From 12 Cats to a 501(c)(3)

Dixie: 00:00:02

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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Today I am gonna be chatting with Amber

Richard from Southern Pets Animal Rescue.

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Thank you for coming on the show.

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I am interested in hearing about all

you do with Southern Pets Animal Rescue.

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How did you first come to get

involved in animal rescue?

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Amber: Bought a trailer and

I moved to my new trailer.

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Inherited like 12 cats, and it just

seemed every time I went to there was

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kittens and didn't know what to do

and I felt overrun, but I couldn't.

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Ignore the cats.

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So I'd feed 'em and until I finally

learned what TNR was and started that,.

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and then you couldn't walk more

than two city blocks without

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seeing stray dogs running around.

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There was just a need.

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So it started off with helping one injured

dog and then TNR and cats, and then

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it really just snowballed from there.

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Dixie: You said when you first

got involved and you saw all these

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cats around this trailer, that

you didn't know what TNR was.

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How did you come to learning about that?

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Amber: It was literally just

Google searching at first, looking

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into affordable spay and neuter.

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I had called around to animal control.

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They didn't offer those services.

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The vets were two, $300 to fix a

cat which really wasn't feasible.

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So stumbled on TNR and then

that's when I reached out to Spay

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Nation to see what it was about.

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Started with that, started bringing,

at first I was just bringing

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the females, getting them fixed

so we didn't have more babies.

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Over time it's just okay, I have the

time, I can start helping these other

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cats and I can trap the cats at the

pig here, or Sonny's or, and help them

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because certain businesses here in town

had 50, 60 cats in their parking lots.

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Dixie: Wow.

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And what area are you in?

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Amber: Church Point, Louisiana.

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Dixie: For listeners who are not familiar

with Church Point, where is that and

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would you consider it a rural area?

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Amber: We're pretty much smack

dab in the middle of Crowley

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Lafayette, Opelousas and Eunice.

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And Acadia Parish, and

we are very super rural.

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Dixie: Before you started doing the

Southern Pet's Animal Rescue, there really

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were no resources in your area at all?

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Amber: No ma'am.

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Dixie: So what inspired you to take

that step to create a non-profit?

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Amber: I hate to say it like this,

and because I did independent rescue

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for the first 10, 10 and a half years,

I had no desire to be a 5 0 1 C3.

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I was doing fine with what

I was doing within limits.

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I had supporters and people that had

been following me for years since

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I started this, but to up the scale

from independent to be able to apply

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for grants to make a bigger impact.

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Be able to accumulate sponsorships

from different organizations,

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you have to have that.

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So it was more, if I wanted to be able

to do more to help more, I needed that.

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Dixie: When did you get

your 5 0 1 C3 status?

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Amber: It was official in

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April 13th of this year.

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Dixie: Oh congratulations.

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Since you have gotten that 5 0

1 C3 status, have you seen that

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has made any kind of difference?

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Have you received any grants?

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Amber: We have been able to

get a couple of smaller grants.

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We got one for the

Howard Script Foundation.

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We've gotten a couple smaller grants from

places like the Hound Compassion Project,

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or Colorado Animal Rescue Express.

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They've helped out host clinics.

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They both helped out together to

host the first clinic for free spay

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and neutered for Acadia Parish,

which we're trying to make an annual

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biannual clinic to help people get

their animals spay and neutered.

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It's definitely brung opportunities.

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Like I can also apply to get damaged bags

of food, which would be a huge help to the

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rescue from places like Amazon or Tractor

Supply, like it, it enables you to do more

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and have more support.

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Dixie: Is it just you

or do you have helpers?

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Amber: That's a little bit complicated.

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Like we had people that were

all gung-ho, let's do this.

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They had great ideas.

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They wanna help.

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But when it comes to the actual

physical day-to-day operations

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to get out of d worm puppies TNR,

nobody really steps up to do it.

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I spend 14 to 16 hours a

day caring for the animals.

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When I'm not working, when I'm

working, I'm up all night doing it.

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It's pretty much a one man operation.

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And then every once in a while

somebody will come in and help,

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but it's not a consistent thing.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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And I know that's a problem with rescue

too, because when you try to help

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people don't understand that you have

two full-time jobs 'cause you work.

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And then you do rescue.

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And so it's like I find people

always getting aggravated and

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they'll get smart sometimes when

you can't help 'em right away.

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And it's like they don't realize though,

that you have to work a full-time job too,

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in addition to doing the rescue stuff.

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Amber: No that it really

is a real problem and.

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I don't want to say anything bad about

anyone, but the situation comes down

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to honestly financing for everybody

from the owners to the rescue.

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If you're going to have, say, one cat.

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You need to be able and know and

understand that in that year, that cat

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is going to have about $300 of basic

medical expenses, but your heartworm,

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flea medicines, your shots, your

rabies, and then you need to be able

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to set money aside for an emergencies.

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And if you can't do that, then you like,

honestly, you can't afford an animal.

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So people have the biggest

hearts, they love animals.

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That plays a part in a lot of this.

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People get oh, I saw this

stray cat, so I took it in.

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Then next thing you know, you have

seven stray cats, so that's great.

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They have a home and they're being fed.

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But when those emergencies come,

if you can't financially afford

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it, what are you gonna do?

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It comes down to a choice of if

you can afford your animals or if

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you're going to let them suffer or.

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Are you going to have to start calling

rescues and shelters and organizations

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to try to help you with your animals?

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And then the problem comes in there.

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A lot of organizations are not

equipped or financially equipped

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to help owners with big bills.

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Like this week alone, we've had the re

owners with animals with broken legs,

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or what they assumed was broken legs.

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Only one was broken, and

two was neurological.

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They surrendered them to the rescue.

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' It's not that they didn't want to,

they couldn't do the financial burden

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or they couldn't quarantine their

animals or they couldn't come back and

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forth from wherever they're living.

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Like one of them was in kinder.

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My vets in Crowley.

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I have no association

with any vets out there.

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Could I do that?

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Yes.

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But until then, I would have

to pay full prices for vetting,

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which is something we cannot do.

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And if we have to do that, we can't help.

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So it's tit for tat.

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So I was like, I gave 'em the option.

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I'm like, you can bring 'em to

my vet and we'll pay for it.

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They didn't want 'em.

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So we took 'em and we're doing that.

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But it literally comes down to no

matter how much you love animals, if

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you kinda cannot financially afford it,

then you shouldn't do it until you can.

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Dixie: I absolutely agree with that.

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And I just had somebody reach out

to me today, and it's a similar

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situation where she took in a stray

cat, and of course it was a female.

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That female turned into several kittens.

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She kept two of the males.

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And of course the female cat was not

spayed, and in this case it was more so

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she didn't know where to go to get it

done, so I can't fault anybody for that.

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She knew she had to get it done

and she wanted to get it done.

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She just didn't know where she had to

go to get it done at a reasonable cost,

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Amber: That's a huge problem in Louisiana

in general, there are not enough

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affordable vets for low income families.

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Dixie: Yes.

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And in this situation it

snowballed into 11 cats and none

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of 'em are spayed or neutered.

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Amber: And people don't

realize that a kitten can get

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pregnant as early as 16 weeks.

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That's a baby.

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Dixie: Yes.

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And a lot of people don't know that.

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And it's a shame too, because

even when people go to a lot of

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vets, I know the vets that do

the high volume spay and neuter.

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They'll do 'em little, they'll

do 'em when they're kittens,

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before they reach maturity.

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But I know that there's a lot of people

who say they'll go to a vet and their

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vet will recommend waiting until the

first heat, or waiting until they're a

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year old sometimes, and they have to go

by what their vet says because that's

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the professional that's the expert.

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And it's sad because people don't

know that at four months old that

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they can get pregnant and have babies.

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Amber: There is a lot Now that's

saying that you should wait

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till, I think it's 18 months now.

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I may be wrong.

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I think it's 18 months now that

they're recommending spaying and

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neutering, especially dogs, because

they're saying they're not mature.

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Their reproductive organs,

their bladder and things like

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that aren't mature all the way.

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So they say if you spay them younger,

they can have incontinence problems

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later on in life that I have heard.

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Now, me personally, I've

never waited more than

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I think my boxer was a year, and this

was way before I got into rescue.

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It was before I knew what

spaying neutering did.

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All my other animals have been fixed

between as early as 12 weeks to 24 weeks.

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And let's see, Chloe's five,

she doesn't have any problems.

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She's a female.

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It really just depends on what

your beliefs are with that.

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And also your ability, if you're

gonna have females and males,

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if you can keep them separated.

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If you don't want puppies, you gotta

remember, you're gonna have to do that.

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For at least 12 months because

, it's rare, but as early as five

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months, they can have babies too.

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Like they can get pregnant and start

having babies, but they read, they

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get into where they can have babies,

generally around six months and older.

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So for those 12 months, are you able to

keep your males and you're females apart?

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Dixie: Yeah.

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And then if you can, are you

able to feed that many more?

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Because that's something I hear

too is oh, I've got four kittens

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I can't afford to feed 'em.

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And it's it would've been cheaper for

you to spay the mom to begin with.

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Then to feed a mom and four kittens,

or even possibly six kittens,

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depending on that litter size

until you can find homes for those.

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Amber: I'm dealing with the situation

that kind of relates to this right now.

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An elderly lady, she's sick, she has.

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Two female dogs and one male dog.

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And she moved from

another state down here.

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So she set up spay and neuter appointments

and she thought she'd be able to

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keep her females and her male apart.

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And it didn't happen.

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So now she has three adults

and 15 can corso mixed puppies.

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Dixie: Wow.

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So

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Amber: she's completely overrun.

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She's 85 years old.

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She can't afford to feed them.

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I offered her bags of food.

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I have 'em outside for

her to pick up tomorrow.

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So we're working to try to find

rescues for the cane corsos, but

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everybody's bursting at the seams there.

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The state of economy and other

situations going on in people's lives.

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Donations are at an all time low for

almost every rescue I've ever talked to

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this year has just been like, we can't

help as much because of the donation

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and financial burdens of rescue.

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You would've thought, like when everybody

home with COVID and all these animals

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were getting spayed and neutered and then

adopted out, like you, we would've saw a

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significant decrease in the population.

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That's not true either.

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For the rescues that I deal with and talk

to, we've seen a huge increase in the

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amount of puppies or dogs in general.

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Just being overbred.

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Honestly, it's just insane.

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Dixie: Now in your area, can you describe

what day to day in terms of stray

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animals in places like grocery stores,

fast food, restaurants, gas stations?

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Just in general.

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Amber: Okay,

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to take an example, yesterday I went

to trap, ferals for a event today.

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So one of our Dollar Generals, they have

a colony with probably about 12 babies

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and I've seen three or four adults.

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But there is a field,

so they hide in there.

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So it's hard to estimate, but there's.

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The dollar store.

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There's a good 15 to 20 cats living

there, and a lot of them are sick.

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The hospital has a lot of cats.

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There's probably about 10, but

those, they're taken care of.

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They have a caregiver.

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Those look good.

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And then you have places

like the Piggly Wiggly.

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They have a cat colony in the back,

which we have TNR, quite a bit

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of them, but they're fighting for

food and territory with raccoons.

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Believe it or not, there is an

obscene amount of raccoons over there.

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And the bad thing about rural living

too and country in general is people

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believe oh, I live in the country,

so I'm gonna let my dog roam.

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People don't think about my dog's

gonna do what nature intended it to do.

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If you have a female and she goes into

heat, it's gonna attract all the males.

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And then, okay, they had those puppies

and if they don't go anywhere, it's

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the same situation over and over again.

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So those puppies just get re-homed

and the, that, that mentality

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shifts over to the next home

and it keeps going and keeps on.

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There are always stray dogs around here.

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For our parish, our city and our

parish has like the highest stray rate.

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It is absolutely insane.

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Cats over here are awful.

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Even this year with fixing, we're

at 550 cats about for the Acadia

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Parish area, and it's not even a dent

it's not even a scent of what and

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what people contact you for help.

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Dixie: Do you have a

problem with people dumping?

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Puppies or even kittens

off on the rural roads?

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Amber: Yes, very much i'm literally

sitting outside and looking at

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my quarantine house we have 14

puppies that were dumped right now.

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We just sent nine that were dumped up

to Virginia to find homes 'cause there's

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just not enough space here for them.

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There doesn't go a week where I

don't get a call about at least three

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to four litters of dump puppies.

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So that is a real problem.

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But the root of that problem is,

are no resources for the people

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that want to make the difference.

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Church Point is a very low income area.

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There are no resource

resources for Acadia Parish.

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We don't have the Bissell

vouchers, we don't have the

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free programs with Lafayette.

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There's nothing here.

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Dixie: Do you think anything could

be done in addition to offering

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these programs to curb the dumping

of pets on the roads like that?

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Amber: When they give out tickets for

dogs at large and stuff like that, they

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need to stop letting them be dismissed and

there are no consequences to your actions.

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Then you're going to keep

doing those actions until there

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are consequences for them.

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So I think a big help in that area would

be when they see stray dogs running

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outta people's yards, even if it's

just on the road outside of their yard.

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If they get their tickets, maybe

they'll keep their dog in their yard.

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Maybe they'll build a fence or get an

invisible fence or keep their dogs inside.

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Winter too , it's a horrible problem

with people having chain dogs and

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not having the proper housing.

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If those tickets would stand,

people might be stopped and say

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okay, I need to figure this out.

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For every action there

has to be a consequence.

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And for a lot of the Acadia

Parish, there are no consequences.

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That's just the truth.

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And I know that sounds ugly, but

that's the truth, that there are a

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lot of people here that do really

awful things and dump puppies and

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they get caught and nothing happens.

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Dixie: Does Acadia Parish have an

animal shelter or animal control?

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Amber: So Acadia Parish has Acadia

Parish Animal Control, which they are

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not equipped to handle the entire parish.

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We're 540 square miles.

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There are 18 kennels for 540 square miles.

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So the biggest problem with a

lot of the dump dogs is people

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will call animal control.

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Hey, can I surrender my dog?

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They'll tell 'em, yes you can, but you

also need to understand that your dog

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is the first one gonna be one of the

first ones on the list to be euthanized.

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And that's the truth.

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A surrendered dog will be

euthanized before a stray.

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: 00:18:26

A stray has to do a stray hold.

309

: 00:18:29

Dixie: Is that something that the

shelter educates people on or not really?

310

: 00:18:34

Amber: They're trying it

has gotten a lot better.

311

: 00:18:38

I find in the last two or three

years, they got people that care in

312

: 00:18:42

there and are trying their best and

they're trying to like a situation

313

: 00:18:48

they got called because of a dog

that's right here by my neighborhood.

314

: 00:18:52

It wasn't me just saying, but

they asked for a dog house.

315

: 00:18:57

So they tried, they posted, Hey,

does anybody have extra dog house?

316

: 00:19:00

Which I gave them a dog house

and they gave it to that owner.

317

: 00:19:03

They had an old lady in town

and the ACL was really good.

318

: 00:19:06

The dog had ear infection, so we worked

together and we got ear infection meds

319

: 00:19:11

for her, so she couldn't afford it.

320

: 00:19:13

Now, is it possible for every situation?

321

: 00:19:15

No.

322

: 00:19:15

But at least they're trying.

323

: 00:19:16

At least they're like, Hey, here's.

324

: 00:19:19

This rescues number or try calling here?

325

: 00:19:22

Like a lot of them give out my number

for the Stray Cats and we do what we can.

326

: 00:19:28

It's just kinda, there's

not enough resources to help

327

: 00:19:31

everybody, but they're trying.

328

: 00:19:33

Dixie: Now when it comes to doing

the TNR for the cats, are you the

329

: 00:19:37

only one over there or are there

others that help you out with that?

330

: 00:19:42

Amber: I've heard of, I haven't met

them, that there are two ladies that'll

331

: 00:19:46

do a little bit of TNR here and there,

but they pay outta their own pocket.

332

: 00:19:50

So they can only do it

as they can afford it.

333

: 00:19:54

I've heard of them.

334

: 00:19:55

I haven't met them.

335

: 00:19:56

I did meet one of the, another lady Ms.

336

: 00:19:58

Val, she has TNR and everything in her

area, her neighborhood, which is great.

337

: 00:20:03

I love her.

338

: 00:20:04

She does a great job with that.

339

: 00:20:06

But as for consistent or

even semi consistent TNR?

340

: 00:20:11

No.

341

: 00:20:14

Dixie: And what about other rescues?

342

: 00:20:16

Are you the only one?

343

: 00:20:18

Amber: In Acadia Parish, there's me,

there's Haseya's, but Haseya's they're

344

: 00:20:23

contracted with the City of Rain.

345

: 00:20:26

They only focus on the city of Rayne.

346

: 00:20:29

And then I think we have.

347

: 00:20:31

Precious paw prints in here too, and

they're deep into the Crowley area.

348

: 00:20:39

Dixie: What are some of maybe

the biggest misconceptions people

349

: 00:20:43

have about rescues in your area?

350

: 00:20:47

Amber: Biggest misconception

is that we're rich for one.

351

: 00:20:51

People really do think we have

an endless supply of money.

352

: 00:20:55

We don't.

353

: 00:20:56

We really don't.

354

: 00:20:57

If we don't get the donations, I

can't say I can't speak for the

355

: 00:21:00

other rescues over here, but if my

rescue doesn't have enough money to

356

: 00:21:05

do something, I have to pay for it.

357

: 00:21:07

So therefore, that means

I gotta work a job.

358

: 00:21:09

So just like everybody else, I work a

job, I run a rescue, I run a food pantry.

359

: 00:21:14

So it's a lot . There's not

an endless supply of money.

360

: 00:21:17

Guys, I wish there was then we could

actually do a so much more, also a lot

361

: 00:21:21

of people don't realize the difference

between a rescue a 5 0 1 C3 rescue,

362

: 00:21:25

or even a reputable independent

rescue versus a government shelter.

363

: 00:21:32

So rescues are generally.

364

: 00:21:35

Like 99% of the time are gonna be

foster based organizations that survive

365

: 00:21:40

on donations versus the government

shelters, which are run by the

366

: 00:21:45

government, with government employees.

367

: 00:21:48

And the government funds those shelters.

368

: 00:21:50

They have, an annual budget.

369

: 00:21:52

So that's the difference between those.

370

: 00:21:53

That's the biggest difference.

371

: 00:21:54

A lot of people are like do you euthanize?

372

: 00:21:56

I heard you euthanize.

373

: 00:21:57

No, I don't euthanize a dog

unless it is medically necessary.

374

: 00:22:03

Or if we have somebody that is

completely aggressive, human

375

: 00:22:06

aggressive, then that's something we

would have to take into consideration

376

: 00:22:09

because that dog is a liability.

377

: 00:22:12

Dixie: Do you think people sometimes take

advantage of rescues by , trying to use

378

: 00:22:17

a rescue to abandon their responsibility?

379

: 00:22:20

Amber: Honestly, yes.

380

: 00:22:23

There are multiple people, I'm not

gonna say names here in Church Point,

381

: 00:22:28

they know they cannot afford animals.

382

: 00:22:30

And this isn't just one or two dogs.

383

: 00:22:31

So this one family I have

taken in the last 10 years,

384

: 00:22:38

gotta be 30 animals from them.

385

: 00:22:40

they'll get a free animal off of Facebook

and they're like, oh, we love it so much.

386

: 00:22:44

It's family.

387

: 00:22:45

And then six months later, a year later,

I think the longest they ever kept

388

: 00:22:49

one of the dogs was a year and a half.

389

: 00:22:52

Oh, it's just not working out for us.

390

: 00:22:54

We don't have time for it.

391

: 00:22:55

I need you to take it.

392

: 00:22:58

And this cycle repeats

over and over again.

393

: 00:23:01

And a lot of the time like this particular

family, they'll find free designer much or

394

: 00:23:08

pure breads, and then they breed them and

then they saw the puppies and then they.

395

: 00:23:14

Once they get what they want off of

them, they no longer want the dogs.

396

: 00:23:19

And then it comes like

they drop it in my lap.

397

: 00:23:22

Alright, I have this dog.

398

: 00:23:23

This particular family, if you don't take

it, I'm gonna give it to this person.

399

: 00:23:27

That person is way worse than

the first person because every

400

: 00:23:31

animal I've had to take from them

is sick or emaciated or pregnant.

401

: 00:23:38

It's a repeated cycle.

402

: 00:23:40

There are some people that truly

do take advantage of rescues

403

: 00:23:45

for their own personal gain.

404

: 00:23:47

It's something, you breed it, you make

money off of it, then you don't want it.

405

: 00:23:50

That's personal gain.

406

: 00:23:52

Dixie: Some of these people that do

take advantage of that and even possibly

407

: 00:23:57

these people that are dumping animals,

do you think they not realize what's

408

: 00:24:02

going to happen to a dumped animal?

409

: 00:24:04

, Do you think they know, the

survival rate of a stray animal

410

: 00:24:09

that isn't spayed or neutered?

411

: 00:24:12

Amber: A lot of people don't

know that and I find 'cause I'll

412

: 00:24:15

post if, just say for like TNR.

413

: 00:24:18

I make posts all the time, and I

put in there, I specifically put

414

: 00:24:22

in there that over 75% of cats

die within the first year outside.

415

: 00:24:31

So it's the same with the dogs

for it's, how do we explain it?

416

: 00:24:41

I think a lot of people

are desensitized from it.

417

: 00:24:44

Okay, so I can go dump this down,

this back road and it's done.

418

: 00:24:47

It was healthy, it's a alive and if they

don't see the consequences, if somebody

419

: 00:24:52

finds that dog sick or injured and they

don't see the consequences, how are

420

: 00:24:56

they gonna know what truly happened?

421

: 00:24:59

It's like a lot of people, they see all

these injured animals on Facebook, like

422

: 00:25:03

working with Marty Pauls all the time.

423

: 00:25:05

We get calls for hit dogs or abused

dogs and people see it and maybe stuff

424

: 00:25:15

like those organizations that help like

that and are able to educate the public

425

: 00:25:19

that way, that will make a difference.

426

: 00:25:21

But I don't think until they

see it and experience it.

427

: 00:25:25

What actually happens with a dog that's

been hit by a car or a dog that's

428

: 00:25:29

been taken in for a bait dog, like

the consequences, their pain, I don't

429

: 00:25:33

think until you experience it that

somebody is gonna understand, actually

430

: 00:25:37

truly understand what they're doing.

431

: 00:25:40

Dixie: What would you say to your

community, how do you think they could

432

: 00:25:45

get involved to make things better?

433

: 00:25:47

What small steps could

they start taking today

434

: 00:25:51

Amber: It's a simple as for

people that let their dogs roam,

435

: 00:25:56

stop letting your dogs roam.

436

: 00:25:58

If.

437

: 00:25:59

You take in a stray cat, reach out

to organizations like the Wildcat

438

: 00:26:05

Foundation or Spay Nation, and ask

them if they have financial assistance.

439

: 00:26:10

There are programs that will help

with financial assistance, so you only

440

: 00:26:15

might have to pay $20 for a cat spay.

441

: 00:26:18

Versus the 60.

442

: 00:26:20

That's what normally what

a feral cat at Spay Nation

443

: 00:26:22

a feral package, standard feral

package at Spay Nation is 45.

444

: 00:26:25

If you get their F-C-R-V-P vaccine,

it is 60, and if the cat is

445

: 00:26:30

pregnant, it is 71 because then

they have to have a pain medication.

446

: 00:26:35

I wanna make sure I

corrected myself there.

447

: 00:26:37

But there are financial

assistance programs.

448

: 00:26:40

Now most of them are not in Acadia

Parish, but there are some that

449

: 00:26:45

will help Acadia Parish residents.

450

: 00:26:48

, There have been an influx of Biss of

vouchers coming in, which we can't get

451

: 00:26:54

them as Acadia Parish residents, but.

452

: 00:26:56

Like people in St.

453

: 00:26:57

Landry give them to their friends,

so people are able to use those.

454

: 00:27:00

There are options you

can do what is it called?

455

: 00:27:03

Spay, USA, you can apply online.

456

: 00:27:05

They have grant options for

everyday owners to get their

457

: 00:27:10

animals fixed at a discounted rate.

458

: 00:27:13

They're not gonna let you do it for free,

but I think for one of the ladies that

459

: 00:27:16

did it, here's $250 to TNR, these cats at

Pig, we'll cover 30, you have to cover 15.

460

: 00:27:27

So it's as simple as just researching.

461

: 00:27:30

And if you don't know, ask.

462

: 00:27:32

Dixie: What success have you

seen with, say, your social media

463

: 00:27:37

and getting the message spread?

464

: 00:27:39

I know you said that people see

these injured animals and it

465

: 00:27:44

seems to sink in and help them

understand what's actually going on.

466

: 00:27:47

But what have you actually

seen for your personal pages?

467

: 00:27:52

Amber: I had screenshotted a couple

of posts from people , I don't wanna

468

: 00:27:55

say complaining, but complaining.

469

: 00:27:57

About stray cats at different locations

and , it's not a one-time post,

470

: 00:28:02

it's four or five different people

posting about the same situation.

471

: 00:28:06

But they're all, I don't have time.

472

: 00:28:08

I can only fit one cat in my

car or something like that.

473

: 00:28:11

So I made a post with that and then I

stated facts about cats in the post.

474

: 00:28:16

And I'm like, my thing was for that

post is if you're not gonna be part

475

: 00:28:20

of the change, then why complain?

476

: 00:28:23

So a couple of ladies on there,

two of them saw the post and

477

: 00:28:27

apparently it resonated with them.

478

: 00:28:29

So one of the ladies, she reached

out, she's we have a really bad

479

: 00:28:33

problem with stray cats and Crowley.

480

: 00:28:36

So she's what can I do?

481

: 00:28:37

And I was like, all right,

you can borrow my equipment.

482

: 00:28:41

You will trap your cats

and help get transport.

483

: 00:28:45

We'll help pay for them.

484

: 00:28:47

So when she did that, she went and trapped

her first cat and we got it neutered.

485

: 00:28:51

Now, the first cat that

she did, he was messed up.

486

: 00:28:53

He had a whole bunch of wounds and

stuff, which he ended up causing me

487

: 00:28:56

a good deal more than a feral cat.

488

: 00:28:58

But we were able to do that and then

I hope that she knows that, that was

489

: 00:29:03

like, Hey, thank you for doing this.

490

: 00:29:06

It doesn't seem like a lot, but for

that one cat, she made a difference.

491

: 00:29:12

And that's all that matters.

492

: 00:29:13

Even if that's all she does, at

least she took a proactive step.

493

: 00:29:16

She did something, she trapped him, she

brung him to the vet, not even three

494

: 00:29:21

miles from her house and we paid for him.

495

: 00:29:23

She took a proactive step.

496

: 00:29:26

So I know like that post might have seemed

like me complaining about complainers,

497

: 00:29:32

but the irony, okay, I get it.

498

: 00:29:35

But that post hey, made somebody

stop and think I wanna do this.

499

: 00:29:39

And we had another lady

like, Hey, I live in Crowley.

500

: 00:29:43

And she reached out to the First

Lady, if you need help, I'll transport

501

: 00:29:46

the cats that you're trapping.

502

: 00:29:47

Just let me know.

503

: 00:29:48

So now those two ladies are

working together to make a

504

: 00:29:51

difference for their community.

505

: 00:29:53

So I think just a lot of it's the

approach and how you word stuff.

506

: 00:29:59

Because beyond that situation we've had

a lot more people reach out about TNR.

507

: 00:30:06

There's always a list of people

wanting help and they can't pay

508

: 00:30:09

for all their cats, but they'll

pitch in, they'll help trap them.

509

: 00:30:12

So it's a slow process, but it's getting

there because 12 years ago I couldn't

510

: 00:30:16

get anybody to come out and trap with me.

511

: 00:30:18

They weren't doing anything.

512

: 00:30:20

So it's been improving,

but it's very slow.

513

: 00:30:23

Dixie: That's amazing.

514

: 00:30:25

Like you said, even if it just makes

a difference in the li in the life

515

: 00:30:28

of one cat, if you rescued one animal

through that post, you've done your job.

516

: 00:30:33

That's amazing.

517

: 00:30:36

Amber: God rest her soul, Ms.

518

: 00:30:37

Judy t Neil, she taught me that story.

519

: 00:30:41

I don't know how many years ago.

520

: 00:30:43

It was probably eight to 10 years ago.

521

: 00:30:45

It's called the Starfish Story.

522

: 00:30:47

You can Google it.

523

: 00:30:48

And it's a story about a somebody

on a beach and they were picking up

524

: 00:30:51

starfish and throwing them back in.

525

: 00:30:53

And the man that encounters

says why are you doing that?

526

: 00:30:57

There's miles and miles of

beach and there's gonna be

527

: 00:30:59

starfish all the way down.

528

: 00:31:01

And the person said for that starfish

that she just threw back in the water.

529

: 00:31:05

She made a difference.

530

: 00:31:07

So that has stuck with me all these

years and as much as I wanna say, like

531

: 00:31:11

we can take one of the colonies here if

we can't catch one cat, but we can help

532

: 00:31:20

catch another and that cat has spayed

and neutered and treat it for whatever

533

: 00:31:24

ailments it has, we've made a difference.

534

: 00:31:28

And that's what matters is trying and.

535

: 00:31:32

Trying to be part of the solution

and trying to make a difference, even

536

: 00:31:36

if it's only one animal at a time.

537

: 00:31:38

Dixie: Yeah, absolutely.

538

: 00:31:40

That's what I even say with this podcast.

539

: 00:31:42

If somebody listens to one of these

episodes and it gets them involved to save

540

: 00:31:46

one animal, then the job has been done.

541

: 00:31:49

Amber: I wholeheartedly agree.

542

: 00:31:51

Dixie: Before we end the call, tell

people how they can find you and

543

: 00:31:55

also do you have any final message?

544

: 00:31:59

Amber: They can reach us at Southern Pets

on Facebook, Southern Pets Animal Rescue.

545

: 00:32:05

They can email us at Southern

Pets Animal Rescue at gmail.com.

546

: 00:32:09

Our information's on Google, our number,

our email final message is probably be

547

: 00:32:16

part of the solution and not part of

the problem, even if it's one at a time.

548

: 00:32:22

That's literally it, one at a time.

549

: 00:32:25

Dixie: What would you tell

people to do to get involved

550

: 00:32:28

with being part of the solution?

551

: 00:32:29

Then,

552

: 00:32:30

Amber: even if you can only do it one day

a month, or one day every two months, go

553

: 00:32:35

and volunteer at your local shelter or

a rescue, or be a volunteer transporter.

554

: 00:32:42

There's always a need for

a volunteer transporter.

555

: 00:32:45

And it's literally just picking up

a dog from point A and bringing it

556

: 00:32:48

to point B to get it safe or a cat.

557

: 00:32:51

Or sometimes you might get

a reptile and you can choose

558

: 00:32:53

which ones you pick and choose.

559

: 00:32:56

Create initiatives.

560

: 00:32:57

If you have communities or in like

your neighborhood, your community.

561

: 00:33:00

Do a pet food drive and pick a random

rescue or a shelter to donate it to.

562

: 00:33:06

You can do toys.

563

: 00:33:07

Get your kids involved.

564

: 00:33:09

Let them do a little lemonade stand and.

565

: 00:33:11

Asked them to donate a little bit of

their proceeds that's very popular in the

566

: 00:33:15

summer is a lot of kids will do the little

lemonade stands and it's so adorable

567

: 00:33:19

and nobody wants to say no to a kid.

568

: 00:33:21

So they, most of 'em do pretty well.

569

: 00:33:24

If you see problem spots, like

you see an overabundance of

570

: 00:33:29

cats at a business, reach out.

571

: 00:33:31

Like just even alerting organizations

that trap to that situation, something

572

: 00:33:37

might get done and be persistent in it.

573

: 00:33:40

I'm not saying harass anybody, but be

persistent and if one organization can't

574

: 00:33:44

help you, don't feel like you fail.

575

: 00:33:46

Try somebody else.

576

: 00:33:47

Type you up an email and start

sending it to different organizations.

577

: 00:33:52

You might get 10 nos before you get a yes.

578

: 00:33:55

But that yes is gonna

make all the difference.

579

: 00:33:59

And at least you did that.

580

: 00:34:00

You started up, you set it up,

and all it took you was a little

581

: 00:34:03

bit of time to send an email.

582

: 00:34:04

There are so many ways you can help.

583

: 00:34:07

Dixie: Thank you so much for having

this conversation with me, Amber.

584

: 00:34:10

I really enjoyed speaking with you.

585

: 00:34:13

Amber: I enjoyed speaking with you too,

Dixie, and thank you for inviting us.

586

: 00:34:16

Dixie: That's it for today's episode.

587

: 00:34:18

I wanna thank everybody for

listening and supporting us.

588

: 00:34:22

If you wanna take that an extra

step, consider becoming a member.

589

: 00:34:26

We just added this to our

website, animalposse.com,

590

: 00:34:30

scroll down, look for the support tab.

591

: 00:34:33

Our membership program is going to

help us directly support animals

592

: 00:34:39

in need, whether that be through

vaccinations, food or spay neuter efforts.