When Life Gives you Lemons, Rescue Animals

Speaker: 00:00:02

unwanted feline's video recording-1:

Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast

2

: 00:00:04

dedicated to the people and rescues making

a difference in the lives of animals.

3

: 00:00:08

Dixie: Hi everyone and

welcome back to Animal Posse.

4

: 00:00:12

I wanna thank everybody who is supporting

us and listening today's guest is

5

: 00:00:17

Brittany Barnett, and we are gonna

talk about the lemonaid stand Nola.

6

: 00:00:23

Welcome to the show, Brittany.

7

: 00:00:24

I'm excited to talk

about . The lemonaid stand.

8

: 00:00:27

Nola.

9

: 00:00:29

Before we get started with that, can

you tell us a little bit about yourself?

10

: 00:00:34

Brittany: Sure.

11

: 00:00:34

So I got into animal rescue

'cause I work at a vet clinic.

12

: 00:00:38

I'm a receptionist.

13

: 00:00:40

I've always been an animal lover.

14

: 00:00:43

I just took a little break from doing

an animal stuff in college and teaching

15

: 00:00:49

and then I got back into it once.

16

: 00:00:51

I was like, I need a

break with animals again.

17

: 00:00:53

And then the past four years I've

been working at this vet clinic

18

: 00:00:57

and got hooked up with all of the

rescue organizations in New Orleans

19

: 00:01:03

that kind of came through our doors.

20

: 00:01:06

But yeah love animals, love plants.

21

: 00:01:10

Love working for the hospital and

helping the community with their animals.

22

: 00:01:13

So I'm from Florida and moved to New

Orleans with my partner about four years

23

: 00:01:19

ago, and I feel like this has been my main

community here, and it's been awesome.

24

: 00:01:25

Dixie: Great.

25

: 00:01:25

Can you start by telling us the origin

story of the Lemonaid stand nola?

26

: 00:01:30

What specifically inspired you to

create it around animal welfare

27

: 00:01:35

in the New Orleans community?

28

: 00:01:38

Brittany: Yeah, so it was a

convergence of a lot of things.

29

: 00:01:43

It started out we were in this era

of a lot of dog bars popping up.

30

: 00:01:50

A lot of cat cafes popping up and I

always thought that was super cool.

31

: 00:01:55

And I wanna be a part of something

like that where people can just

32

: 00:01:59

hang out with their animals and

enjoy other people's animals.

33

: 00:02:04

I feel like there's not

enough spaces where it's both

34

: 00:02:06

recreational and appreciative.

35

: 00:02:10

For the humans and for the animals

Being in the like, foster and

36

: 00:02:14

animal rescue community, a lot of

my kind of free time revolved around

37

: 00:02:21

adoption events, which are super fun.

38

: 00:02:23

I love adoption events, but you almost

feel like you're on the clock with those.

39

: 00:02:28

So I wanted to do something that's

a little bit more recreational,

40

: 00:02:32

but also with that rescue

41

: 00:02:33

element.

42

: 00:02:34

And around that time that I was thinking

about all of this I'd already been

43

: 00:02:39

involved with take, paws, rescue.

44

: 00:02:42

But we had this dog named Clara, who

came into our clinic for a bullet wound.

45

: 00:02:49

She was paralyzed.

46

: 00:02:51

We were hoping that she would get

over it, but she ended up living at my

47

: 00:02:54

clinic for about four or five months.

48

: 00:02:56

Just recovering.

49

: 00:02:58

It was with Mid City Mutt Mamas and.

50

: 00:03:00

They were coming to visit her every

week, every few days, trying to get her

51

: 00:03:05

back to where she could maybe walk or

have some sort of mobility function.

52

: 00:03:10

She was with us for a really long

time and I'm front desk, so we do

53

: 00:03:14

a lot of the billing and every week

since she was with us long term.

54

: 00:03:20

I'd have to give them a call and go

over the bill and I can tell the stress

55

: 00:03:25

was just increasing as the rescue

organizations do when they have these

56

: 00:03:28

mounting bills with a hard health case.

57

: 00:03:33

And so yeah, I was trying to

like, troubleshoot with them

58

: 00:03:36

how they could save money.

59

: 00:03:37

I was like, bring your own food.

60

: 00:03:39

You're gonna save money if you

bring your own food because we're

61

: 00:03:42

gonna be charging you an upcharge.

62

: 00:03:43

Like we're not a nonprofit.

63

: 00:03:45

So they were just spending a lot

of money that I was like, I really

64

: 00:03:49

wish I could help with this.

65

: 00:03:52

And then also around that time, I got

an idea from a nine and 7-year-old kids.

66

: 00:03:59

They were this wonderful family

that adopted my first foster dog.

67

: 00:04:04

I fostered her with Take, paws rescue

and sweet little girls, they threw a

68

: 00:04:10

lemonade stand for Take Pawss Rescue

just in their own neighborhood.

69

: 00:04:14

And I was like, that is so cute.

70

: 00:04:15

Like I love lemonade

stands and I love the fact

71

: 00:04:17

that, they're raising

money for a good cause.

72

: 00:04:20

And so I was like, what if I

could do this kind of recreational

73

: 00:04:26

thing for adults and families?

74

: 00:04:28

But it's also a place where people can

come together and network and raise money

75

: 00:04:33

and have fun and showcase adoptable dogs,

76

: 00:04:37

which Clara was technically adoptable

even though she had a lot of issues,

77

: 00:04:41

medically that they were trying to fix

and weren't even thinking about that.

78

: 00:04:45

But we see being at a hospital.

79

: 00:04:50

I see all of these owners who are going

through so much with their animals.

80

: 00:04:53

I'm like, there's definitely people who

know how to deal with this kind of issue.

81

: 00:04:57

So it's just a matter of finding

the right fit for this dog so

82

: 00:05:00

that you're not paying for medical

boarding for four or five, six months.

83

: 00:05:05

So I decided to do this lemonade stand

and I advertised it right at the time.

84

: 00:05:12

The Barkus Parade was happening.

85

: 00:05:14

One of my throws that I do for Barkus

with Take Pause Rescue is a zine

86

: 00:05:19

which is like a little mini magazine.

87

: 00:05:20

So I put my first kind of

advertisement for the lemonade

88

: 00:05:23

stand coming soon in my throw.

89

: 00:05:27

I was like, I guess it's happening.

90

: 00:05:29

And we got Clara there and

we sold lemonade, we sold

91

: 00:05:33

brownies, stuff like that.

92

: 00:05:35

And we had a pretty good turnout.

93

: 00:05:36

People who had been following Clara's

story and who wanted to support

94

: 00:05:41

her and see her out in the wild.

95

: 00:05:43

Not just, at the hospital looking

pitiful, but being a dog and enjoying

96

: 00:05:48

the company of people and other dogs.

97

: 00:05:52

And so after that I was inspired

to foster her to try and get, idea

98

: 00:05:57

about how she would be in a home.

99

: 00:05:59

And so I ended up fostering her

for about two months and decided to

100

: 00:06:03

keep on doing this Lemonade stands

just from that kind of concept.

101

: 00:06:07

And I didn't wanna focus

on one particular rescue.

102

: 00:06:10

I had been working with Take

Paws and Spaymart and Mid City

103

: 00:06:14

Met Mamas, but I wanted to.

104

: 00:06:17

Also highlight other rescues

'cause they're all doing

105

: 00:06:21

the work, that's for sure.

106

: 00:06:22

And I've found, each organization

has their different niche

107

: 00:06:26

and their different vibe.

108

: 00:06:28

And I think it's good to give

people access to, different rescues.

109

: 00:06:33

One, if they ever need help.

110

: 00:06:35

Networking an animal that needs help.

111

: 00:06:38

But also if they do wanna volunteer

or foster, sometimes you just

112

: 00:06:42

click with one over the other.

113

: 00:06:44

So it became this like every month

or two thing when the weather was

114

: 00:06:49

good, just it was mostly in my yard.

115

: 00:06:53

There was one other one that's

been in a friend's yard.

116

: 00:06:57

One I did at Spaymart thrift

store back when it was in Metairie.

117

: 00:07:02

And it's just little pop up where we

sell lemonade and have a good time.

118

: 00:07:07

Let the dogs play.

119

: 00:07:09

Not at Spay Mart.

120

: 00:07:10

We had a little par after party

where the dogs could play after.

121

: 00:07:13

Otherwise, when we did it at Spay

Mart, it was play with the kitties

122

: 00:07:17

that are at the thrift store.

123

: 00:07:20

Dixie: The dogs wouldn't

have done good in there.

124

: 00:07:23

Brittany: No.

125

: 00:07:23

No.

126

: 00:07:24

And I love cat rescue and I'm a big

part of cat rescue, but I really, it's

127

: 00:07:28

really fun to let you know dogs that

are typically in rescue and might not

128

: 00:07:32

always have that opportunity to have

an off leash adoption event, be able

129

: 00:07:37

to play and have this more low key.

130

: 00:07:40

Atmosphere.

131

: 00:07:42

So I've focused on dogs in the

past, but I usually tend to have a

132

: 00:07:45

litter of kittens at the same time.

133

: 00:07:47

So I'll be like, go visit the kittens

in my guest bathroom while you're here.

134

: 00:07:52

And so we outreach the

cats in that way too.

135

: 00:07:56

And then on the off season, it's really

hot for having a playdate like that.

136

: 00:08:00

I just, I'm going to Spay Mart,

thrift store and doing outreach

137

: 00:08:05

with them and posting in that way.

138

: 00:08:09

Same with Take Paws, I Foster would

Take Paws, so trying to go to events

139

: 00:08:13

and show off different dogs and then

ones that come into my clinic just

140

: 00:08:17

trying to advertise them as well.

141

: 00:08:20

The ones that have been stuck

or have larger medical bills.

142

: 00:08:26

Dixie: I love how you came up with the

idea with the children too, because

143

: 00:08:30

I was gonna say, lemonade stand, it

often evokes youth entrepreneurship

144

: 00:08:35

and making the best of things.

145

: 00:08:38

And now

146

: 00:08:38

your lemonade stand is

a little bit different

147

: 00:08:40

can you tell us how you spell it?

148

: 00:08:43

Brittany: Yeah.

149

: 00:08:43

So it's lemon which is.

150

: 00:08:46

What we call dogs and cats

that have a lot of issues.

151

: 00:08:50

And then in the medical field at

least, so oh, that dog's a lemon,

152

: 00:08:53

they're always coming into the

vet for this, that or the other.

153

: 00:08:57

And then aid is AID so yeah, just

combines this lemon and aid to be a

154

: 00:09:06

little play on words so that people

are like, okay, but what is that?

155

: 00:09:09

It's not a typical Lemonade

stands a little different.

156

: 00:09:12

The Lemonaid stand.

157

: 00:09:13

Nola was born.

158

: 00:09:15

Dixie: Now you said you do

the stands in your yard.

159

: 00:09:18

When you do them, how many people

do you have normally showing up?

160

: 00:09:22

How many dogs do you have showing up?

161

: 00:09:26

Brittany: Yeah, so usually

ends up being somewhere between

162

: 00:09:28

20 and 35 people showing up.

163

: 00:09:31

So it's not big.

164

: 00:09:32

I don't have a super large yard,

but one of my first priorities was

165

: 00:09:36

making sure it was super dog friendly.

166

: 00:09:38

And double gated and everything so

people feel safe to let their dogs off.

167

: 00:09:43

So yeah, it's pretty intimate and it's

usually over a span of three hours so

168

: 00:09:48

people can come and go if people wanna

hang out like the first 30 minutes

169

: 00:09:52

or just stop by for a drink and say

hi to the pet that we're showcasing.

170

: 00:09:57

And there's some people that stay

the whole time and hang out and.

171

: 00:10:01

Yeah, just play the whole time.

172

: 00:10:03

It's pretty fun.

173

: 00:10:04

And it depends on what we're selling.

174

: 00:10:05

Sometimes we get a

really good raffle item.

175

: 00:10:07

I love when I get raffle donations.

176

: 00:10:09

So usually the best way to, to gain

money from it is have a raffle and

177

: 00:10:15

then if you sign up for the raffle,

you get free drinks the whole time

178

: 00:10:19

and as many baked goods as you want.

179

: 00:10:21

So you could munch the whole time.

180

: 00:10:24

And then you get entered into the raffle.

181

: 00:10:26

And that usually is how we make

the most money instead of just

182

: 00:10:29

a dollar a cup for lemonade.

183

: 00:10:32

And it's great.

184

: 00:10:33

Usually people come out with a

hundred dollars gift cards to the

185

: 00:10:36

dog house, which we love and has

always been supportive of rescues.

186

: 00:10:40

Winston's Pub and Patio has

always been great with donating.

187

: 00:10:44

We've had really good

donations from some of the.

188

: 00:10:48

Boarding facilities around town.

189

: 00:10:50

So that's always helpful.

190

: 00:10:52

So we usually end up.

191

: 00:10:54

About two 50.

192

: 00:10:57

Our largest one for Clara was almost 700.

193

: 00:11:01

Sometimes it seems like it doesn't

make a dent, especially when her bills

194

: 00:11:04

were on the, like $2,000 a month.

195

: 00:11:07

Part of the reason we do it

is for outreach of the animals

196

: 00:11:11

and outreach of the rescues.

197

: 00:11:13

Dixie: You get them the exposure,

but even if you think of it in

198

: 00:11:15

terms of things like for 250.00,

199

: 00:11:18

like for a cat, how many

spays and neuters is that?

200

: 00:11:21

So it does definitely make a difference.

201

: 00:11:24

Now how do you go about like

getting all of your supplies and

202

: 00:11:27

getting everything that you need?

203

: 00:11:28

Do you have a setup or

anything specific that you use?

204

: 00:11:31

Since it's technically a lemonade stand?

205

: 00:11:35

Brittany: Yeah.

206

: 00:11:36

I pretty much donate the actual

food and supplies on my own.

207

: 00:11:41

That's kinda like my

donation portion of it.

208

: 00:11:44

So it's pretty easy though.

209

: 00:11:46

It's just go get some lemons sugar.

210

: 00:11:49

Cups and then baked goods.

211

: 00:11:53

We love our Costco.

212

: 00:11:54

We always get bulk stuff from Costco.

213

: 00:11:56

So just like kids when they're making

a lemonade stand, you're not making

214

: 00:11:59

a ton of profit, but like when you

do it in bulk and we're selling

215

: 00:12:03

it one at a time it's not too bad.

216

: 00:12:05

Otherwise we always just have.

217

: 00:12:07

Bug spray and sunscreen, but it's really

not that many people, all at once.

218

: 00:12:13

So it's pretty low cost and ends up being

a really good time for not too much work.

219

: 00:12:21

My main work that I put into

it, honestly, is trying to get

220

: 00:12:24

people to come and outreaching it.

221

: 00:12:27

And then just day of making sure we

have the lemonade all set up and.

222

: 00:12:34

Depending on the weather and

praying for good weather.

223

: 00:12:39

Dixie: Do you have a lot

of, the same people coming?

224

: 00:12:41

Do you have a lot of new people coming?

225

: 00:12:44

Brittany: Yeah.

226

: 00:12:44

I love that We usually get different

groups of people for different rescues.

227

: 00:12:49

And then, there's some people who

have been coming from the get go

228

: 00:12:53

who are just clear supporters.

229

: 00:12:55

Of course, personal friends of mine have

been super helpful in spreading the word.

230

: 00:13:01

So a lot of my personal friends come

out and support animal lovers of New

231

: 00:13:05

Orleans that I've made over time.

232

: 00:13:09

And then each rescue, does their

own outreach for it because

233

: 00:13:14

all the money goes to them.

234

: 00:13:16

And so then we get those avid supporters

and their friends, their family.

235

: 00:13:22

Comes on out and then just a lot

of people in the neighborhood.

236

: 00:13:24

I always put out flyers all

around the neighborhood, so

237

: 00:13:27

sometimes it's just local people.

238

: 00:13:29

You'll see the flyers on the

Lafitte Greenway, 'cause I

239

: 00:13:32

live in Mid-City Treme area.

240

: 00:13:34

Put 'em out around the Bayou St.

241

: 00:13:36

John, and so people are out walking

their dogs and just stop by sometimes.

242

: 00:13:41

Dixie: Do you get any kind

of permits to do these?

243

: 00:13:45

Brittany: I don't.

244

: 00:13:46

I have a liability waiver

that I have everyone sign.

245

: 00:13:50

When they come in.

246

: 00:13:51

So I have a little sign in

sheet and suggested vaccines,

247

: 00:13:56

spay neuter and everything.

248

: 00:13:58

But crossed my fingers So far hasn't been

any issues, but I've been thinking about

249

: 00:14:05

maybe trying to make it a little bit more

official, but so far it's just been like,

250

: 00:14:10

sign this waiver.

251

: 00:14:11

Please don't hold me.

252

: 00:14:12

Or anyone who comes liable.

253

: 00:14:15

Just a little private party.

254

: 00:14:18

Yeah.

255

: 00:14:18

That's pretty

256

: 00:14:19

Dixie: cool.

257

: 00:14:19

Have you thought about going

to, pop-up in other areas too?

258

: 00:14:24

I know you said you did one at the thrift

store for Spay Mart, but have you done

259

: 00:14:27

'em, like pop-ups anywhere else too?

260

: 00:14:31

Brittany: Yeah, so I have a friend

down the road who hosted one.

261

: 00:14:35

In her yard for us.

262

: 00:14:37

And then another friend will take pause

who hosted one in her yard and she even

263

: 00:14:42

got some friends to play some music.

264

: 00:14:44

It was around Christmas time last year.

265

: 00:14:47

So we had some Christmas music

playing did instead of lemonade.

266

: 00:14:52

We did hot toddies and hot chocolate.

267

: 00:14:56

And live music.

268

: 00:14:58

So that was really cool.

269

: 00:15:00

I really appreciated when other people

host, they have good yards for dogs.

270

: 00:15:05

The main thing I say is just safe

plants and a good gate so that

271

: 00:15:10

everyone's safe when they get to play.

272

: 00:15:14

Dixie: Being that you are from Florida.

273

: 00:15:17

Do you notice that there's any different

obstacles, in rescue, in the New Orleans

274

: 00:15:23

area that you didn't see in maybe Florida?

275

: 00:15:26

Brittany: It's the south, it's all bad.

276

: 00:15:29

I was in north Florida,

so it's still pretty bad.

277

: 00:15:32

There's a lot of rural areas that have

a hard time getting people to spay

278

: 00:15:37

and neuter and, that being said, I was

not nearly as plugged into the rescue

279

: 00:15:42

community when I did live in Florida

since I moved pretty soon after college.

280

: 00:15:47

But as a kid I, they had this

camp at the Animal service Center.

281

: 00:15:52

It was like our Tallahassee, Florida

humane Society, and they had a camp

282

: 00:15:58

called Camp Barkley, and it was so fun.

283

: 00:16:02

We bathed puppies.

284

: 00:16:04

We cleaned litter boxes.

285

: 00:16:06

We learned about heartworm prevention,

flea prevention, spay and neuter.

286

: 00:16:12

I still get the songs stuck in my head

every once in a while about spaying and

287

: 00:16:16

neuter and, they were teaching us the

same stuff that I'm trying to teach people

288

: 00:16:23

about why we spay in neuter and why we.

289

: 00:16:26

Try to support rescues over

breeders the ill effects of

290

: 00:16:32

backyard breeding and all that.

291

: 00:16:35

And unfortunately after COVID

it ceased to exist, I found out.

292

: 00:16:40

So I think the rescues in North FL for at

least are still struggling a little bit.

293

: 00:16:46

Post COVID and the increase in

adoptions during COVID, but then

294

: 00:16:52

the increase in returns after.

295

: 00:16:55

People started going to work.

296

: 00:16:57

I hear a lot of issues with that.

297

: 00:17:00

Back from friends from home.

298

: 00:17:02

It seems like South Florida

is a little bit better though.

299

: 00:17:05

'cause I hear a lot of people ship

off animals to rescues in South

300

: 00:17:09

Florida, one of the lemonade stands

we had for Spay Mart was for a dog.

301

: 00:17:14

That Lynn, the director, ended

up being able to get into a

302

: 00:17:18

shelter in South Florida, and he

was adopted quite quickly there.

303

: 00:17:23

So I think it's just an education thing.

304

: 00:17:27

I think it's a population thing.

305

: 00:17:30

I think the higher the population, like

the bigger cities, tend to have a better

306

: 00:17:34

grip on making sure that the public is

educated about getting their dogs and

307

: 00:17:41

cats spayed and neutered and rescuing just

because they can't handle overpopulation.

308

: 00:17:47

It's too obvious in the

bigger cities, I think.

309

: 00:17:51

Dixie: I wish we had some kind

of little camp like that here.

310

: 00:17:54

I think that would be something

that would be very beneficial

311

: 00:17:56

to get the youth involved.

312

: 00:17:58

Brittany: Yes, I know if I

could find something like that

313

: 00:18:01

or start something like that.

314

: 00:18:03

I have a friend with Take paws Rescue,

actually, who works at a school.

315

: 00:18:08

And she is done field

trips to the Stray Cafe.

316

: 00:18:12

So things like that I think are awesome.

317

: 00:18:14

I know L-A-S-P-C-A used to

have something like that.

318

: 00:18:18

And same with the Inner Pup.

319

: 00:18:19

They used to have something like that.

320

: 00:18:22

But I think they, they lost their funding

and I think there was a lot of red tape

321

: 00:18:27

involved with taking animals to schools

or getting, kids to go with the animals.

322

: 00:18:33

So I think there's just been a lot

of barriers and not enough funding

323

: 00:18:39

to make it happen, but it was

really beneficial to me as a kid.

324

: 00:18:44

Dixie: What is an aspect of animal

welfare in NOLA that you believe the

325

: 00:18:49

general public is least aware of?

326

: 00:18:52

Brittany: I think there's just people

who don't realize how many animals

327

: 00:18:55

there really are, which is why I

think it is so important to show kids.

328

: 00:19:01

Shelters, I think everyone needs

to visit a shelter at some point

329

: 00:19:04

in their life while they're young.

330

: 00:19:07

And then they'd realize just how sad

and how dire it is when people don't

331

: 00:19:14

keep their commitment to their animals.

332

: 00:19:16

And of course things happen where

people die or, illness happens and

333

: 00:19:20

we need those shelters and we need

those rescues to be able to, help

334

: 00:19:26

with those emergency situations.

335

: 00:19:27

But it really truly should

be emergency situations.

336

: 00:19:33

Not people choosing breeders, backyard

breeders, or deciding not to spay a

337

: 00:19:39

neuter just because they want their cute

cat or cute dog to have one litter or.

338

: 00:19:46

Feel bad about spaying or

neutering their animal.

339

: 00:19:50

'Cause yeah the shelters are

just in such dire situations.

340

: 00:19:53

Every rescue, if you follow, I'd say

at least once a week, they're posting a

341

: 00:19:58

plea for someone to foster or a plea for

someone to take in a returned animal.

342

: 00:20:05

Just, there's just such an

overpopulation, unfortunately.

343

: 00:20:10

Dixie: Maybe with your lemonade

stand, since it does like

344

: 00:20:15

I said before, evoke youth.

345

: 00:20:17

Maybe that's a way too,

to get children involved.

346

: 00:20:19

Like maybe they'll see something

like you doing that through social

347

: 00:20:23

media and maybe they'll think, oh,

that's something that I could do too.

348

: 00:20:27

Brittany: Yeah, that's

definitely the goal.

349

: 00:20:29

I always try and make it as

family friendly as possible.

350

: 00:20:31

It ends up being mostly adults,

but we've had some kids show up.

351

: 00:20:35

And definitely my neighborhood

kids are always like, Ooh,

352

: 00:20:38

can we get some lemonade?

353

: 00:20:40

Can we come help?

354

: 00:20:41

And I'm like, I need

you to bring a parent.

355

: 00:20:43

I cannot let you come and

play with a bunch of strange

356

: 00:20:45

dogs without a parent around.

357

: 00:20:47

But they always have fun, like

seeing all the dogs come in and

358

: 00:20:50

out of my yard and everything.

359

: 00:20:51

And they do come with a parent.

360

: 00:20:54

They do learn a lot about the dogs and

the stories of the dogs that come in.

361

: 00:20:59

'cause most of our attendees are rescues.

362

: 00:21:03

'Cause they were adopted through the

rescue that we're supporting that day.

363

: 00:21:07

Or they're part of the foster community.

364

: 00:21:10

So yeah, everyone who comes is

able to share some story about.

365

: 00:21:16

Why they love and care for their animals

or how they came to be involved with

366

: 00:21:21

the rescue which is really great.

367

: 00:21:24

Dixie: When you set up your stand,

do you do it all by yourself or

368

: 00:21:27

do you have a friend helping you?

369

: 00:21:30

Brittany: Yeah, my partner's been great.

370

: 00:21:31

Very helpful.

371

: 00:21:32

And then I always recruit one of my

friends or someone with a rescue,

372

: 00:21:36

Hey, you wanna kinda tackle the

telling people about the rescue,

373

: 00:21:41

giving them the information?

374

: 00:21:44

Or if I'm talking to someone

you can help give some education

375

: 00:21:48

and serve the beverages.

376

: 00:21:51

Yeah, it's usually a hodgepodge of friends

or my partner or one of the volunteers

377

: 00:21:56

with the rescue helping out with it.

378

: 00:21:58

But we keep it as low key as possible and

most of the time it's just honor system.

379

: 00:22:05

Self-serve half the time.

380

: 00:22:07

Once I tell them this is what the raffle

is, this is the suggested donations and

381

: 00:22:13

people have been extremely generous.

382

: 00:22:16

Dixie: That's great.

383

: 00:22:18

When you're gonna set it up the stand for

a rescue, how do you go about selecting

384

: 00:22:24

the rescue that you're gonna go with?

385

: 00:22:27

Do they approach you or do you just

see the stories of the things that

386

: 00:22:31

they're sharing and their direct needs?

387

: 00:22:35

Brittany: Yeah.

388

: 00:22:35

So Clara, I approached them and

I approached them about the idea.

389

: 00:22:40

And, they were totally on board.

390

: 00:22:42

They were a little nervous

about the off leash aspect.

391

: 00:22:45

But once we had some rules in place

and like a plan in place and we kept

392

: 00:22:51

Clara separate until she got used to

all the dogs 'cause she hadn't been

393

: 00:22:55

socialized it just fell into place.

394

: 00:22:58

And everyone, has always

been really respectful.

395

: 00:23:01

Usually it's rescues that

I've met from my work.

396

: 00:23:07

Like my next one that I'm having

is gonna be on November 1st

397

: 00:23:12

for New Orleans Bulldog Rescue.

398

: 00:23:14

And Lydia Plants is , one of

the volunteers she brings in

399

: 00:23:19

a lot of dogs where I work.

400

: 00:23:21

And so I was like, are there

any dogs that need outreach?

401

: 00:23:26

Because I had been really wanting to

work with New Orleans Bulldog Rescue

402

: 00:23:30

and she thought of two right off the

bat that had been in rescue for a while.

403

: 00:23:34

So I approached her, but then I'm

like, who do you need outreach?

404

: 00:23:40

And then my last one was Take

Paws and it was actually my foster

405

: 00:23:47

that I had for a whole year.

406

: 00:23:48

It was his foster-versary.

407

: 00:23:50

He is a really timid guy, and so he

had a really hard time getting adopted

408

: 00:23:55

because every person that he met, he

acted like their hands were made of lava.

409

: 00:24:00

And just did not wanna be touched

or approached by anyone except me.

410

: 00:24:03

So we had a little.

411

: 00:24:04

One for him.

412

: 00:24:05

So it is, it's definitely

personal connections.

413

: 00:24:10

When Lynn told me about the dog that

she undertook, which was Spay Mart,

414

: 00:24:16

they normally do cats, but every

once in a while a dog comes through

415

: 00:24:19

and Lynn doesn't say no very often.

416

: 00:24:23

She approached me, she was like, Hey,

can you help me outreach this dog?

417

: 00:24:26

And I was like, let's do

a lemonade stand for him.

418

: 00:24:29

So it tends to be collaborative or me

seeing a lot of posts from particular

419

: 00:24:36

rescues and wanting to help 'em out.

420

: 00:24:38

'cause I could see that they're

having a lot of cases and

421

: 00:24:43

could use some public outreach.

422

: 00:24:45

Dixie: Yeah.

423

: 00:24:47

How many total stands have

you done and have you seen any

424

: 00:24:51

success with the adoptions?

425

: 00:24:53

Through hosting the stands, either

by maybe making people aware of a

426

: 00:24:58

rescue that they didn't know existed

or through a direct adoption.

427

: 00:25:03

Brittany: Yeah.

428

: 00:25:03

So Clara, I fostered her after my stand.

429

: 00:25:08

But because I always put the flyers up

at my clinic we were able to find her

430

: 00:25:12

a long-term foster after the stand.

431

: 00:25:17

Giselle with companion rescue,

one of her fosters has taken

432

: 00:25:22

a lot of special needs dogs.

433

: 00:25:24

And so once she heard about my stand and

that we were looking for a foster for

434

: 00:25:29

Clara, she reached out to her foster who

thought would be a good fit, and we found

435

: 00:25:34

a foster for her, which ended up being.

436

: 00:25:37

A long-term fospice Unfortunately,

Clara passed last month from lymphoma.

437

: 00:25:45

So they end up being her fospice.

438

: 00:25:48

So that was my first one.

439

: 00:25:49

My second one was with Take paws.

440

: 00:25:54

Let's see, I think I probably

had about 12 in total.

441

: 00:25:57

I haven't counted, but we did take paws.

442

: 00:26:01

We've done Mid-City Mamas.

443

: 00:26:03

We did Spay Mart next,

and then we did next.

444

: 00:26:10

We did Zeus's Rescue right

around the time that Scrim was

445

: 00:26:13

out on his second adventure.

446

: 00:26:15

And we did a scrim one to

fundraise for all of his issues

447

: 00:26:22

when he came back into rescue.

448

: 00:26:25

We did Abadie, which is now

Harahan Veterinary Hospital

449

: 00:26:31

for a dog that they had.

450

: 00:26:32

It was an owner surrender that they

had in their clinic for many months

451

: 00:26:38

with no luck on getting him adopted.

452

: 00:26:40

During that time, he did get adopted

just within a week of the stand.

453

: 00:26:46

Because one of our rescue partners

who helped with that stand was able

454

: 00:26:51

to get him into a Northern transport.

455

: 00:26:54

So I think just getting him

out in public was helpful for

456

: 00:26:59

getting the networking done.

457

: 00:27:01

Not directly, but indirectly.

458

: 00:27:05

And then the inner pup was our sixth one.

459

: 00:27:13

I think we just did it for like

general, the inner pup, because

460

: 00:27:16

they don't do specific adoptions.

461

: 00:27:18

They help owners get

care for their pets and.

462

: 00:27:24

Get heartworm treatment for

pets all around the city and

463

: 00:27:28

the New Orleans general area.

464

: 00:27:30

So we didn't even have a specific

pet in mind for that one.

465

: 00:27:34

It was more just to get people in the

know about the services that they offered

466

: 00:27:39

and raise money for the inner pet.

467

: 00:27:42

Then.

468

: 00:27:44

This one was personal.

469

: 00:27:46

My next one was for Maverick with

Trampled Rose, who was found by one

470

: 00:27:53

of the technicians who I work with.

471

: 00:27:56

And he needed heartworm treatment

and he had a whole litter of puppies

472

: 00:28:00

it seemed to be a backyard breeder

situation where they ran outta money

473

: 00:28:05

and then just abandoned this litter.

474

: 00:28:09

So we, we did a fundraiser for Malcolm,

and then the next fundraiser was for

475

: 00:28:14

the mom who also was heartworm positive.

476

: 00:28:17

And that was for Shell's Rescue.

477

: 00:28:21

It's a very small rescue, but she does a

lot of special needs cases as well, and.

478

: 00:28:29

Quite a few of the puppies that were

present at that stand, they all were held

479

: 00:28:34

because they were not fully vaccinated,

but they got passed around a lot.

480

: 00:28:39

Quite a few of the adoptions with them

were from people sharing from the lemonade

481

: 00:28:44

stand about them and showing all the cute

videos of them snuggling with people.

482

: 00:28:50

And being generally precious.

483

: 00:28:54

Dixie: That's great.

484

: 00:28:54

It's very inspiring because it just goes

to show you that you can get involved

485

: 00:29:00

any way you can, and you don't need a lot

to start getting involved with rescue,

486

: 00:29:04

where I think people think that, you

need to have something really structured

487

: 00:29:08

if you wanna help, if that makes sense.

488

: 00:29:12

Brittany: Yeah, I totally agree.

489

: 00:29:13

You can do so many things.

490

: 00:29:16

You can be supportive by coming

to one of these fun adoption

491

: 00:29:20

events or outreach events.

492

: 00:29:22

Temp fostering, volunteering once or

twice, like every time that you help out

493

: 00:29:30

with a rescue or a shelter, you're at

least telling one or two people about

494

: 00:29:36

it and raising awareness, and just

putting it more in the forefront of

495

: 00:29:41

your mind so that you bring it up more

so that more people know about rescues

496

: 00:29:47

and why we do the work that we do.

497

: 00:29:50

Dixie: Definitely.

498

: 00:29:51

Where do you see your lemonade stand

going in, say, the next five years?

499

: 00:29:58

Brittany: I hope to keep on doing them.

500

: 00:30:01

It's been a really fun journey.

501

: 00:30:04

I do want to figure out

more ways to involve cats.

502

: 00:30:09

I really love like kitty cafe ideas,

so maybe I'll try and do something

503

: 00:30:14

a little bit more inside at some

point, because we've always struggled

504

: 00:30:18

with the really hot weather 'cause

we don't wanna overheat dogs.

505

: 00:30:22

And that's right at the

peak of kitten season.

506

: 00:30:24

So maybe I'll try and find a

venue or something where we can

507

: 00:30:30

have more people meeting kittens

to outreach about kitten season.

508

: 00:30:35

I really like that.

509

: 00:30:36

'cause this past summer I've

done a lot more kitten fostering.

510

: 00:30:39

I'm like, it really does never end.

511

: 00:30:43

Dixie: Yeah.

512

: 00:30:43

Brittany: No, it did Never ends

as cute as kittens are and like.

513

: 00:30:48

They always have gotten adopted

much quicker than my foster dogs.

514

: 00:30:54

I'm still getting litters where I'm,

returning back to PetSmart where my

515

: 00:30:59

kittens end up and I'm like, oh my God,

they've been here for three months.

516

: 00:31:04

They're barely even kittens anymore.

517

: 00:31:07

And yeah, it's just sad.

518

: 00:31:09

So I think having something with

kittens where people can see how

519

: 00:31:14

many are coming into rescue and how

many requests there are for someone

520

: 00:31:19

to take the kittens that are living

underneath my house, or the mama cat

521

: 00:31:23

that I trapped that now has six babies.

522

: 00:31:26

Oh, they all have panleuk

But not everyone does.

523

: 00:31:31

So I'd love to do something more

with the cat so that we can have it

524

: 00:31:34

a little bit more, less seasonally.

525

: 00:31:37

And yeah, I think just trying to find a

better way , I think a lot of people are

526

: 00:31:43

a little nervous about coming because I

don't do like official vaccine checks.

527

: 00:31:49

And I think maybe I could make

my waiver a little bit better.

528

: 00:31:52

Some of the rescues have definitely

been like a little nervous about it.

529

: 00:31:57

And, thankfully everything's been well.

530

: 00:31:59

But I would like to have more

protections in place for people,

531

: 00:32:03

if anything ever went wrong.

532

: 00:32:04

'cause I love dog parks, but,

animals are unpredictable sometimes.

533

: 00:32:09

So safety is definitely

always a concern for me.

534

: 00:32:14

Dixie: It definitely sounds like

you're doing a lot of good with

535

: 00:32:16

it and I think it's a cute idea.

536

: 00:32:19

I used to be a lemonade stand kid,

so I would always pop up my little

537

: 00:32:24

lemonade stand when I was a child

538

: 00:32:25

Brittany: yes.

539

: 00:32:26

Yeah.

540

: 00:32:27

My, my nephew served it too.

541

: 00:32:29

They just shot me, $30 to help with

my litter of kittens from their

542

: 00:32:33

lemonade stand a few Sundays ago.

543

: 00:32:36

Oh, that's awesome.

544

: 00:32:36

Awesome.

545

: 00:32:36

So even they're involved

and they're in Florida.

546

: 00:32:39

Dixie: Oh, that's awesome.

547

: 00:32:40

Like I said hopefully that may be

a way to get more kids involved,

548

: 00:32:44

make it fun for them, and they can

see the need that animals have.

549

: 00:32:50

Brittany: Yeah.

550

: 00:32:51

No, that that's a really good point.

551

: 00:32:53

I think that would be a good step to

make is trying to get more kids involved.

552

: 00:32:57

'cause we need the youth to help with

the next generation of animal rescue.

553

: 00:33:03

I think we got a lot of, great retirees

who are doing animal rescue and a lot

554

: 00:33:10

of young people, but I think more young

people is what we really need to, keep

555

: 00:33:15

the cycle going and make lasting change.

556

: 00:33:19

Dixie: Absolutely.

557

: 00:33:19

I loved hearing about your stand.

558

: 00:33:21

It's a very interesting idea

and you're definitely out there

559

: 00:33:25

doing a lot of good for sure.

560

: 00:33:26

Helping with all these rescues

and every little bit helps.

561

: 00:33:31

Brittany: Thank you so much.

562

: 00:33:33

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

563

: 00:33:34

I wanna thank everybody for

listening and supporting us.

564

: 00:33:38

If you wanna take that an extra

step, consider becoming a member.

565

: 00:33:43

We just added this to our

website, animalposse.com,

566

: 00:33:47

scroll down, look for the support tab.

567

: 00:33:49

Our membership program is going to

help us directly support animals

568

: 00:33:56

in need, whether that be through

vaccinations, food or spay neuter efforts.