Happy Tails: Inside the New Orleans Bulldog Rescue with Lisa

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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's guest is Lisa Krohn, the

VP of New Orleans Bulldog Rescue.

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Thank you so much for joining me today

I am excited to hear You're very welcome

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to hear about all the work you do.

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, I understand you work with a

New Orleans Bulldog rescue.

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You foster kittens and you do TNR,

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Lisa: A little bit of everything.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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It's a big difference too, going

from bulldog to kittens to TNR.

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It's a lot.

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Lisa: Yeah, it's a very

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wide range of knowledge, to be honest.

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Dixie: So to start, what first drew

you into the world of animal rescue?

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Lisa: So it would be 2006.

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I had moved into this house about two

years before that and I was feeding

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some outside cats and I had one of my

outside cats come to breakfast with her

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leg dangling and three kittens in tow.

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Once I fixed her leg, the

neighbor decided to adopt her.

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And then my mom's wallpaper

lady, Yogi Johnson did rescue.

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So she helped me find the three kittens

homes and that was the end of it.

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I started fostering for Yogi's

Group PET adoption services.

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And I was with them for close to 10 years.

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And then I moved on to

Bulldog Rescue on just a whim.

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Just they were on Facebook asking

for anyone that would like to

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foster a dog on the euthanasia list.

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And I jumped on this little, I don't

know, it was marked like a Catahoula,

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but it ended up being like a little.

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She like a sheep dog of some sort.

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So I fostered Delilah who I

think recently just passed away.

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She actually ended up in New York

City with her mom and I met Michael

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that way at Arc Animal Hospital,

literally vetting the dog that I had

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just pulled off the euthanasia list.

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And then I just slowly started

fostering dogs for him.

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First two dogs I fostered

weren't even Bulldogs.

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One was Delilah and one

was a little MinPin mix.

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'Cause at the time I owned a

min pin and I was partial to

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the little black and tan dogs.

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And and then right before Mardi

Gras pulled this bulldog and I named

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him Chunk and he was a rock star.

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Like I'd only had him

for less than a week.

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And we took him out to

the Mardi Gras parade.

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I.

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In the city for Barcus and he walked

with us and had a great life as well.

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One of our friends adopted him and

we got to see him all the time.

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He'd come to our events once a month

and you could see chunk running through

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the crowd trying to hunt me down to look

for me because he could, hear my voice.

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He knew I was there.

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So I started my adventures with

animals . I own cats and I own dogs.

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Being in the animal world for, or

animal advocacy world for 19 years,

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all of my friends are animal people.

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So I'm like, oh, I had one of my outside

cats unexpectedly pass away, and I

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just happened to be having dinner with

Rachel Goyette who runs Jefferson, SPCA,

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and I was like, I need some kittens.

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She's I have some for you.

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And the next day they were having

their crawfish boil at Jefferson Feed.

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So I went and had crawfish

with everyone at Jefferson Feed

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and came home with kittens.

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Pretty much how, every year I

foster a set or two of kittens.

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I think it's great for my big cats

to have little cats in the house.

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I have a new adult cat this year,

Simon, and he is great with the babies.

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He's licking them and cleaning them

and also having to be reminded that

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your, he's 14 pounds and they are 1.5

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pounds.

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But besides that, it's

just day in, day out.

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Caring for the animals that are here.

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I've got some long-term fosters.

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Bulldog rescue took a year off

from pulling dogs, unfortunately,

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because our vet bills were just.

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Out of control.

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Bulldogs are not cheap dogs to own

and they are not cheap dogs to pull

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from the shelter and get healthy.

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It takes a lot of money.

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And our adoption fees, obviously they

are not your normal $150-250 adoption

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fees, but it still doesn't cover the

thousands of dollars that we spend

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on dogs just to get them healthy.

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So that's where we are.

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I got my first dog this week , I hadn't

pulled a dog in almost 11 months.

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I.

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But we took a nice chunk off of our vet

bill, but I got a little Frenchy this

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week from one of the shelters in St.

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Bernard or the St.

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Bernard Animal shelter, I should say.

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Poor little guy was hit and

pinned underneath a car and had

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a broken pelvis and he's pretty

much almost recuperated from that

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and has a meet and greet tomorrow.

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Get him in and get him out.

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So really quick.

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Usually when we have cute little

adoptable, perfectly healthy dogs, there's

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really nothing wrong with him other than

he's just recovering from a broken pelvis.

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But one of our alumni, put the bug

out there that they were looking

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for another small dog, 'cause one

of theirs just recently passed away.

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So We're gonna meet tomorrow.

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Hopefully, fingers

crossed he'll find a home.

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Yeah.

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Mainly we've been concentrating on some

of these dogs that have just been sitting

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in rescue the most, like non adoptable

or not running off the shelves kind of

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adoptions, I had a dog named Petey and

I got him from the Baton Rouge Animal

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Shelter, and he was eight weeks old Petey.

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Just found a home.

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He's been with me almost five years.

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Oh,

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wow.

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Now he lives

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on Long Island.

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He has two sisters that have severe

mobility issues with spina bifida

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and two brothers who are pretty

mobile, but also has spina bifida

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and he has spina bifida as well.

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Fully mobile and, limps a little bit.

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I think there was some issues with

one of his hips, like the way that

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it was shaped, but besides that, his

main issue is that he leaked urine and

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feces and it was unpredictable, which

makes for a mess that's not a normal.

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Dog, and a lot of people look at that

and oh, I don't wanna deal with diapers.

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'cause it's like having a baby

and he also can't diaper 24 7.

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'cause then you've run the

risk of getting infections.

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So it it like tore me up to drop him

off on transport, but it was like, oh

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my gosh, I've had Petey for five years.

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This is amazing.

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He's getting a great home.

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I wanna live on Long Island.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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That's a wonderful story.

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Now, you said that you couldn't keep him

in diapers all the time, and I understand

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that, but what would you do would you

keep him like crated to keep things clean?

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Or how did you combat that situation?

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Lisa: He was either diapered in the

house for short periods of time.

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And then he was crated and in his

crate there was multiple pee pads.

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'cause he likes to nest.

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So he just, crumple 'em

all up and sleep on them.

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And I'll put pee pads underneath

his crate and we would just clean

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up and he messes that he left.

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If I was in the yard with him, I

would run with him and get him to run

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the business out more or less Uhhuh.

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But besides that it was just

cleanup, loose in the house

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means he had to wear a diaper.

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You leave the house, you

have to wear a diaper.

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So lots of bathing, lots of cleaning,

lots of mopping and pee pads.

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So he spent time in the yard, in

the kennel or in the house Diapered.

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That's pretty much, how he lives.

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Dixie: Yeah, I've seen some

cats have that before too.

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It's actually seems like it's a pretty

common issue where they'll leak the

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urine or possibly leak the poop.

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Lisa: Yeah, it is, and it seems

to be a common issue in Bulldogs.

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Unfortunately, they have some major

health issues, but yeah, that's

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actually how Petey found his home.

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Someone reshared his information

to a specific spina bifida Facebook

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group, and they reached out to us

because we don't normally do adoptions

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outside of a two hour radius of New

Orleans because we're all volunteers.

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So I can't say, oh yeah, I'll

adopt a dog to you in Nashville.

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But I do home checks

and like to deliver my.

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my pets personally.

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I have one, one day off a week, so

that means I would spend six hours

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driving to Memphis or Nashville,

drop off the dog and come home.

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That's, it's just not feasible.

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So we always stick with a, like a two

hour radius and you have to come to

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any event, you've, gotta do a home

checks, vet checks, all the basic,

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stuff that most rescue groups do.

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We do cover our heartworm treatment.

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A lot of our dogs sometimes

have eye issues and skin issues.

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So some of those things, if they're

in treatment when they get adopted,

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we do continue like a recheck and,

try to find our dogs' homes once.

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So doing the vet checks is extremely

important to call and make sure that

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the current dogs are on prevention.

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That is a major.

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Major, red flag if you have animals, you

don't have them at heartworm prevention.

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And then everyone has to be

fixed in the home as well.

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We do not adopt dogs to homes

that have unfixed animals.

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Even if there's no intent in

breeding in our animal is fixed.

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It just changes the dynamic in the

household to have an unfixed animal.

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And we just don't do it.

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It's just not something we do.

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We always advocate for spay

and neuter across the board.

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Like we've had one incident in the dog

had, like a cardiologist report stating

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that he couldn't be sedated, and that was

the only time that we've let a dog go to

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a home that had another unfixed animal.

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Dixie: Yeah I can agree with that too.

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I'm the same way with that.

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I think they all need to be

spayed and neutered just to be

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responsible for the pet ownership,

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Lisa: yeah, it's better for them health

wise and better for, the giant hole

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that we're all, digging ourselves

out of with all the unwanted animals

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that we already currently have.

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It's just the only way we're gonna

fix that is to educate people and

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to spay and neuter your animals,

even if there's no intent on having

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a litter is just responsible.

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I still run across people that are like,

oh, your dogs aren't gonna have babies.

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And I'm like, absolutely not.

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Have you been to the

animal shelter lately?

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Have you walked around

at the animal shelter?

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I just can't wrap my mind around some

of the things that people still think

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when it comes to animals and the way

they perceive the animal shelter.

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It's just nonsense to me,

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I've also been around for a while.

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It's not like I'm just learning

about these things, I've

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been doing rescue since 06.

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That's almost 20 years.

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That's almost half my life.

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Uhhuh.

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That's a long time.

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I don't know how else to live my life.

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So I I have a dog room and I have

kittens running around in the bathroom

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currently getting, some playtime.

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'Cause I have one of my dogs

loose, so we're slowly doing

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kitten doggy introductions.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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And it's good that you have the dogs

to introduce the kittens to, because

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there are a lot of people that they

do wanna adopt kittens and they

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wanna ask, are they dog friendly?

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Now, for somebody like

me, I don't have any dogs.

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I always have to say, I don't know.

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Lisa: When they're kitten, it takes a

bit of time to get 'em used to dogs.

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But having dogs in the house definitely is

a plus when you're adopting out kittens.

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Dixie: Yes, definitely.

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I agree.

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Definitely agree.

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Now, how does the Bulldog rescue

handle when people don't have a vet?

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So you can't call a vet for a veterinary

reference if it's like a new owner,

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Lisa: usually the process would

be that they have to establish

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with a vet and then send a like

wellness check visit receipt to us.

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It's in our contracts that within

14 days, any animal, whether you

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have a vet or not, needs to see.

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A veterinarian just to make, do a wellness

visit, just to make sure that everything

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that we're giving you medically is

correct and that your vet can look at

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that information and do a wellness visit

before you have an issue or an emergency.

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Your vet doesn't wanna see

your dog when it's, on its way

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out or needing serious care.

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They want to visit with your

new pet when it's happy,

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healthy and, having a good day.

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We always require a vet visit, but

for people that do not have a vet,

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they have to send receipts to us.

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And most of the time that just basically

proves that they're buying heartworm

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prevention and that they're being

responsible, because that's one of

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the main things that we require is,

you've gotta be responsible, gotta have

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heartworm prevention, and to prove that

to us, I just need a simple receipt.

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Dixie: How long has the New

Orleans Bulldog Rescue been around?

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Lisa: So Michael Schachtman

. Started the group after Sula a

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pit bull rescue disbanded, and

I believe that was close to.

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2010 Uhhuh.

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So I think we've been

around for 14 or 15 years.

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'cause Michael had been doing this for

about a year and a half before, but he

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was with SULA before that, so he was

pulling pit bulls which we still love.

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We are All Breed we really

don't just stick to bulldogs.

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My forever foster, who's 14 years

old, is laying on the floor and she

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has a little blue nose pit bull.

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And I've got a personal dog that's

a pit and then an English bulldog.

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If it's on that breed

restriction list, I'll take it.

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Thank you very much.

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Dixie: It's good to know

that the New Orleans Bulldog

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rescue is not breed specific.

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Lisa: No, we are not.

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Dixie: Yeah, I know a lot of times

when people put that, people are

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like, oh no, it's strictly a breed

specific thing and I don't think

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a lot of people understand that.

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Rescues are very flexible when

it comes to rescuing animals.

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Lisa: Absolutely.

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I feel like the breed specific

dogs, the Frenchies and the English,

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they do bring out the crowds.

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But then once you're out there,

you might fall in love with this

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little bulldog mix or another pit

bull or any other dog that we have

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available for adoption at the time.

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So it's definitely a big draw

to have English bulldogs and

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English, available for adoption.

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But I find that people come out and

they meet these dogs and they're

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not like the dog that they, is

a good match for their family.

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And then we have this other

dog that's perfect for them.

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And just with a little bit of time

of with them spending, with the

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dog and, us encouraging it, we

usually can make a great match.

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And that's the main reason why we require

people to come to adoption events.

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Come out, meet all the dogs.

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You're looking at a dog, you're

just looking at its picture.

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You might have, or you might not

have even read the description about

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the dog, but the look of the dog

is what people fall in love with.

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When you actually get there, you'd be

surprised what you're actually drawn to.

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What is the best match for your family.

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And we always tell people it's

not first come, first serve.

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I remember we had an incident at one

of our very first Christmas events.

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It was like our first big

event that I participated in.

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And it was a man and he was insistent

that he was the first one at the

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event and he was adopting that dog.

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And I'm like, I'm sorry sir.

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That's not how it works.

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And he was furious, absolutely furious.

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Michael had to step in.

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And I don't even remember, what

deescalated the situation, but I know

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that he was just insistent that he

was their first and the dog was his.

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I'm like, that's just not

how it works, unfortunately.

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Dixie: Yeah, I see.

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I run into that on social media if I'm

trying to help people with kittens and

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one thing that I absolutely cannot stand

to is when like a rescue offers to help.

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And they're like, oh, I'll think about it.

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It's if a rescue is offering

help, let 'em take the kittens.

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But what they'll do instead is

they'll be like, oh, I already

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promised one or two to the person

who said that they wanted them first.

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And it's really?

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Lisa: I'm just shaking and I'm,

literally just shaking my head.

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Dixie: I know.

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' Lisa: cause I just don't understand,

if a rescue is offering to help,

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that is like a guarantee that they're

gonna back the animals that you

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found until they find a forever home.

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Whether it's financially or whether it's

just at, doing the social media work

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and advertising the animal on Petfinder.

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It's just, I don't know.

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Back in the day that's how I

started with Bulldog Rescue.

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I.

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Follow through.

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That's all I did.

307

: 00:15:45

I committed to an animal and this

rescue that I'd never even met,

308

: 00:15:49

stepped up financially, and I've

been with them, for the last, I think

309

: 00:15:53

I, 12 years, 10 years, a long time.

310

: 00:15:56

I should have looked at

those dates beforehand.

311

: 00:16:00

It's been a

312

: 00:16:00

while.

313

: 00:16:01

I can't even remember.

314

: 00:16:02

So technically I'm the vice president.

315

: 00:16:04

I handle intakes, so if you send in a

surrender request I will look at it.

316

: 00:16:12

If we've got a foster

home that's a good match.

317

: 00:16:13

If know, I try to set up the intakes,

mostly try to pull our dogs from shelters.

318

: 00:16:19

Most people just text me, from the

animal shelters and ask for help.

319

: 00:16:24

I know most of the people that work

at the local shelters and, like

320

: 00:16:29

as far as like Baton Rouge down

in Chalmette, things like that.

321

: 00:16:32

Most of the time they just have my phone

number and I work closely with them.

322

: 00:16:36

I just get the details.

323

: 00:16:37

I, get some pictures.

324

: 00:16:39

I run it by Michael and let him know

what we're looking at commitment wise.

325

: 00:16:43

Usually it's medical stuff that Michael's

worried about, but now I have a specific.

326

: 00:16:47

Criteria for animals that I can pull and

help so that I don't dig ourselves into

327

: 00:16:53

a huge financial hole and halt things.

328

: 00:16:56

But rescue's always that way.

329

: 00:16:58

It's always gonna be how much time

do I have to go out and advocate

330

: 00:17:02

for the animals and raise money?

331

: 00:17:04

We do an online auction.

332

: 00:17:06

Now we're doing it twice a year

where we basically just auction

333

: 00:17:10

off items that have been donated.

334

: 00:17:11

And the money comes straight to

us and we just ship the items

335

: 00:17:14

out to people all across the

country to whoever, buys the item.

336

: 00:17:18

They just bid on 'em online.

337

: 00:17:20

And then we usually have merchandise,

which we have just reordered some

338

: 00:17:24

t-shirts and, we always have our

donation button on Facebook and,

339

: 00:17:29

you can donate through Venmo.

340

: 00:17:31

We have all the things.

341

: 00:17:32

It just gets away from you when you're

helping dogs and you're not looking

342

: 00:17:36

at what's in the bank account and

what the vet, has on their tally.

343

: 00:17:40

So yeah it can easily get outta control.

344

: 00:17:44

But it's, we've been around a long time.

345

: 00:17:46

We just took a little break, but we're

not down and out, I still have dogs here.

346

: 00:17:51

Un unfortunately, I had two

dogs come back in November.

347

: 00:17:55

Their dad that's had some medical issues.

348

: 00:17:58

So I've got, two dogs here that were

in a home for almost five years that

349

: 00:18:03

are now looking for homes again.

350

: 00:18:05

Either together or separately.

351

: 00:18:07

But that's just, in the last

year we've been pushing some

352

: 00:18:09

of our long-term fosters.

353

: 00:18:11

We got Petey adopted into a great home,

and then cobalt and Susie came back.

354

: 00:18:15

And then, like I said, I just this week

went down and pulled a new Frenchie.

355

: 00:18:20

So poor guy doesn't even

have a name at this point.

356

: 00:18:22

. Just the one they gave him at the

shelter and he doesn't know it

357

: 00:18:25

and I don't particularly like it,

so we're just going with here.

358

: 00:18:28

Your dog.

359

: 00:18:28

You're a good boy right

now, so come on, dog.

360

: 00:18:33

That's what I tell him.

361

: 00:18:34

Come on, dog.

362

: 00:18:35

And he's smart.

363

: 00:18:36

He got the routine literally in a day and

he knows how to open the crate that he

364

: 00:18:40

is in, so he has to be, locked in there.

365

: 00:18:42

Dixie: Nice.

366

: 00:18:43

Lisa: Very smart.

367

: 00:18:43

He was, he watched me close the crate

one time and then was scratching

368

: 00:18:47

out the door like two minutes later.

369

: 00:18:48

I'm like, oh, he figured out that

he could just push the crate up.

370

: 00:18:51

It's just a crate that drops down and

it's supposed to lock in place, but

371

: 00:18:55

it didn't stay in place apparently.

372

: 00:18:57

Uhhuh.

373

: 00:18:57

Yeah,

374

: 00:18:58

so that happened.

375

: 00:19:00

Unfortunately, I've got, a couple

dogs with storm fearers currently

376

: 00:19:04

and I just put extra clips and extra

zip ties, got cameras in that room

377

: 00:19:09

and just monitor when I'm not here

and make sure everybody's okay.

378

: 00:19:12

Especially 'cause it's summer showers.

379

: 00:19:14

Dixie: Yeah.

380

: 00:19:15

Lisa: It's constantly

having a thunderstorm around

381

: 00:19:18

Dixie: yeah.

382

: 00:19:19

It's amazing how smart they are too.

383

: 00:19:20

'cause they will figure it out fast.

384

: 00:19:23

Lisa: Yes, Uhhuh.

385

: 00:19:25

I've got a couple they can

open kennels, including the

386

: 00:19:27

one that's laying on the floor.

387

: 00:19:28

She's in a very thick, like

almost steel bared kennel.

388

: 00:19:33

And her lock drops down and slides

back and she can undo both of them.

389

: 00:19:37

Dixie: Wow.

390

: 00:19:37

Lisa: In

391

: 00:19:37

record time.

392

: 00:19:39

Yeah, it's pretty amazing to be

honest, because this is her store

393

: 00:19:43

kennel, the same exact kennel.

394

: 00:19:44

This is the third one.

395

: 00:19:46

Just because she's got storm fears

and when she's younger she just

396

: 00:19:49

destroyed the crates trying to get out.

397

: 00:19:51

When she gets out, she

doesn't do any damage.

398

: 00:19:53

It's just that when I leave the house,

everybody needs to be kenneled 'cause

399

: 00:19:57

everyone doesn't always get along.

400

: 00:19:59

And I bring new dogs in from the shelter.

401

: 00:20:01

I have no idea, if another

dog is gonna break out.

402

: 00:20:04

And then I've got two loose

dogs in one room and not home.

403

: 00:20:08

When I've done rescue for a long time,

I've got all the bases covered to make

404

: 00:20:12

sure that I keep everyone safe including

myself, but mainly the animals, like

405

: 00:20:17

when I'm not here and I can't supervise,

everyone's kenneled in their own separate

406

: 00:20:21

kennels and I just make sure everybody's

calm before I walk out that front door.

407

: 00:20:25

I don't leave the house when

the dogs are going berserk.

408

: 00:20:28

I've got a nice routine where

everybody's in their kennels, at

409

: 00:20:31

least 10, 15 minutes before in case

anybody's got separation anxiety.

410

: 00:20:35

When they hear me hit the button

on the door, usually it's, if they

411

: 00:20:39

know that this is the routine,

they know I'm about to leave.

412

: 00:20:42

Everybody seems to be

good with that routine.

413

: 00:20:44

I just keep it the same way with my

kittens even I, they go in and out

414

: 00:20:48

of a large dog kennel that's in the

bathroom, that's like their nighttime.

415

: 00:20:52

I co I cover 'em at night.

416

: 00:20:54

I'm trying to teach 'em nighttime and

sleepy time, so they're not at their

417

: 00:20:57

new homes running crazy at night.

418

: 00:20:59

They're already used to the fact that

they have to be sleeping at nighttime and

419

: 00:21:03

they're up and playing during the day.

420

: 00:21:05

And when I go to work, they go

back into, their dog kennel when I

421

: 00:21:08

come home, they come out and they

eat, and we do it all over again.

422

: 00:21:10

The dogs go out, the kittens get out.

423

: 00:21:12

It's just a constant revolving who's

in the house and who's in the yard.

424

: 00:21:17

Dixie: What do you do if you

have to evacuate for a hurricane?

425

: 00:21:22

Lisa: That hasn't happened yet.

426

: 00:21:25

I've only had smaller

hurricanes to deal with.

427

: 00:21:28

I've got a very large generator in the

backyard and three air conditioning units

428

: 00:21:34

and , for Ida, I stayed I had way too many

animals at that point in life to evacuate.

429

: 00:21:39

I've got less animals now, but with

the equipment that I have now, I can

430

: 00:21:44

stay here, run the refrigerator, run

everything that I need to just as long

431

: 00:21:49

as I can get gas for the generator and

that hasn't seemed to be a problem.

432

: 00:21:53

My family also stays, so I've got my

brother and my parents seven minutes from

433

: 00:21:56

me, and everybody is on the same page.

434

: 00:21:59

Everybody checks in.

435

: 00:22:01

Then my brother will come over and help me

get the generator and the AC unit's going.

436

: 00:22:05

Usually I stay.

437

: 00:22:06

The last big storm that I left

for was Katrina, and at that

438

: 00:22:08

time I did take my animals with

me, my two dogs and my two cats.

439

: 00:22:13

And then I haven't evacuated

for a storm since then.

440

: 00:22:17

Dixie: Yeah.

441

: 00:22:17

To be honest, same with me.

442

: 00:22:18

I stayed for Ida as well.

443

: 00:22:20

We had the generator.

444

: 00:22:21

Makes sense.

445

: 00:22:21

Lisa: Yeah, I technically have two

generators, but one of them will run

446

: 00:22:25

the, my house and the neighbor's house.

447

: 00:22:27

It's massive.

448

: 00:22:29

It tells me what percentage I use.

449

: 00:22:31

I've never used more than 20%

of the battery at one time.

450

: 00:22:35

I'm thankful for that thing is a Mac

daddy, but it is heavy to Manhandle

451

: 00:22:39

and to move around and it can't

sit out there If it's not running

452

: 00:22:43

well, it might be able to now.

453

: 00:22:44

But Petey used to eat the wires.

454

: 00:22:46

I had to repair both of the generators

because once you turn them off,

455

: 00:22:49

Petey is like, oh, that thing was,

that giant thing was making noise.

456

: 00:22:52

And he would chew on

the wires and the hoses.

457

: 00:22:55

He liked to eat the hoses.

458

: 00:22:57

Don't know why.

459

: 00:23:00

Random dog things.

460

: 00:23:02

Dixie: Uhhuh.

461

: 00:23:02

Yeah.

462

: 00:23:03

They eat anything.

463

: 00:23:04

Some of 'em anyway.

464

: 00:23:06

Lisa: Yeah.

465

: 00:23:06

Definitely.

466

: 00:23:08

Dixie: That's what I like seeing to

keep those posts where they show the

467

: 00:23:11

vets on what they pull out of the dog's

stomachs and sometimes it's just amazing.

468

: 00:23:15

Lisa: Yeah, that is absolutely

interesting to watch.

469

: 00:23:19

'cause I've had a dog that came

to me from Baton Rouge and what

470

: 00:23:22

was in his stomach was not parts

of things that were at my house.

471

: 00:23:26

So wherever he came from, before

he was at the Baton Rouge shelter

472

: 00:23:30

or at the Baton Rouge shelter was

what was in his stomach poor guy.

473

: 00:23:34

And he did have to have it extracted.

474

: 00:23:36

Piece of like plastic

black mat or something.

475

: 00:23:38

I don't even know.

476

: 00:23:39

I don't have a mat like that.

477

: 00:23:40

So it definitely didn't

come from my house.

478

: 00:23:43

Dixie: So how is your

setup for your kittens?

479

: 00:23:46

Lisa: So currently my kittens have

a large dog kennel that sits up

480

: 00:23:51

on top of my bathroom cabinet.

481

: 00:23:54

So it makes my.

482

: 00:23:56

Bathroom, basically just kitten land.

483

: 00:23:57

The sink is inaccessible at this

point and they've got a litter box

484

: 00:24:01

in there and they've got a stuffed

the animal and their food and water.

485

: 00:24:04

And then , their wet food and

water and their dry food go in

486

: 00:24:07

and out of the kennel with them.

487

: 00:24:10

And I feed like mom and baby cat

and frisky's kittens mixed together

488

: 00:24:14

as per what Rachel sent home.

489

: 00:24:16

And we do a little bit

of forti flora in there.

490

: 00:24:18

And sometimes I put some thrive on

top, a little baby kitten thrive.

491

: 00:24:22

And then when I have the dogs loose in

the house, everyone except for Rhonda,

492

: 00:24:26

usually they are locked into the bathroom

and there's like a larger litter box

493

: 00:24:33

for the adult cats in there and toys

and then their food and water are down.

494

: 00:24:37

And then whenever I finish rotating

the dogs as, as long as I'm

495

: 00:24:40

gonna have some peace and quiet.

496

: 00:24:42

In the house, dogwise, I'll

let the kittens come out.

497

: 00:24:45

And they storm the door like it's,

Armageddon is running out like maniacs.

498

: 00:24:49

They're right at eight weeks old.

499

: 00:24:51

They know their names.

500

: 00:24:51

It's Cheeto, Dorito and Frito.

501

: 00:24:54

Two little redheads and a little buff guy.

502

: 00:24:56

They're all boys and that's, basically

my process with them is let them have

503

: 00:25:01

as much out time from their dog crate.

504

: 00:25:04

The minute that I'm up in the

morning, they hear me in the bathroom.

505

: 00:25:07

'cause that's one of

the first things I do.

506

: 00:25:08

Let the dogs out and then I go to the

bathroom and that's when they come out

507

: 00:25:12

and I mix their food and the minute that

their food is mixed, they're storming

508

: 00:25:15

back into the bathroom when I call them.

509

: 00:25:17

And then that's pretty much how their day

starts and we just do it all day long.

510

: 00:25:21

They come in and out of the bathroom when

the dogs are going in and out and, when

511

: 00:25:25

I leave they're in their dog kennel and

when I sleep, they're in their dog kennel.

512

: 00:25:28

They're just so little at this point.

513

: 00:25:31

I can't misplace them in the house

because I've got to move the dogs around.

514

: 00:25:35

So it's all very controlled by me just

to make sure that everyone is safe and

515

: 00:25:40

that the kittens, are gaining weight.

516

: 00:25:42

We're going in for our kitten shots.

517

: 00:25:44

Dorito wasn't feeling well last

time, so he did not get his

518

: 00:25:48

second round of injections.

519

: 00:25:49

We just finished with our antibiotics.

520

: 00:25:51

So I'm hoping this week to get Dorito in.

521

: 00:25:55

Excuse me, and have his

second set of kitten vaccines.

522

: 00:25:58

Once they get two pounds, they'll

get neutered and move hopefully

523

: 00:26:02

to Jefferson feed for adoption.

524

: 00:26:05

If not, I will just hold onto

them , as long as need be.

525

: 00:26:08

That's what you do when

you volunteer to foster.

526

: 00:26:11

At least that's what I do when

I volunteer to foster it, is

527

: 00:26:14

all the way through the end.

528

: 00:26:15

Even if I've got that dog for

five years or these kittens for

529

: 00:26:18

five years at my house it's just,

530

: 00:26:20

i'm committed and that's the most

important thing is that, I signed up to

531

: 00:26:25

make sure that these guys got adopted

and that's how it's gonna be, whether

532

: 00:26:30

it takes a couple weeks or five years.

533

: 00:26:33

That's just how I am.

534

: 00:26:35

I guess it's a good quality to have.

535

: 00:26:36

I'm definitely committed to my

animals every, and I've got,

536

: 00:26:39

this one takes heart meds.

537

: 00:26:40

That one, gets bronchitis.

538

: 00:26:42

The bulldog's got, a micro orbital eye.

539

: 00:26:45

I've got a cat with no eyelids.

540

: 00:26:47

He also has stomatitis.

541

: 00:26:48

Simon got his entropion fixed this year.

542

: 00:26:51

I adopted a cat from Trad Dat Cat, and I

was told that he had herpes in his eye.

543

: 00:26:57

And I was like, okay, like

it's not a big, huge deal.

544

: 00:26:59

Like we'll just continue to treat

it well, didn't get any better.

545

: 00:27:03

And we went to the eye specialist

after we'd seen my vet twice and

546

: 00:27:07

done some expensive meds as per

what Rachel was telling me, they had

547

: 00:27:12

used similar with a similar, issue

with the cat with herpes in the eye.

548

: 00:27:17

And that didn't work.

549

: 00:27:18

So the eye specialist

is no, he has entropion.

550

: 00:27:20

So then we got that fixed.

551

: 00:27:23

That's just what you do

when you have an animal.

552

: 00:27:25

You have an issue, you fix it.

553

: 00:27:27

Absolutely.

554

: 00:27:28

Or you do your best to maintain

it or treat it or whatever.

555

: 00:27:31

Rhonda's heart meds are $130 a month and

I go and pick them up every single month.

556

: 00:27:37

That's just because she needs them.

557

: 00:27:40

She's got a left ventricle issue.

558

: 00:27:41

She's 14 years old.

559

: 00:27:43

Whoever had her tied to a tree on a two

inch, or not two inch, I think it was two

560

: 00:27:49

feet, maybe it wasn't very large rope in

the backyard for two years of her life,

561

: 00:27:55

didn't give her heartworm prevention.

562

: 00:27:57

So by the time we got her and

saved her, she had enough damage

563

: 00:28:01

onto her heart that she's got an

issue with her left ventricle.

564

: 00:28:04

Over the years that unfor it, it

fortunately has not changed, but she's

565

: 00:28:08

still on an expensive heart med twice

a day for years now, and she'll be

566

: 00:28:13

on those meds until she passes away.

567

: 00:28:15

And hopefully that's no time soon.

568

: 00:28:17

Oh my old girl.

569

: 00:28:19

Dixie: And how old is she

570

: 00:28:20

Lisa: 14.

571

: 00:28:21

Dixie: Wow.

572

: 00:28:21

Yeah.

573

: 00:28:22

Lisa: She's still spry.

574

: 00:28:23

She'll still jump all over my dad

when my dad comes to cut the grass.

575

: 00:28:27

And she still sounds ferocious.

576

: 00:28:29

If she's loosened, she,

you knock on the door.

577

: 00:28:32

And that's, that's the main

thing I need you to know.

578

: 00:28:34

We got dogs here when

you knock on my door.

579

: 00:28:37

Dixie: Wow.

580

: 00:28:37

14.

581

: 00:28:38

And she's got heart problems.

582

: 00:28:39

That's amazing.

583

: 00:28:41

Lisa: Yeah, she's been

around for a long time.

584

: 00:28:43

She's been relatively healthy Besides

her heart issue she's had a hematoma in

585

: 00:28:48

her life and the latest thing was a UTI.

586

: 00:28:50

And she's been extremely healthy.

587

: 00:28:53

But obviously, we try

take care of our animals.

588

: 00:28:55

We feed quality food, everybody.

589

: 00:28:58

Sees the vet when they need to gets

their heartworm prevention on time.

590

: 00:29:02

We, I just do what a responsible pet

owner should do for their animals.

591

: 00:29:06

I just, happen to own more cats than

I do dogs, but I run a dog rescue,

592

: 00:29:11

I tell people that and they laugh.

593

: 00:29:13

I'm like, I didn't even have a bulldog

in my home as my personal pet for five

594

: 00:29:17

years when I was doing bulldog rescue.

595

: 00:29:19

So my first bulldog I adopted

after I'd already been with

596

: 00:29:23

this rescue for five years.

597

: 00:29:24

Dixie: Huh.

598

: 00:29:24

Lisa: And

599

: 00:29:24

that was Monty.

600

: 00:29:26

I'm on my third now.

601

: 00:29:27

So I had Monty and Lucy who both

had serious behavior issues.

602

: 00:29:32

Monty much less than Lucy, Lucy

couldn't even hardly leave the house.

603

: 00:29:36

It was very.

604

: 00:29:38

Very one-sided relationship.

605

: 00:29:40

But I was her mama.

606

: 00:29:42

I nursed her back to health and hand

fed her When she got pneumonia, she was

607

: 00:29:45

down to 34 pounds and spent a couple

weeks in ICU over at Metairie Small.

608

: 00:29:51

And yeah, I was pretty much

the only one that could handle

609

: 00:29:55

her and that was fine by me.

610

: 00:29:56

Unfortunately, she didn't live very long.

611

: 00:29:59

It was only 18 months from the

damage that was done to her heart.

612

: 00:30:02

She had, serious heart problems.

613

: 00:30:07

When it was time I took her in and

stayed with her and it was time.

614

: 00:30:10

So I only had her for 18 months.

615

: 00:30:12

But the.

616

: 00:30:14

Trail on social media and Craigslist.

617

: 00:30:17

I think she had at least four owners

and was heartworm positive for at

618

: 00:30:21

least five years before I got her.

619

: 00:30:22

Dixie: Oh, wow.

620

: 00:30:23

Lisa: 'cause

621

: 00:30:23

after we posted about her, people

came out of the woodwork going,

622

: 00:30:26

I saw this dog on Craigslist.

623

: 00:30:28

I saw her on Facebook two years ago.

624

: 00:30:30

She was heartworm positive.

625

: 00:30:31

Then someone gave her away on Craigslist.

626

: 00:30:33

At that point I knew that she had some

serious issues along her life, uhhuh

627

: 00:30:39

with humans treating her horribly.

628

: 00:30:42

You could tell, you couldn't

touch the broom in the house.

629

: 00:30:44

If you grabbed the paper towels,

it was on like Donkey Kong.

630

: 00:30:48

She would come after you sometimes

coming out of the bathroom.

631

: 00:30:51

If you were holding something in

your hands, anything didn't matter

632

: 00:30:54

what color, just holding something

in your hands, your dirty clothes.

633

: 00:30:57

She'd get up and go out of her way

to charge you just because she could.

634

: 00:31:02

No other reason.

635

: 00:31:03

I couldn't figure out a rhyme

or a reason to what set her off.

636

: 00:31:06

Just knew that I couldn't carry

things around in the house much

637

: 00:31:08

and she was loose, or I run

the risk of her charging me.

638

: 00:31:12

So

639

: 00:31:12

she never hurt me, but

640

: 00:31:13

she definitely showed me that I

was not in charge of this house.

641

: 00:31:17

Dixie: Yeah.

642

: 00:31:17

That's sad.

643

: 00:31:17

Even sad though.

644

: 00:31:18

Lisa: Yeah.

645

: 00:31:19

And it wasn't her fault.

646

: 00:31:20

Yeah.

647

: 00:31:20

Yeah.

648

: 00:31:20

It really wasn't.

649

: 00:31:21

And she let me do all the things to her.

650

: 00:31:23

Like I could clean her wrinkles in even

the most girly spots and she would let me

651

: 00:31:28

Dixie: so how many pets do you have.

652

: 00:31:30

Lisa: So I own two dogs and four cats.

653

: 00:31:32

Three are strictly inside and one

is still from my shelter TNR days.

654

: 00:31:38

I had to relocate her here.

655

: 00:31:40

Thankfully I relocated her here 'cause

she ended up with a diaphragmatic

656

: 00:31:43

hernia repair that needed to be done.

657

: 00:31:46

But she's my last outside cat and

that, that's it, four cats, two dogs.

658

: 00:31:50

But I'm just one person that's more

than enough for just me to handle.

659

: 00:31:54

And then I've got the

three dogs here in rescue.

660

: 00:31:57

Technically four 'cause of Rhonda,

but she's my forever foster.

661

: 00:32:02

Unfortunately, she's, she doesn't

really go to events and she needs

662

: 00:32:04

a very specific home and with heart

issues at the age of 14, I don't

663

: 00:32:09

think that she's gonna go anywhere.

664

: 00:32:11

She's technically my dog.

665

: 00:32:12

She sleeps in bed with me.

666

: 00:32:14

Dixie: Thank you, Lisa, for joining

me today to talk about your role

667

: 00:32:18

with New Orleans Bulldog Rescue and

everything that you do in animal rescue.

668

: 00:32:23

We will be back next week with Lisa to

finish up our conversation about some of

669

: 00:32:28

the things that she has experienced in

animal rescue, and we'll also discuss TNR.

670

: 00:32:34

So we hope to see you next week.

671

: 00:32:37

If you are enjoying our show, please

consider leaving us a donation.

672

: 00:32:41

A hundred percent goes to our animals..

673

: 00:32:45

Thanks for listening.

674

: 00:32:49

And that's all the time we

have for today's episode.

675

: 00:32:52

If you are in animal rescue, or if

you know someone that has a story that

676

: 00:32:56

should be told, please contact us.

677

: 00:32:58

We would love to have

you or them on the show

678

: 00:33:01

. Thanks for listening, and please

join us next week as we continue to

679

: 00:33:04

explore the world of animal rescue.