Animal Posse Unmasking Animal Cruelty: A Conversation with Veronica Belletto - Animal Posse

Episode 17

Unmasking Animal Cruelty: A Conversation with Veronica Belletto

Published on: 23rd May, 2025

Animal cruelty exposed. This week, Animal Posse welcomes Veronica Belletto, a dedicated animal advocate and cruelty investigator. We delve into the difficult truths of animal neglect, abuse, and the brutal world of dog fighting. Learn the signs, understand the impact, and discover how to be a voice for the voiceless. A powerful and essential listen.

#AnimalCruelty


#AnimalAdvocate


#ProtectAnimals


#VoiceForTheVoiceless

Transcript
Dixie:

Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the

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people and rescues making a

difference in the lives of animals.

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Hi Veronica.

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How are you?

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Veronica: Hi Dixie.

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I'm great.

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Thanks so much for calling.

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Dixie: You're welcome.

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Thank you for joining me today.

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So we could talk about the work

you do as an animal advocate.

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I understand you work for several

organizations, so tell me a

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little bit about yourself and

the groups you volunteer with.

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Veronica: I try to lend my time to anybody

I see reaching out on social media.

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First off, that big easy animal

rescue is one and chat that cat

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and, animal rescue New Orleans.

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This most recently I've been doing

work with investigative, work with

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the Humane Society of Louisiana.

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And that's been very rewarding

and I feel like we're really

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making a difference there.

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And how did you get started in this?

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Were you always into animals?

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As a, when I was about 12, I've always

been into animals, and at age 12 I've

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joined a program at the zoo, which

now as an adult, I'm not a fan of

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zoos, but at the time they took us

to the SBCA as part of the training

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program to be a junior zookeeper.

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And at the SBCA, they showed us

a film about what happens to.

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Animals one, they're euthanized

and it was really jarring.

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And ever since then I've been, tried

to be an advocate and donate, know

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and give time as much as possible.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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I was actually a volunteer

at the zoo as well.

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Veronica: Oh, you were?

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Okay.

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Yeah.

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. I was in this junior zookeeper program

and I did, I'll say to their credit, I

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learned the training program was great.

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I learned a lot.

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But as I mentioned, now

I'm not such a fan of.

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Any

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enclosures?

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Dixie: Yeah.

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When I was a junior in high school,

we had to pick a volunteer program.

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We had to go there for two

weeks, so that's what I ended

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up doing I picked the zoo.

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I went to the zoo and I ended up

staying there the whole summer, and

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I went back the following summer.

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I really enjoyed it.

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But you're right.

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Veronica: That's funny.

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I did the same thing really.

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I went back yeah.

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We might have even known each other.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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I did mine 92 through 94

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Veronica: yes.

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I think that's pretty close to me.

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I enjoyed it as well.

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I I got to work in the nocturnal exhibit.

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Is it the type of thing you did?

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Dixie: Actually it was right before

the release of Jurassic Park, so

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they had the dinosaur exhibit.

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Oh, cool.

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Yeah, they put me in

dinosaur exhibit area.

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And they had games that they would

play for all the kids coming.

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I was tyrannosaurus white

instead of Vanna White.

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That's a like, that's really cute.

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And yeah, but they would

bring out some animals.

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I wasn't trained for the mammals,

but they would bring out the insects.

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And oh yeah.

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It was funny because I was there for maybe

two days and they tell me, oh, you're

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gonna be in charge of the roaches today.

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And I'm terrified of cockroaches.

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So I was like, oh my God,

this is gonna be horrible.

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I'm gonna quit.

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But they brought out the hissing ones

and then they brought out a giant one

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and those they're totally different.

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I wasn't scared of 'em at all.

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They were actually both really cool.

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But yeah.

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That's funny.

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How

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Veronica: big are, is a giant cockroach.

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Dixie: He was probably about

like maybe eight inches.

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He's big, but he looks nothing

like the ones that we have

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coming out of the sewers here.

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So it was like totally different.

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And I actually held him and he would

walk around my hand and then I would

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hold the little hissing ones too.

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I think it was the Madagascar

hissing cockroaches.

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But yeah those were really cool too.

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And I was fine with those, but if I

see one of the flying ones that come

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into your house or one of the ones

coming up by the sewers I freak out.

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I still can't handle those.

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Veronica: Me too.

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You're like the roach whisperer.

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Dixie: Yeah, I don't think so.

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Could you share what drew you to the

different roles that you're doing cause

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you said you work with three or four

different groups and how that has changed

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your overall perspective on animal welfare

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. Veronica: I didn't realize, I guess

it was about three years ago, there

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was a feral cat outside my apartment

that needed help badly, could barely

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walk, was dragging its back leg.

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Its eyes were crusted shut.

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It was deaf.

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And so I started reaching

out to all these groups.

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I had already volunteered at

the time for Animal Rescue New

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Orleans, but I, I just needed help.

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What to do with this cat, how to

trap it, what's the best way, and

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reached out and really the only one

that got back to me was Trap Dat Cat

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So I got involved with them, and helping

trap and also to transport all the cats.

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And it was, it's such

an amazing organization.

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Nina Hemeter has, at any given time,

40 cats on her front porch waiting to,

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go get fixed and she's just tireless.

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So watching her work and then realizing,

just getting more and more, little

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by little I started seeing just.

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people don't realize that

how rampant animal abuse is.

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And it's like when I got involved in one

group, then I would see more and more

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on social media and then that would open

me up to another group that I joined

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and then that would open me up to see.

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It's horrific and I feel people

have been, society as a whole has

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been so sheltered from it because

it doesn't often get a lot of press.

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And I started really.

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Thinking to myself, I know that what

I'm good at, and what I'm not good at,

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and I know that I'm good at writing

and lobbying and tenacity, if you will.

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So I started to write letters and

proposals to the city council and

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trying to, create an animal, task force.

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That you can better,

go out and investigate.

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Abuse and neglect and also a registry

I've been working on because I'm

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really very frustrated that people

can abuse an animal and easily go

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back out and adopt another one.

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I just don't see any reason

why there's, there should

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always already be one in place.

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It seems very basic, to have a registry

that you can share between shelters and

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rescue organizations across the country.

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So I've been working on that and realizing

that's the, probably what I'm best at is

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lobbying and advocating, at a state level.

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But it's really just opened my eyes to,

the irresponsibility of people these

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days and the lack of accountability, the

surrenders and the rehoming have been so

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normalized and it's really just pathetic.

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There are reasons to rehome and

surrender if you cannot care for your

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animal, if you have a dire circumstance.

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But what I'm seeing is

this, just constant just.

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I don't feel like I have time or I'm

moving and I need to rehome in two days

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or I'm bringing to a shelter and I feel

as though I, I get a lot of pushback

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on social media because I'm very,

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aggressive with these people and

explaining like, exactly, okay,

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you're gonna drop it at a shelter.

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Euthanize is a really pretty word for what

actually happens, so let me tell you, you

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know what's going to happen to your pet?

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And I get some pushback, but I feel

like it's time is a society that we stop

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normalizing and accepting this behavior.

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Dixie: I agree with you on that.

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And I see it all the time too.

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I do cat rescue.

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And I find a lot of people don't

really understand what a rescue is for.

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A rescue isn't for the people that are

just abandoning their responsibilities.

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Like, if you're gonna move,

you know you're gonna move, and

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don't expect a rescue to take it.

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That's not a dire circumstance,

I guess maybe I'm looking at

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things different too with.

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How a rescue should actually be.

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A rescue is gonna be for the

animals that are actually abandoned.

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The animals that are like falling out

of car engines on the street need help.

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The sick animal that you see

on the corner that's neglected.

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But I get calls too for people,

oh, I'm moving tomorrow.

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Can you take my animal?

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You're a rescue.

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Veronica: And then they're angry if

you don't have space, like you're

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just, people just are not educated,

they just think there's this utopia

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at the rescue where there's just all

this space and money and time and

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Dixie: Right.

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Veronica: It's

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just not reality.

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Dixie: Exactly.

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And then what you're saying too about the

registry, I think that's a wonderful idea.

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But a problem that I often see

is a lot of the rescues not

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wanting to work with one another.

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Veronica: Yes.

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So I see it too.

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Dixie: Yeah, they have that information

there, but it's like for some reason

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there's just a reluctance to share.

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And that's in part why I wanted

to start this podcast was to

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help bring rescues together we're

all working for the same goal.

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Veronica: I think that's a great idea.

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And I think that hopefully, eventually,

they'll be pressured enough.

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'cause I feel like that goes along with

transparency to be able to share with

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other rescues and network with them.

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And some of them do come

off as elitist to me.

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And, closed off.

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And I think that's gotta change.

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I think there's so many changes,

we have to make, we, one foot

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in front of the other turtle

runs the race, we'll get there.

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Dixie: Yes, exactly.

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So do you do active investigations

with the Humane Society of

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Louisiana as a cruelty investigator.

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Veronica: Yes, and I attended

a certification class just the

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other day, and it was put on

by Humane Society of Louisiana.

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I was at in Livingston Parish,

Sheriff's Office, and Humane World

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for Animals, which was formally.

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Humane Society of the United

States, and it was so informative.

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I enjoyed it so much.

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I took a whole notebook of notes.

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They went from, how to

spot signs of neglect.

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To how to make your report so that

it's, it will hold up in court.

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And dog fighting is, I'm happy to

say I see a lot of it getting cracked

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down on at this point, starting to,

but the dog fighting portion of the

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certification was very eyeopening and

interesting, and I wanna share as much.

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Many of the tips as I learned, with

people, because even just a citizen, a

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neighbor could see one of these signs

and potentially, out a dog fighting ring.

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Dixie: Yeah, I'd love to talk

about that if you wouldn't

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mind going over that with us.

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Veronica: Yeah.

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Then, first off, like neglect, people

always, and I understand people, just

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a citizen, in their neighborhood is.

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Reluctant to call the police

because they don't really know

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if the dog's being neglected.

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But some signs that they can look

for would be, by Louisiana law.

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Animals must cats and dogs must have a

solidly built shelter if they're outdoors.

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And that doesn't mean

it's tarp or wire crate.

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It has to be something solidly built.

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That rain cannot get through, that

protects them from the sun, protects

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them from the colds and has soft bedding

in it, and things people can look for.

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For instance, if the dog looks a

little thin or if there's, they don't

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see food and water bowls nearby.

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If the dog, the animal has changed.

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And also, spots.

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This was interesting to me on their

backside, on either side of the tail.

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That gets worn down.

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And it's definitely something that all

neglected dogs have that characteristic

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of the hair wears off and it's from

not having a soft place to sit.

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So over time, and they're also somewhat

skinny, so there's no fat padding there.

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So that's something people can look for.

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And let's see something else

interesting I thought was that.

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For livestock horses, for instance, if,

people should look for if there's hay

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or grass or water buckets available,

and if the tree bark is missing,

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I thought this was interesting.

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The horses already look skinny

and there's tree bark missing

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from the bottom of the trees.

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It's because they're starving and

they're peeling the bark off to survive.

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Dixie: I didn't know that.

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Veronica: I didn't either.

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And I thought that was one of these

things may not be cause for concern, but

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several of these things absolutely are

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Dixie: right,

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Veronica: several of

these things together.

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And it's just if they see

something, say something.

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And a lot of people have this

attitude of nothing well they're

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not gonna do anything about it.

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And that angers me because they

definitely won't if we don't speak up.

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And if the more people that you know,

instead of commenting on Facebook,

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maybe email or call their district

attorney or their local sheriff's

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office or their city council and demand

change, it takes as much time to do

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that as it does to say, oh, the hope

somebody helps this poor animal, online.

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That doesn't help the animal at all.

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Your energy would better be better,

much better utilized to send a message.

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Dixie: And I find a lot of people

on social media do find that

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they think that they're helping

by doing that, and they're not.

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That's like one of my biggest pet

peeves ever is that you're gonna

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sit down and you're gonna comment

something like, oh here's this.

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Can you go help?

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Veronica: I hope someone helps them.

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I'm like, you are someone.

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Dixie: And like you said, it could

just be something as simple as that,

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that if you see something that's wrong,

then post it on social media, but

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also try to do something about it too.

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Veronica: Absolutely.

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And I'm grateful for people

that, bring awareness to it.

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Like, oh, I saw this dog doing

this, I've seen hundreds of

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comments when 90% of 'em are.

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Lengthy enough it would take maybe

less time to write just a little

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quick email and it's just, they're

saying, oh, this is terrible.

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I hope someone helps them.

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And, put your money where your mouth is.

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I'm getting tired of it, honestly.

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'cause it's gonna take effort from all

of us to make a difference because we put

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ourselves in this position as, a whole

by being irresponsible with our pets.

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So that we're overpopulated

and now it's an epidemic.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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And then another issue with that,

when people do those posts and

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everybody is commenting on it,

like you said, this is terrible.

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If it's a situation that I might

actually be able to go help with.

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It's hard for me to go through and look

to see if the situation has actually

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been taken care of already, because

you gotta go through 30, 40 comments

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Veronica: you're so

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right.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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And there's none in there where somebody

actually has helped, or there might be

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a comment in there where it looks like

somebody, did help, but they didn't help.

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And so it just really does

make things more difficult.

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Veronica: And I've noticed that too.

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And I have to go to the top and I have

to hit like new comments, 'cause I don't

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wanna drive, honestly, two hours , if

somebody's, helped and I have to look

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at, and try to siphon through them.

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I think it brings more

awareness to the post.

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I think the algorithm, I'm not really

savvy ab I don't know much about that,

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but at the same time, yes, absolutely

people sometimes offer to help and

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I think it gets lost in the fold,

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Dixie: absolutely.

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So what were other signs

of neglect from your class?

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Veronica: Basically, ribs showing and,

animals should not have prominent ribs.

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Animals that are taken care of and they

shouldn't have a spine that you can,

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see from a distance or see up close.

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They shouldn't, you shouldn't

be able to see their bones.

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Also, any dog, we learned that

a lot of things about, there's.

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Oftentimes like dog fighting,

for instance, if people hear dogs

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barking and they don't see them

and they're hidden from sight.

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We learned that, anytime that's happening

and you don't see, say you're a neighbor

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and you don't see this dog ever get walked

or come out, but you can hear it barking.

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Like that's something to be aware of.

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And also, a lot of times

people are hesitant to ask.

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About their, if they see a pet,

say, tied in a side yard, they're

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hesitant to ask Hey, is that dog okay?

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But you can always make something

up like, oh, I was just checking.

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I have a dog.

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I wanted to see if maybe y'all wanna

do a play date or, I'm pretty bold.

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Like I'll find my fence in the

middle of the night and just go look.

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But I don't expect everybody to do that.

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But yeah, neglect the food, the water

very little to no human interaction.

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I just met a dog walker in

one of the neighborhoods in

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New Orleans, and she's great.

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She seems to keep a really sharp eye out.

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She said, oh, there's this dog.

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It doesn't have any

access to food or water.

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It's chained up.

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It has very little

shelter I've never seen.

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She, and I said, how wonderful

that while you're walking your

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dog, the dog's doing your job.

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You're paying attention, to what and

it turns out that she wouldn't end up

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getting the little dog from the people.

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So that was really a great story.

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And I was, I couldn't believe

she's a wonderful person.

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I was really, I said, if everybody

would do that on their walks,

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Dixie: Absolutely.

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Veronica: As far as like the neglect,

obviously, dogs are in fighting are

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neglected and we learned a lot about, what

to look for signs of dog fighting as well.

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Dixie: And what would those signs be?

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Veronica: One of the things that

stuck in my mind that really stood

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out is if you see a dog that's,

possibly, maybe part pit bull.

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Even with heavy chains, there's no

reason for any animal, to be on a chain

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that can tow up a 5,000 pound boat.

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A heavy chain is, from what we learned,

it's a sign for sure, and they do

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that, so that the dogs are conditioned.

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They build more muscle.

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And honestly, anything that people

think, I know people think dog

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fighting is horrific, but times

it by a million because the things

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that we saw in this class were so

barbaric and these are the people that

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do this are absolute monsters and.

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Yeah, the people have no idea

how actually horrible it is.

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And they do things like break the dog

a dog's front legs and throw it in the

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pen, poke its eyes out so it's blind

and throw it in the dog fight pen.

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It is horrible.

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And these are not people

that just dog fight.

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These are people that rape and

murder and sell drugs to children.

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I'm glad to see they're

cracking down on it.

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But one thing people can look for,

especially in rural areas, is.

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The dogs are barking, but they're

pretty much hidden from sight.

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This person has dogs, but you don't

see them ever out in the open.

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And if you can get a visual, another sign

is a dog with a heavy chain that's on

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this circular or or worn down area of the

ground where it's just dirt because that

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indicates that is the dog's whole life.

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There's, just an area where the dog

is existing is all worn down to dirt.

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You pretty much know the dog

doesn't go anywhere else, ever.

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That's his whole life.

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And so that was another thing I found.

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I found that very interesting.

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I did not know that.

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And then the scarring is something.

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Didn't know.

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What I learned is that black

hair on a dog, once they get a

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wound, the hair grows back white.

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Yeah, and you can see for the

most part, scarring from a dog.

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Fight's gonna be on the head

and the front legs because

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they're going into for the hill.

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And the examples we saw were dogs,

black dogs had these little white

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kind of cuts all over, and it was

white hair that had grown back because

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they're, I guess it's their pigment.

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The hair doesn't once the

follicle is damaged, it doesn't

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grow back with the same pigment.

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So I thought that was, I thought

that was pretty interesting.

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I did not know that.

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Dixie: Yeah, I didn't know that either.

382

:

Veronica: So it's just the dog fighting

is definitely people that if you

383

:

think, oh, that could be dog fighting.

384

:

It probably is.

385

:

Because, and it's usually like I

said, you don't see those dogs, you

386

:

see her barking, you know they're

dogs, but you don't see them anywhere.

387

:

And it happens.

388

:

It's amazing.

389

:

It happens next door to perfectly

nice, good citizens and they just don't

390

:

even realize it's happening next door.

391

:

And it, it is a billion dollar business.

392

:

Dixie: So do you think it's that

more people are just oblivious or

393

:

they just don't wanna accept that

it actually could be happening?

394

:

Veronica: I think it's both.

395

:

And I also think that people have a hard

time with thinking that their judgment

396

:

was off, or people have a hard time.

397

:

being wrong if they're

wrong about something.

398

:

And I think that also people have

a hard time with say there is

399

:

a dog fighter living next door.

400

:

That makes my neighborhood

in my home look like shit.

401

:

Excuse my language.

402

:

You know what I mean?

403

:

And I feel like they're hesitant in

that way as well because of how it

404

:

looks on, them and the neighborhood.

405

:

But I think people are just

also just not educated to.

406

:

how prevalent and how widespread

407

:

right dog

408

:

fighting has become.

409

:

Dixie: And I think a lot of people

don't trust their intuition.

410

:

If you think something is wrong, it's

because most likely something is wrong.

411

:

But I believe that goes back to that

whole judgment thing, like you said,

412

:

because people don't wanna say something

because, oh, what if I'm wrong?

413

:

But I find from my personal

experience, I like to follow my gut.

414

:

It, it usually doesn't fail me.

415

:

Veronica: And

416

:

I agree, and I'm trying to get better in

my own personal life with that, because

417

:

my gut , it's never been wrong, but I

still, am working on trusting it because

418

:

it's, a scary thing because what if

you're wrong or what if you make this

419

:

decision and it's comes back on you?

420

:

But really, the police are never going to.

421

:

be mad at you.

422

:

And people need to realize

that our elected officials

423

:

and our police work for us.

424

:

They're not the other way around.

425

:

Dixie: When it comes to the fighting,

is it more prevalent in rural areas,

426

:

city areas, or could it be both?

427

:

Veronica: It can be both.

428

:

It is more prevalent in.

429

:

A lot of rural areas, but you can,

there's few other houses well within site.

430

:

And then a lot of times in a city

environment, they'll have dogs,

431

:

not as many, but they'll have dogs.

432

:

And that's usually like a transporting,

I didn't realize they transport dogs

433

:

across state lines constantly for fights.

434

:

So

435

:

oftentimes they'll go from a

rural area to like a holding home,

436

:

Dixie: uhhuh,

437

:

Veronica: sometimes often in a city area,

and then they're taken from there across

438

:

state lines or to their next fight.

439

:

Dixie: Yeah.

440

:

I know in a lot of the small rural

parishes in Louisiana don't even

441

:

have animal control, and some of

them don't even have a shelter.

442

:

So that's why I was wondering,

if it's more under the radar

443

:

if they do it in a rural area.

444

:

Veronica: For sure.

445

:

And I think that, that brings me to

like, one of the training things in

446

:

a rural area that they use for dogs

that are being trained to fight up

447

:

is, they put either wildlife like

a raccoon, but most often cats.

448

:

Or kittens and a little, okay.

449

:

They use them for dog fighting

bait, and the dog will, let the

450

:

dog them chase the, they hang them

from like a stick or a metal rod.

451

:

And once the dog has done enough

work, they allow the dog to have the,

452

:

whatever they're baiting it with.

453

:

And I think people need to really.

454

:

Stop giving oh, it's all day long.

455

:

Free kittens.

456

:

Free, puppy free.

457

:

That's inviting a torturing

sicko or a dog fighter.

458

:

You just can't do it.

459

:

And if you do it, you've got to,

actually be proactive and check the vet

460

:

references and go to the home and ask

for photos in the future because it's

461

:

just, it feeds the dog fighting industry,

462

:

to keep

463

:

doing this with the free animals.

464

:

Dixie: You tell people though,

but they don't wanna hear that.

465

:

There's situations where I've seen

posts where they're giving away kittens

466

:

and I'll go in and monitor the post.

467

:

I cannot always take 'em in.

468

:

But if it looks like it's a dire

situation and it looks like somebody

469

:

who may be doing fighting or something

like that, is commenting on that

470

:

post, I'll be like, Hey, I'm a rescue.

471

:

I'll take those kittens.

472

:

Veronica: I love that you do that.

473

:

Yeah, I try to do that too.

474

:

If I say, I'm like, this person

looks dangerous, I'll take it.

475

:

Yeah.

476

:

I'll go,

477

:

Dixie: I'll go look on the profiles

and I hate to say that 'cause I

478

:

don't want people to go put their

profiles private now, but yeah, no,

479

:

I'll go look and see and you can go

through some of those photos and tell

480

:

Veronica: just like I love that you do

481

:

that.

482

:

Dixie: Yeah.

483

:

Just like I have some groups that

I run and I've had breeders try

484

:

to go push animals in my groups

for rehoming, and I'm like, yeah,

485

:

this looks like a breeder to me.

486

:

So they end up getting

banned from the group.

487

:

Veronica: I love it.

488

:

So I do look at people's profiles

too, and if I see it, I'm like, please

489

:

don't give this person a kitten.

490

:

All they have is pictures of pit bulls.

491

:

And I hate to make that judgment

and I apologize to them.

492

:

If I've made it from, if

I'm wrong, then I apologize.

493

:

But if it saves one animal, I don't really

care what people think of me or if I

494

:

hurt somebody's feelings, to be honest.

495

:

Dixie: I understand that for sure.

496

:

Veronica: I'm not worried with humans'

feelings because they have a voice

497

:

and they're able to make choices.

498

:

All I care about is the

animals, quite frankly.

499

:

Dixie: Yep, I understand that.

500

:

, When you see these signs, should

you be getting the authorities

501

:

involved, or who should you call?

502

:

Veronica: They were clear with us that

one, one of these signs, if it's something

503

:

like, the dog looks a little thin.

504

:

You have to use your

judgment one of those times.

505

:

If the dog looks a little thin and it's

got a tarp for a shelter or it's, the dog

506

:

looks a little thin and there's multiple

other dogs on the property, or you can

507

:

hear multiple other dogs on the property.

508

:

Somebody that's a neighbor,

let's say, who's in a rural area,

509

:

you can hear the dogs barking.

510

:

You never see them out in the open.

511

:

The neighbor is not very neighborly.

512

:

Mostly keeps to themselves.

513

:

Sometimes maybe has on a, any

given night, multiple cars.

514

:

There you just, you see the signs

and then you call the police.

515

:

You can call the non-emergency

number or, 'cause a lot of people,

516

:

like you said, don't have animal

control or shelters to call.

517

:

So in that instance, they would

call the police because, and

518

:

like I said, dog fighting.

519

:

They're starting to crack down all over.

520

:

They're getting very angry about it.

521

:

Finally, and neglect I was happy

to say that see multiple rural

522

:

sheriffs, sheriff's offices

represented at the certification.

523

:

Lots of police from different parishes

in Louisiana that don't have shelters.

524

:

So they had sent some of their

police officers to get training.

525

:

So I really believe it's starting

to turn around and you just call the

526

:

police, just tell them what they saw.

527

:

It's called the Humane

Society of Louisiana.

528

:

If you're not getting any reaction,

because Jeff Dorson is amazing and

529

:

he's really, he's got connections

all over the state and he's very

530

:

good at getting something done.

531

:

If he gets a complaint, he'll send

one of us to follow up with it.

532

:

There was recently a guy in Monroe.

533

:

He didn't have anyone to call as far as

animal control, so he called the Humane

534

:

Society of Louisiana, and it was about

some sheep that were in a field and it was

535

:

dirt field and one of a baby one was dead.

536

:

It had been starved to death.

537

:

And he said, I didn't really know.

538

:

I didn't really wanna get

involved, that's just not right.

539

:

And he said, thank you guys

so much for following up and.

540

:

Turns out, they were being starved.

541

:

Somebody had rented the land and

just disappeared and left these

542

:

animals just to starve to death.

543

:

Dixie: Oh, wow.

544

:

Veronica: And I

545

:

said, sir, we're so

grateful when people call.

546

:

I said, thank you so much.

547

:

He said they were in a dirt field.

548

:

That was, that gentleman sign:

a dirt field and then he said he

549

:

came, he drove by again two weeks

later and there was the dead baby

550

:

sheep in the middle of the field.

551

:

And he said, I just feel terrible.

552

:

I waited that long because

obviously a dirt field doesn't

553

:

have any food for the animals.

554

:

He's like, I should have called

a long time ago right now.

555

:

Dixie: Who taught the class

556

:

Veronica: that was a trainer from

the Humane World for Animals the

557

:

Humane Society of the United States.

558

:

She was great.

559

:

She's been an investigator for years,

I believe, and then of course I went, I

560

:

love to like research, so I looked her

up and I saw multiple YouTube videos.

561

:

She had actually been an animal

control officer and now was

562

:

a trainer in the program.

563

:

And she was really

informative and wonderful.

564

:

I just really she gave us

different cases to look at.

565

:

For instance, like one had I.

566

:

I think that, it's rampant

where people move out of their

567

:

homes and leave their pets in an

abandoned house to starve to death.

568

:

And she just really kept reiterating

how important it is as investigators

569

:

to be thorough with our reports.

570

:

A dog was left to starve

to death in a mobile home.

571

:

And she, that time they got

there, the dog was liquified, but.

572

:

She said, we were so thorough.

573

:

We took video of absolutely everything,

and they found the dog's teeth and

574

:

the, it's a horrible story, the teeth

and the walls, because the dog was so

575

:

panicked as it was starving to death.

576

:

And

577

:

the dog's nails were worn down to

nubs from scratching to try to fight

578

:

its way out of the house as it was

starving to death, which is the worst.

579

:

Most painful death.

580

:

And she said they were able to prosecute

because of how thorough they were

581

:

and getting samples of the wood from

the wall and then that matched the,

582

:

under the nails and they found like,

583

:

I said, his, the teeth and nail bits

in the wall and it was just horrible.

584

:

But she was trying to make the

point that every little thing counts

585

:

when you are doing investigations.

586

:

Dixie: I believe I've actually

heard about that case too.

587

:

I don't know if I saw a video or something

about it, but that sounds very familiar.

588

:

Veronica: I was openly crying.

589

:

I was like, okay, I think

I'm gonna go to the bathroom.

590

:

Take a break.

591

:

It was tough, but like, it's

hard to see and she said, I don't

592

:

like to show a lot of graphic

videos and these trainings, but.

593

:

Some of them I feel are necessary.

594

:

And I feel, I wish I could

show the whole world.

595

:

I wish I could sit the whole world down

and make them watch those kind of things.

596

:

'cause I think then maybe

something will click

597

:

right in their

598

:

brains.

599

:

Dixie: And unfortunately that seems to

be a thing when people move out, they

600

:

just will leave their pets inside.

601

:

Veronica: Yeah.

602

:

It's just bizarre.

603

:

And I mean that I just feel like

the big thing, that will maybe stop

604

:

that is just, harsher penalties.

605

:

I feel like it definitely

should be mandatory jail time.

606

:

These animals feel the same

emotions as human beings.

607

:

I don't understand why the jail

time is different for animal abuse.

608

:

Dixie: Yeah.

609

:

And they just seem to just get like

a slap on the wrist most of the time.

610

:

Veronica: And then, I, the FBI

themselves say that 81% of people

611

:

that abuse or neglect animals.

612

:

81% of them will go on to commit a crime.

613

:

Often the next crime is against a child.

614

:

And then it goes to domestic violence and

then it goes to bigger ones like murder.

615

:

And I just feel like why?

616

:

I'm nobody.

617

:

I'm not trained in any kinda legislation,

but it seems to me like it's law 1 0

618

:

1 to cut the problem off at the knees.

619

:

Like why wouldn't they stop it?

620

:

Animal abuse with a harsher

penalty so that they can't go on

621

:

to commit crimes against people..

622

:

I just feel like that's the

most simple way to have crime

623

:

go down in cities, period.

624

:

Cut the problem off at the knees

before it gets any worse, and I

625

:

don't get why that's not happening.

626

:

Dixie: Yeah, I don't either because

you always hear that statistic.

627

:

But then it's never taken seriously.

628

:

So I don't know.

629

:

Veronica: I think too, if people,

were more vocal about, It there's

630

:

a great page on Facebook.

631

:

. It's Citizens Against

Animal Abuse and Neglect.

632

:

It is awful.

633

:

I get all my news from there every

morning when I wake up on animal

634

:

abuse and the admin of that page

provides a link that you can find

635

:

your legislator and it gives you their

email, their contact email and stuff.

636

:

And I think it's very helpful 'cause

I think the more noise that's made,

637

:

the more they're gonna pay attention.

638

:

So I really encourage, like

I said, people to contact.

639

:

Legislators and just one sentence, even

like harsher sentences for animal abuse,

640

:

because whatever these people are loud,

the most loud about is what's what

641

:

they're gonna put on their priority list.

642

:

Dixie: The registry that you're working

on, what are your plans with that?

643

:

And have you started putting

this registry together yet?

644

:

Veronica: Yes.

645

:

One of my weaknesses, is

any kind of, administrative,

646

:

like spreadsheets and such.

647

:

So what I started doing

is just collecting data.

648

:

I take screenshots and then record the

names of each person that's, convicted.

649

:

And then I went to charge.

650

:

And I'm starting it just in Louisiana.

651

:

But I'm hoping, that it's gonna be, I

have a friend that says Rescue in Florida.

652

:

She's very involved.

653

:

So we're back and forth talking about,

so it can be shared between states.

654

:

And so I've, now, I've got the data.

655

:

Basically all I need next is for it to be

in the full right format, and a shareable

656

:

kind of website where people can log on.

657

:

And of course it has to be I'm

just still struggling with how

658

:

to make sure that it's not just

somebody claiming there was abuse.

659

:

You see what I'm saying?

660

:

Like, 'cause I don't wanna do it

just for people that are convicted

661

:

'cause so few get convicted,

662

:

right?

663

:

So that's where I'm struggling, it's

just how do you make sure it's not,

664

:

somebody just being mad at someone else.

665

:

Oh hey, they abuse their

dog, put 'em on the registry.

666

:

That's something that I'm gonna look

to people that know a little more than

667

:

me about these things that hopefully

I can get some advice on, how to

668

:

prevent that and make it, a completely

legitimate and reliable source.

669

:

Dixie: So what kind of support or

collaboration do you think would

670

:

be the most helpful in bringing

these registry ideas to fruition?

671

:

Veronica: I think, first to,

just to get the registry created.

672

:

If there's anybody out there that's

good with Excel spreadsheets and I'm

673

:

willing to put money into it and I have

to hire help, of course there's a limit

674

:

to that, and I I can't pay several

hundred dollars an hour to anybody,

675

:

but, I think just the basic format, the

basic skeleton of the actual website.

676

:

The format of how you would put in,

the names of people and what city.

677

:

And I've gotten a lot of help

with that from Chat, GPT.

678

:

But there's only so much he can do for me.

679

:

And then at once it's created I'm going to

market it to rescues and animal shelters.

680

:

And then what I want is crime

stoppers to step up and.

681

:

Take a more active role and people you

can call Crime Stoppers now to report

682

:

animal abuse, but I want them more

visible and more actively involved.

683

:

Lee County and Florida is

doing an incredible job.

684

:

They have an animal abuse task

force, they have a registry.

685

:

Crime Stoppers is very visible.

686

:

They put up billboards and I'm trying

to model the program after them.

687

:

Dixie: Okay.

688

:

Veronica: It's a lot.

689

:

Dixie: Yeah.

690

:

I didn't know anything about that.

691

:

. Veronica: It's Lee County in Florida.

692

:

It's right around Sarasota, Florida.

693

:

And they have a whole animal cruelty task.

694

:

Force.

695

:

And their own page.

696

:

The sheriff started and

they've been really nice.

697

:

I said is I'm trying to do

the same thing and they were.

698

:

Said, email us.

699

:

So I did, and they've been

very nice and helpful about it.

700

:

And so that's one state that I

could share the registry with.

701

:

Dixie: So that's good.

702

:

Yeah.

703

:

Yeah.

704

:

At least it's one step closer, right?

705

:

Veronica: Yeah, I'll get there.

706

:

Dixie: It's, it sounds

like a wonderful idea

707

:

Veronica: thank

708

:

you.

709

:

I, yeah, I think it's necessary,

don't you think, would we need that?

710

:

Dixie: Yeah.

711

:

I think it would be something

that would be needed.

712

:

I think it's a really good idea

713

:

Veronica: because I just asked, how

do we know that these people that also

714

:

people surrendering for no good reason.

715

:

They move to a new apartment

and they decide to get another

716

:

pet and they just can do it.

717

:

That's not right.

718

:

And , I just feel like there's

gotta be more accountability when

719

:

you surrender a pet for, 'cause

you don't have time, quote unquote.

720

:

You need to be doing more

than signing a paper and I've.

721

:

Called out the SPCA for that, and I said,

you need to at least have them volunteer

722

:

a day, make them watch a film, have, some

kind of educational awareness brought to

723

:

them when they surrender so that they just

don't think it's, and oh, no big deal.

724

:

Dixie: And I believe there are

cases when people need to surrender,

725

:

medical issues, things of that nature.

726

:

I understand that.

727

:

But like you said, for some

of these things where it's

728

:

just like, oh, we're moving.

729

:

Let's go get rid of the dog.

730

:

Let's go surrender the dog.

731

:

Or, I'm having a baby.

732

:

Let's go get rid of the cat.

733

:

And I think that definitely

is a part of the problem.

734

:

I, I do wish people understood what went

into it when they do surrender an animal.

735

:

And in a lot of the times it's

not so much with the dogs.

736

:

It does happen.

737

:

But like with adult cats, they

grieve themselves to death.

738

:

They'll stop eating.

739

:

Veronica: I know it's horrible.

740

:

I love cats are, like the

forefront of my heart.

741

:

I try to help as many as

possible and people just don't

742

:

understand how bonded cats get.

743

:

And there's been some little research

done on cats so I can't even imagine.

744

:

I think probably 50 years from now

people are gonna find out the cats.

745

:

Are like these deeply feeling, highly

intellectual, beings that we have

746

:

discounted for so long, and they do.

747

:

They grieve, they stop eating, they

start having behavior issues using

748

:

the bathroom outside the litter box.

749

:

It's just very sad because

cats do not do well in new

750

:

environments, a lot of the time.

751

:

Dixie: What message would you like

to share with our listeners who are

752

:

passionate about helping animals?

753

:

Veronica: I would say please get

involved because the problem is

754

:

so overblown now that it's gonna

take a lot more than us in rescue.

755

:

To make a difference.

756

:

We need every single person who you

know, cares about animals or thinks that

757

:

it's sad when they see an animal abuse.

758

:

Write a letter, write an email,

keep the same email, copy

759

:

and paste it if you need to.

760

:

I often put emails that I send online

and on social media, and they can

761

:

copy and paste that or make a call

and just say, I'd like to leave

762

:

a message for mayor so and okay.

763

:

What's the message?

764

:

We need stricter penalties

for animal abuse.

765

:

And I voted for him and I

expect to see it happen.

766

:

It's very simple.

767

:

They work for us, put 'em to work.

768

:

We need help.

769

:

Dixie: Definitely.

770

:

Thank you for sharing all

that information with me.

771

:

It was very informative.

772

:

Some things definitely that I didn't know.

773

:

So I'm so glad that you were able

to come on the show with me today.

774

:

Veronica: Thank you Dixie.

775

:

I'm so excited that you have this show.

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I love it.

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I always listen to it.

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Dixie: Oh great.

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Veronica: So thank you so much for

doing all this hard work because I

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know it's not easy and thank you for

being, bringing awareness, to people.

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Dixie: Sure.

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If you know anybody else that wants

to be on the show, please let me know.

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Veronica: I will.

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Thank you so much for having me.

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Dixie: Alright, you're welcome.

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It was good talking to you.

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And that's all the time we

have for today's episode.

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If you are in animal rescue, or if

you know someone that has a story that

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should be told, please contact us.

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We would love to have

you or them on the show

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. Thanks for listening, and please

join us next week as we continue to

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explore the world of animal rescue.

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About the Podcast

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