years, maybe longer.

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Dixie: And the spay neuter

program that you have, can you

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explain what that program is?

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Is it different from other areas?

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Tiffany: I guess it just

depends on your price.

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So we have an amazing vet in her

staff out of Mississippi, and we

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go to Crossroads, Mississippi.

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They've been doing spay neuter forever.

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And as time goes on,

prices increase, of course.

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For $85 you can get a female or

male fixed no matter the size.

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And you get rabies shot and now we do

every animal that comes in, whether it's

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a cat or dog, they get microchips too.

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So that's free of charge.

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Same with cats.

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Cats come in.

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We usually have, vouchers for feral cats.

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We have trappers that'll go out and set

traps the night before, bring the cats in

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the next day, and then wherever they're

tracking that, they'll hold onto the cats

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for a few days afterwards to make sure,

the incisions and stuff are doing good.

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So we have it once a month and Kay,

which is also one of the board members,

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she helps out with the Washington.

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Parish shelter.

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So she does spay / neuter with them too.

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We have everybody call, whoever wants to

come in to call first come, first serve

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because we only could do so many a time.

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And we have a house that's

been transformed into a

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vet clinic, so to speak.

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And, parents, so the animals or

whatever would drop off their babies

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fill out paperwork, drop 'em off.

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We spend the entire day

fixing cats and dogs.

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It could be anywhere up

to 60 cats and 30 dogs.

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We've done a few more.

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We've done a few less in the a

day, and it's our vet staff and

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then we have volunteers that come

and it's a well oiled machine.

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We have people in recovery, we

have people doing paperwork, we.

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The owners of the

animals, if they're ready.

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Then we have, like I said, our vet staff

and her staff, so it's just a bunch of.

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volunteers and our vet that have

everybody get together once a

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month, usually on a Saturday and

do the spay neuter for low cost.

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Because you take an animal to the vet

nowadays especially female, you're

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gonna pay 150, 200 up to get them fixed.

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And here it's very low cost for them.

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, Sometimes we do get

grants to where we can fix

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say 30 dogs at one day.

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Last one we had, it was a grant and we

were able to fix all these cats and dogs.

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I think we had 50 cats and 21 dogs that

all were fixed for free through the grant.

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So I don't know if it's much

different than anybody else's.

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I think price wise we're on

the cheap end, but I know that

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also other rescues do cheap.

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They neuter at times as well.

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Dixie: Have you noticed any kind of

decrease in the feral cat population since

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you've started this spay neuter program?

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Tiffany: I think so, yes.

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We do a lot of areas like we're

building, grocery stores or fast

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food restaurants where, you have all

of 'em that are by the trash cans.

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And then there are certain

areas that we work on.

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And I think definitely the

population has decreased.

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I do believe that we have made a huge

dent in the feral population one cat

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can produce five kittens, and then those

kittens can produce and so on the forth.

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So I definitely think that we've reduced

the the amount of feral animals out there.

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For sure.

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Dixie: As a board member, what

are your duties or what is like a

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typical day or a typical week like?

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Tiffany: So we're all volunteer based we

have changed so much over the past few

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years from when we used to have fosters.

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I was the foster coordinator, so

my job would be to go out, find

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fosters, and then have those fosters.

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Foster, whatever animal they wanted

to, I would never say, oh, you have to

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take this dog or that dog or whatever.

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I would be like, okay, what

is your home life like?

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What do you have at home?

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And then, okay, this is what we

have available that needs fostering.

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Once they take their.

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Dog or cat, whichever it was I would

go and make sure they had everything

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they needed as far as vetting, wormer

vaccines, get 'em set up for spay neuter,

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and then we'd have adoption events and

I would help do that as well and get

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the fosters to bring their dogs there.

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Over the course of the past few years

we, like I said, we've gotten out of

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the fostering, it's a lot of work.

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It really is a lot of work, and it's been,

Kay, Beth and I mostly us that do most

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of the, groundwork with that and we had

a lot of great volunteers along the way,

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but everybody gets busy in life and we now

just, what I do is spay / neuter clinic.

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If we have something

afterwards and animals.

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lick themselves open or something.

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They would send me out or

Beth depends on who's closer.

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And Beth usually does most of our

recovery, but I do go out occasionally.

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I also go out and my daughter

and I, we will go rescue animals.

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So I also do, post on, social

media, all three do that.

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But we post on social media

animals in need owners that need

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help with their animals res other

rescues, other shelters as well.

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Dixie: Do you have animals in your

care that would be put up for adoption?

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Tiffany: Not at this present time, no.

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We, like I said, we got away

from the fostering because.

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there was those few fosters that

we had that were tremendous.

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Their lives got busy and they couldn't

dedicate the time, which is understandable

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to fostering an animal and bringing 'em

to, adoption events and when you have the

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same people doing things over and over

again, you spread yourself really thin.

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And because we're such a small

humane society and the demand

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was so high, we couldn't keep up.

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So we had to turn our

endeavors to something else.

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And that would be educating the public.

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That would be rescue, working with

other rescues that do transports.

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Working with the spay neuter programs,

getting grants to help the community

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spay and neuter their animals, working

with local shelters to get them

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on transports and to get the, the

rural shelters get the animals out.

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So that's been our main

focus in the past few years.

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Dixie: I understand that, so you

switch more to a preventative type

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role rather than dealing with the

animals that were currently there.

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And I do think that's

where you have to go.

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You have to go to the source, which is

spay and neuter, because then when you do

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that, then you don't have as many animals

out there that are actually needing homes.

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So you mentioned educational programs.

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Do you have any other types of

educational programs or can you explain

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what you do as outreach programs?

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Tiffany: So I know not so much in

the past year or so because we,

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like I said, we've all been busy

and health wise for all three of us.

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We've had a lot going on.

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But I would go to, schools with

an animal and talk to the kids

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like different grades and stuff,

not really young, those who could

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comprehend and understand a little bit.

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But talk to them about the importance

of spay neuter, the importance of

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getting your animals vaccinated.

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How to approach dogs if a dog's chasing

you, things like that to start young.

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Send brochures home and flyers home so

they can bring them to their parents

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to educate them about the importance

of vaccinations, the importance of

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heartworm medicine, the importance of

spay neuter, and how you can get , our

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information reaching out at a younger age.

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A lot of people grow up and

they're like we don't know.

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We didn't know about y'all.

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We didn't know it was this cheap.

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We caught our vet and it was hundreds

of dollars to get a dog fixed, or we've

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also offered vaccination clinics before

where, you can get vaccinations . We've

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offered rabies clinics before because by

law you have to have a rabies certificate

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and tag and shot for your animal.

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We've also offered

microchip, clinics before.

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So we've educated the public like that.

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As far as the importance of why you need

to spay neuter, why you need to vaccinate,

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why you need to, flea prevention and

heartworm prevention, what the importance

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of that is reaching out to younger kids

in hopes to start a generation where they

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grow up and see the importance and want to

do better than possibly what we have now.

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Dixie: There are a lot of rescue

groups out there that are foster based

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and even though they do encourage

spay neuter they do get overrun.

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Like you said, you only

have so many fosters.

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They can only take so many and you

have such a big influx of animals,

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so for small rescues that wanna get

started with something like you are

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doing with a spay neuter clinic,

what advice would you have to them on

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how they can get started with that?

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Tiffany: I would say partner up with

somebody who has been doing it or does

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it because we're all supposed to be out

there for the better of the animals.

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We all have our own ways of doing

things at times, but the end result,

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if you're out there for the animals,

then you want to help another rescue.

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You want to help your fellow rescuer

to educate them and to help them

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with, okay, this is how we did things.

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And then not saying that they

have to do it exactly how we do

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it or how someone else do it.

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They can take our lead or someone

else's lead and run with it.

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I try to go to someplace

that has this going on.

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A spay, neuter clinic, a regular

thing, low cost, see how it's done.

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You get donations, you get grants.

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Grants are a big thing.

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And then once you get your

feet wet it all falls in line.

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But I would definitely, shadow a

rescue group, if you're a small,

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especially a small rescue group,

shadow them and see how they do things.

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And not saying how we do things , is the

exact and the way that has to be done.

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'cause everybody has their

own way of doing things.

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But at least you would get the

concept of it, you'd get the gist,

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and from there you'd say, oh, okay,

we can do it like this instead.

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So I would definitely say try to shadow,

ask questions, and the rescuers that are

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out there for the animals and not for the

glory of what they do, they're gonna be

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the ones that are gonna wanna help you.

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They're because they see you wanna

help stop this overpopulation and you

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wanna help these neglected animals.

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And so we're on the same team because you

have those out there who aren't like that.

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They're out there for the glory

of look at me, type attitude.

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Dixie: I was actually gonna say in

the bigger cities, that goes on a lot.

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There is a lot of fighting

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Tiffany: Yes.

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Dixie: Between rescue groups.

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I don't understand it.

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'cause everybody has the same goal.

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Tiffany: Yes.

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I don't, and that's all I can

say is it's about a status thing.

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We did this much, we did that much.

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It's a, look what we

did, look what we did.

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You can say that all day long,

what is the quality of life of

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the animals that you have and that

you're, where you're sending 'em.

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If you doing your job as far as an animal

rescue or a shelter or whatever, then.

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Everything speaks for themselves.

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You're gonna have negative anywhere you

go with any rescue you have, someone's

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gonna say something negative about

a rescue unit is done to us all the

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time, but those who know us, those

know who , what we stand for and what

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we do for the public and what we have

done and what we'll continue to do.

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Know that.

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These are just other

people that are upset.

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Maybe we couldn't have helped them in

the timely manner that they wanted us

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to, because that's not how life is.

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We couldn't help some, we can't always

help people with their problem, and a lot

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of people wanna put their problem onto us.

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Big corporation, rescues.

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It's all about how much

money can we get in.

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And look at our numbers.

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And that's not always a big thing.

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It needs to be about the animal

and not about the recognition.

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Obviously you want your rescue to be

recognized, but it's a whole team thing.

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Anytime my daughter and I or or my kids

and I, we went on a rescue, it was never.

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Look what we did.

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It takes a team, and that's always

been our slogan is it takes a team.

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There's never one person.

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It's always multiple people

that make everything work for

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the better of the animals.

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Dixie: Absolutely.

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And that was the whole point

behind this podcast is I was hoping

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that this will actually bring

rescues together because it's time

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Tiffany: it needs

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to,

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Dixie: yeah.

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It's time for them to start

working together and put

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aside the glory like you said.

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Tiffany: Yes.

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And see I worked as ACO

in Bogalusa, a officer.

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And there's rescues, I didn't care

for some of the people that, volunteer

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with them or worked with them, but it's

not about my feelings towards those

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people, it's about my feelings towards

them wanting to help the animals that

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are in need that I had in my care and

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I might not like their personality.

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We might clash, but they're still

doing good for animals and helping.

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And as long as that's going on, I could

put any differences aside and work

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with somebody for the greater good

of abused, neglected animals, because

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there's such a high population of them.

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Dixie: I definitely agree with that,

and then I see that happening too,

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where rescues will fight over actual

volunteers because you might have one

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person that has this philosophy I'm

gonna help where I can, and it starts

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like a big feud between rescues.

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It's crazy sometimes, if you're in it for

the animals, just put that to the side.

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It doesn't matter.

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Tiffany: Yeah, if you're in it for the

animals, then it shouldn't matter If Nancy

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helps you and then goes across the street

and helps them and then goes down the road

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and helps , it shouldn't matter because

no matter what, it's still an animal

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in need, whether it's in your care or

whether it's with another rescue's care.

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It's still an animal in need and

that's what you have to look at.

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Some people are like, oh the

dog crossed over state lines.

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It's not our problem anymore.

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It's still an animal in need.

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It doesn't matter how many people you have

helping you, or if those people wanna go

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someplace else and help them because the

day that they can, you take the help you

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have, you take it, you be grateful for it.

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And then if they wanna help , somebody

else, another, agency or whatever, let

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them, because they could be like, oh, they

didn't have a problem that we helped them.

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Next time we're gonna come back

and bring five people with us.

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So you always wanna be happy for

your companion rescues because

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you all have to work together.

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And when you don't and you collide

and you fight, that's when it

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becomes about not the animal.

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And that's a lot of problems

with a lot of rescues.

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Dixie: Absolutely.

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You are in Washington Parish, so

Washington Parish is a smaller

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parish in the state and a lot

more like of a rural area.

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So how do you get your primary

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funding?

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Tiffany: Donations.

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We run off donations and grants

and we do fundraisers like crazy.

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We'll sell shirts.

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We do raffle tickets.

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We'll do half and half, where

you sell raffle tickets, and then

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whoever, we draw a number and whoever

gets it gets half the pot and we

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get the other half, adoption fees.

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Not like when we did have adoptions

our adoption fees weren't high at all.

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I think our adoptions were a hundred

dollars and we pay 85 for a spay neuter.

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So you're looking at $15.

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We, put in pocket that

put back into the rescue.

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And after you look at, all

vaccinations and stuff like

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that, you're not making anything.

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You don't make anything anyways

in rescue because it always goes

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whether.

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In the form of food or medical.

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We just have to hope for donations.

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We have regular people who, like,

when they pass, they'll give a

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donation to memory of we have to

have people to do fundraisers.

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And that's how we in grants

and that's how we survive.

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Dixie: Where do you have your raffles?

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Tiffany: So we do 'em online usually.

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Because we don't have a building.

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Washington Humane Society does not

have a building because we were foster

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based, so we've never had a building.

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So we would do 'em online.

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We would pre present everything online

and then we would do a live drawing

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and pick, just draw from whatever.

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And whoever won would win the prize and

we would meet them and do the prizes.

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, If they're in Bogalusa, we would

meet 'em in Bogalusa, in Franklinton,

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pine, any of those places.

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Dixie: With your spay neuter clinic,

you said that the Washington Humane

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Society does not have a building, but

you have a house that you use that

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was converted to a medical facility.

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Is that correct?

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Tiffany: Yes, it's our vets,

so it's not our building.

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. It's like an older house and

she purchased it herself.

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And it's in Mississippi and

we have our clinics there.

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But it's strictly for spay neuter.

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That's all it's for.

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Dixie: So I guess it wouldn't be

open to the public then unless you

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had an appointment for your events.

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Tiffany: Yeah.

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So unless we have a spay neuter

clinic, then, it's not open.

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And the spay neuter clinic's open to

public, obviously, but as far as just

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going there, no, it's just strictly for

spay neuter on those days that we have it.

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Dixie: And how many volunteers

total do y'all have?

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Tiffany: That varies.

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Now if we're talking about

clinic, we have day 1, 2, 3, 4.

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Up to at a clinic sometimes

we just have four.

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But volunteers overall, that's

hard to say because you have

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some people who volunteer once.

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You have some people who

volunteer regularly, I would

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have to say we probably have 10.

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maybe 15 that volunteer

regularly for things.

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The spay neuter whether it be

like every other spay and they

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come to, or every spay neuter.

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And then we have people who volunteer.

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Like when we had one a couple weeks

ago, they brought us sandwiches and

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pizza and drinks and snacks and a

cake to feed the, to feed us while

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we're there working from, seven 30 to

who knows, 5, 6, 8 o'clock at night.

361

:

It just depends on how long

it takes us to get done.

362

:

Dixie: What are some of the

challenges you have in recruiting

363

:

and retaining the volunteers?

364

:

Tiffany: I think that a lot of people

come in volunteering thinking I

365

:

was gonna get to play with puppies

or play with dogs and that's it.

366

:

I know when I worked at the shelter

and that was a lot, they didn't

367

:

realize that, volunteering could

also mean cleaning up behind a dog.

368

:

It could mean helping mow the grass.

369

:

It could mean helping give

vaccinations, holding 'em.

370

:

It could mean, sitting with a sick

dog, just one dog that may need a

371

:

little more extra time with someone

to, they're scared or something.

372

:

It could mean cleaning kennels

out cleaning the feed room out.

373

:

So I think sometimes volunteers

don't realize, they think, oh,

374

:

we're just gonna go have fun, play

with the dogs, and cats, don't get

375

:

me wrong, they need socialization.

376

:

That's very important for

the mentality of an animal.

377

:

But it's also hard,.

378

:

And I think that sometimes people don't

realize that and when they do realize

379

:

it, they don't wanna come back unless

it's something fun, which is great.

380

:

It's fine.

381

:

You still need those people too, but.

382

:

You also need those who are

willing to put in the hard work,

383

:

the sweat, the labor part as well.

384

:

And I think that sometimes people

don't realize how hard it is

385

:

until you get there to do it.

386

:

Dixie: Yeah.

387

:

You get to play with them, but you

have to clean up after 'em too yeah.

388

:

Then that is a job.

389

:

Definitely.

390

:

It's not something that's fun.

391

:

Tiffany: No, not all the time.

392

:

No.

393

:

Dixie: What are the barriers to

affordable veterinary care for

394

:

pet owners in Washington Parish,

and do you help bridge that gap?

395

:

Tiffany: So we help bridge it as far as

when we offer the spay neuter clinics,

396

:

the vaccination clinics, microchip clinics

and stuff like that, because it's very

397

:

low cost, like a microchip for $10.

398

:

You can't go to a vet and

get a microchip for $10.

399

:

You are looking at $45

at, to walk in at least.

400

:

And then, probably or more for the.

401

:

Whereas we would do clinics and say

we have a hundred chips where we could

402

:

do a hundred dogs or cats for $10

a pop, which is covering our costs

403

:

of the chip easily and helping the.

404

:

Public.

405

:

Same with vaccinations.

406

:

We buy 'em in bulk, we get 'em a little

cheaper, and so we can offer a vaccination

407

:

for $10 and get it done and do it right.

408

:

So people aren't scared to do it.

409

:

Or maybe they have an aggressive

dog and they just need help doing

410

:

it, , I think most vets not all but

most vets have gotten away from.

411

:

It's about the animal and not about money.

412

:

A lot of vets are not very personable.

413

:

They, just wanna rush you in, rush

you out, like doctors nowadays.

414

:

But I think that most vets have

started to do it's about a money thing.

415

:

Our vet is wonderful if she can

help you out or help anybody out.

416

:

With something over the counter or

whatever, she's gonna tell you she's

417

:

gonna let you, she's gonna help you

because her priority is the wellbeing

418

:

of the animal, not about the cost.

419

:

Now, she's not gonna sit and say, oh

yeah I'm give this to you for free.

420

:

Because she still has to cover her costs.

421

:

But she is by far.

422

:

And I've met a lot of vets, and

like I said, I'm not saying all

423

:

vets like this, but she is by

far one of the most compassionate

424

:

vets that I've ever worked with.

425

:

Just because it is about the

animal and it's not about the cost.

426

:

Of, she's not gonna run a hundred

tests, she's gonna say, okay.

427

:

So I think that's a problem with

vets nowadays it's more about money

428

:

than it's about the animal and

helping the human with the animal.

429

:

Dixie: For the vaccinations and the

microchip clinics, when you do those,

430

:

do you and your volunteers give those

or do you have your vet there to give

431

:

those vaccinations and microchips?

432

:

Tiffany: If it's a rabies clinic, our

vet is there because it has to be.

433

:

If it is a microchip or a vaccination.

434

:

Like you're just annual vaccination?

435

:

No, it's a handful of people that

we know and trust and I've done two

436

:

of them the past few years myself

organizing , a microchip and a vaccination

437

:

clinic, and it's just of you get cars

going, they stay in their vehicle.

438

:

We come up, it's a checkpoint.

439

:

Everyone, you get your paper, you

pay, you come up, we get everything.

440

:

Go up next, . It runs really well.

441

:

Okay.

442

:

So not everybody gives 'em, because we

wanna make sure that you know how to

443

:

give them, you give them, efficiently.

444

:

We, don't have time to sit and

wait for people to learn how to

445

:

do it during a clinic like that

because it's usually fast paced.

446

:

You have people waiting to get in because

it's usually first come, first serve.

447

:

If we have a hundred, we

do the first a hundred.

448

:

Dixie: And what if somebody has

an animal and there's some kind of

449

:

illness going on with the animal,

but they can't afford vet care?

450

:

Do you assist with that as well?

451

:

Tiffany: We have in the past.

452

:

We'll also ask for

donations to help cover it.

453

:

Like I said, our vet works with us, so

we have in the past set people up and we

454

:

don't make it a habit like this because,

we are a nonprofit organization that

455

:

they make payments to us, like if they

can pay this amount then we can cover

456

:

the rest and we'll try to work little

payments out here and there with them.

457

:

And like I said, our vet is wonderful

at, we explain everything to her.

458

:

This is what's going on.

459

:

And it might be an elderly person that's

on disability and their dog is really sick

460

:

and she say, okay, I'll do it at cost for

this so she's not making anything of it.

461

:

She's given her time and it's at cost

where it would cost her for the medicine.

462

:

No visit charge and stuff like that.

463

:

So we do help out the public when we can.

464

:

Our only bad thing is our vet is all

the way to Mississippi which we don't

465

:

mind a drive, but we can't always do

a drive because, we have families and

466

:

we work outside of volunteer work.

467

:

Dixie: Since your vet is in Mississippi,

how far is she away from y'all?

468

:

Tiffany: She's in Gulfport, Mississippi.

469

:

But , like I said, she comes Crossroads,

which is 30 minutes down the road from

470

:

me, from Fanklinton I've driven to her

place plenty of times and go for it.

471

:

And so have Beth and Kay and we have some

volunteers that will drive a sick animal

472

:

or injured animal or hurt animal there.

473

:

And like I said, we also work closely with

different shelters who have vet staff on.

474

:

call or have vet staff that can stabilize

an animal until we can get 'em to a vet,

475

:

or they can get their vet to look at 'em.

476

:

So that's why I say it's always very

important to have open communications

477

:

with all vets and shelters that are around

you and never turn help down because now,

478

:

nowadays you need as much help as you can

in the animal world with as many as we

479

:

have on the streets and overpopulating.

480

:

Dixie: Right now, since your vet is a

little bit of a drive away, do you do

481

:

like a transport for the clinics that

you have or do you have people just

482

:

bring them back and forth to the vet?

483

:

Tiffany: So the spay neuter

clinic, since it's on crossroads,

484

:

they bring their animals.

485

:

We've had people bring them an hour away.

486

:

Because even driving an hour and

paying like an $85 fee is still

487

:

cheaper than going to, a vet.

488

:

So they bring their own animals and

then we call them an hour before their

489

:

animal is ready to pick up, to give them

clean enough time to come and we stay,

490

:

obviously stay until the last animal was

picked up, but they bring their own animal

491

:

and then they take 'em home themselves.

492

:

Unless we have worked something

out ahead of time and if it's a

493

:

disabled person or an older person,

they can't get their animal.

494

:

We might have a volunteer that would

pick them up and drop them out, back off.

495

:

That has happened before

'cause I've done it before.

496

:

Dixie: And how is your relationship with

the Washington Parish Animal Shelter?

497

:

Tiffany: We have a good

working relationship.

498

:

Kelsey, who is the director

over there and she does spay

499

:

neuter clinics all the time now.

500

:

And Kay works with her with that

'cause Kay is like our go-to

501

:

spay neuter woman, she does ours

and she helps Kelsey with hers.

502

:

So we have a really good

working relationship with them.

503

:

Dixie: That's great.

504

:

Do you ever deal with handling animal

cruelty or any kind of neglect cases?

505

:

Tiffany: Yes, we have we used to do

that all the time and we still do,

506

:

if people call, but usually they'll

call the police first or whatever.

507

:

We don't have jurisdiction like

a police officer does, but people

508

:

will call us or let us know and we

will get the police involved or the

509

:

authorities, whoever we need to.

510

:

The humane society of Louisiana is

a bigger, Jeff Dorson if we need him

511

:

because he's on , a bigger scale than us.

512

:

We will get others involved in helping

an animal that's being mistreated.

513

:

And as I worked as animal officer,

I was able to do that more with

514

:

authority by the police department

to handle cases like that, neglect.

515

:

And we have had several neglect cases.

516

:

Dixie: When you have the

neglect cases, do you put those

517

:

animals like in a foster system?

518

:

Tiffany: When Washington Humane used

to have the foster system, yes, we did.

519

:

We would, because we had

a large base of fosters.

520

:

At one time I think we had 10 fosters.

521

:

But it would be a foster

that we knew very well.

522

:

We knew they could take

care of that animal.

523

:

Beth was our number one foster.

524

:

For cats and dogs.

525

:

And she's very well knowledgeable

about medical stuff.

526

:

So she would take some on, and we had

a couple others that were knowledgeable

527

:

with medical and issues with dogs.

528

:

So we did put 'em in a foster system.

529

:

When we didn't have it anymore,

then we would work with, Bogalusa

530

:

Animal control when I was there.

531

:

And Kelsey and other rescues that

have a foster based system or even a

532

:

building, and we would work with them

like we worked North Shore before.

533

:

But we would work with them and they

may take the animal on for us and we

534

:

just give over everything to them.

535

:

So if we were raising money

for it, it goes to them.

536

:

If , people were sending like

for dogs that are emaciated.

537

:

If they're sending food and

blankets, it would go to them then.

538

:

But yeah, those neglect cases and stuff

like that we partner with different

539

:

rescues, shelters, and when I say

shelters, I mean like the Washington

540

:

parish shelter, like one that, is

very knowledgeable and has vet staff.

541

:

But that's how we do neglect cases.

542

:

Dixie: What challenges do you face

in reaching all corners of Washington

543

:

Parish with your message and services?

544

:

Tiffany: I would say just

people stuck in their ways.

545

:

That just don't care.

546

:

In law enforcement we run into

a issues with law enforcement.

547

:

We have three where we had three shelters.

548

:

We had one in the city of Franklinton.

549

:

We have one in the parish, which is

Washington Parish in all shelter.

550

:

And we had Bogalusa the city shelter,

which is Bogalusa animal control.

551

:

Bogalusa animal control

was shut down this year.

552

:

It needed to be shut down.

553

:

It is not operable at

all, any, any longer.

554

:

They don't have animal

control there either.

555

:

We have, I think someone who is now

acting as a parish animal control officer.

556

:

I don't know his exact title as

far as what he can and can't do.

557

:

And then Franklinton has,

firefighters will go out and,

558

:

pick up animals and stuff.

559

:

So the problem is, our biggest issue,

I think with any rescue really is.

560

:

Law enforcement.

561

:

A lot of times law enforcement do

not know the updated rules or laws of

562

:

animals, and they wanna turn a blind eye.

563

:

I'm not saying everybody's like that,

564

:

but working with law enforcement as

animal control, I saw that firsthand.

565

:

A lot of them, oh, it's not my problem.

566

:

It's not a human, it's

not, a law is a law.

567

:

Whether it be a human law or

an animal law, a law is a law.

568

:

And if you're there to uphold the law,

then you need to uphold all the laws.

569

:

It doesn't matter if you're an animal

control officer making people uphold

570

:

the laws, or if you're a police

officer or a sheriff deputy or whoever.

571

:

A law is a law, and I think that

we need to get back to that.

572

:

To that part where an officer,

sheriff, deputy whatever,

573

:

they need to uphold all laws.

574

:

And I know that's a lot, but

that's the world we live in now.

575

:

So you can't uphold some laws and then

not other laws just because I'm not human.

576

:

Dixie: And that is something that

I'm actually consistently hearing

577

:

too, from a lot of other rescues

that I've been speaking with.

578

:

Tiffany: Yes.

579

:

You'll call, you'll tell people to call

the sheriff's department or call the

580

:

police station, whatever, and they'll

be like, okay, we'll send somebody out.

581

:

Because it's an emergency.

582

:

I've been there I've been where people

are selling animals in a parking lot.

583

:

They're not supposed to or giving

away, and they're not supposed to be.

584

:

That's a law.

585

:

And it might be a stupid law,

but it's a law for a reason.

586

:

Some people might think jaywalking is

stupid law, but it's a law for a reason

587

:

and you can't pick and choose which

ones you're gonna uphold and not uphold.

588

:

So that's, that is a big

problem I think everywhere.

589

:

Is that I think that officers once a

year, maybe once every six months, need

590

:

to have a training with animal rights.

591

:

And they need to just, if you become

an officer, become a police officer,

592

:

sheriff, deputy, or whatever, you

need to understand that a law is a

593

:

law no matter what it obtains to.

594

:

And I think that once, if we

can get that through, it would,

595

:

things would be a little better.

596

:

Not saying that's the cure of

everything, but that's a starting point.

597

:

Dixie: Coming from an animal control

background, I know a lot of people when

598

:

they hear animal control, they're scared

of it, they think of the old, kind

599

:

of cartoons with the the dog catchers

600

:

Tiffany: yes

601

:

Dixie: so it's not a good thing.

602

:

They don't have a good association with

animal control, why is animal control

603

:

needed and do you think that there should

be animal control in Washington Parish?

604

:

Tiffany: I

605

:

definitely think there should be animal

control when you have animal control.

606

:

It does help the law out

in general, the police.

607

:

Because that, that one part,

and, Washington Parish is,

608

:

it's small, but it's still big.

609

:

So two or three animal control

officers doing the entire parish

610

:

and city limits of everywhere.

611

:

That's not a lot.

612

:

And honestly, not with the population

overpopulation that we have.

613

:

And the cruelty, the dog fighting

rings, all that stuff that goes on here.

614

:

So we definitely need animal control

and it would help officers out.

615

:

Those who are there for the public

and not necessarily for animals.

616

:

There needs to be accountability.

617

:

If you're going to have an animal,

there needs to be accountability for it.

618

:

You're accountable for your kids that

are humans and they're living, then

619

:

you need to be accountable for other

living things that you're supposed to

620

:

be taking care of because that animal

didn't choose to come live with you.

621

:

You chose to take that animal in,

you chose to go buy that animal or

622

:

to go rescue that animal or whatever.

623

:

We don't get to sell our kids

because we're having another baby.

624

:

So why should you be able to just

dump a dog because you are having

625

:

a baby or because you want a puppy?

626

:

Because this dog's older.

627

:

Laws need to be enforced and I think

that's a big thing with the difference

628

:

between up north and down south is

up North enforces laws, they enforce

629

:

spay neuter they uphold laws as far

as you have to have your animals.

630

:

They have to have 'em.

631

:

You have to have tags on 'em.

632

:

You have to pay a fee for 'em.

633

:

You only can have so many.

634

:

There's so many backyard breeders

they just wanna look away.

635

:

If I don't see it, I don't,

the problem's not there.

636

:

And it's still there.

637

:

It's still there.

638

:

So animal control officers

are definitely needed.

639

:

Dixie: What are your long-term aspirations

for animal welfare in Washington Parish

640

:

and the Washington Humane Society?

641

:

Tiffany: I would be lying if I said I

wish we could go back to foster base.

642

:

But that's just not foreseeable for us.

643

:

I hope to do, still more clinics,

obviously and rabies clinics and

644

:

vaccination and microchipping.

645

:

Because I think when you have healthy

dogs all around, then the animals that the

646

:

shelters do get won't be as sick or, they

won't have to put as much money into 'em.

647

:

Because there's healthier dogs running

around, if that makes any sense.

648

:

Definitely more outreach of spay

neuter and grants with spay neuter

649

:

to help those with low income or no

income or the elderly to help them.

650

:

And I just wish that we would,

there's so many dogs that are

651

:

chained with no, no proper shelters

or that are just standing in mud.

652

:

I just wish that.

653

:

Like I said earlier, law enforcement

was forced to enforce laws for animals

654

:

and it didn't just come down to one or

two people or rescue groups to have to

655

:

constantly nag and nag to get that done.

656

:

There's, we can't do it ourselves,

so we all have to work together.

657

:

And so I would hope that.

658

:

One day stricter laws would be made,

or at least laws that we have would be

659

:

enforced more to help with these animals.

660

:

Dixie: What message would you like

to share with the community about

661

:

the importance of animal welfare

and responsible pet ownership?

662

:

Tiffany: Just think about it.

663

:

Think about what you want.

664

:

Not buy off a whim.

665

:

Or, adopt or get one , oh, my kid wants

a dog and your kid's four years old,

666

:

and then six months later you're giving

the dog up because the kid wouldn't

667

:

feed, the dog, wouldn't take care of it.

668

:

It's a 4-year-old.

669

:

It's a kid.

670

:

I have three kids and we fight

them all the time about feeding

671

:

the dogs and that's, that is their

responsibility is to feed the dogs.

672

:

And but then, they're like,

oh, we want this to know it.

673

:

It's a responsibility thing.

674

:

I'm not gonna get rid of my

dogs because I have to force

675

:

my kids to feed 'em sometimes.

676

:

So you have to take ownership.

677

:

You have to take responsibility.

678

:

And before you think, oh, I want

this kind of dog, do your research.

679

:

'cause you might think you

want this kind of dog, but it's

680

:

your lifestyle for that dog.

681

:

And a lot of people don't realize that.

682

:

They think that it's a cute dog,

they want that dog, and then

683

:

they throw it like a pug outside.

684

:

A pug cannot be outside a Boston.

685

:

terrier cannot be outside, so

do your research on these dogs.

686

:

And seriously consider getting 'em fixed.

687

:

Everybody says, oh, I just

want one from the litter.

688

:

Okay?

689

:

What happens to the rest of the dogs?

690

:

You want that one?

691

:

They have seven.

692

:

So you have six dogs now that can breed.

693

:

So is one really worth six more dogs that

can breed, that aren't gonna get fixed?

694

:

So just the outreach of more

importance of spay neuter.

695

:

Everybody says if you spay

and neuter all of them, then

696

:

you'll never have any more dogs.

697

:

That's not true.

698

:

That's not true at all.

699

:

Dixie: Yeah, absolutely not true.

700

:

Thank you so much for joining me today.

701

:

Tiffany: I appreciate it.

702

:

Thank you for having me.

703

:

Dixie: You're welcome.

704

:

And that's all the time we

have for today's episode.

705

:

If you are in animal rescue, or if

you know someone that has a story that

706

:

should be told, please contact us.

707

:

We would love to have

you or them on the show

708

:

. Thanks for listening, and please

join us next week as we continue to

709

:

explore the world of animal rescue.

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About the Podcast

Animal Posse
A look inside the world of animal rescue
Dive deep into the world of animal rescue with heartwarming stories, expert interviews, and behind-the-scenes insights. From heartwarming adoptions to daring rescues, we'll explore the incredible bond between humans and animals.
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