Early July, I received a cry for help from rescuers of the Contra Costa County death camps.
Listings after listings of perfectly healthy, beautiful animals slated to go down any time.
Something had to be done – NOW.
But how? We have no fosters in the area.
Martinez is almost 700 miles away, my car was too small, renting an SUV or van + gas was too expensive. So, what could we do? As you know, Let’s Adopt! is a volunteer run organization. We don’t have a fleet of vans or SUVs at our disposal.
We don’t run shelters or a day care. We work with foster homes. Unfortunately we don’t have enough yet, but we’re growing and I am optimistic that this story will inspire some of you to sign up to become not just another foster, but a viable lifeline!

I contacted my friend Amy with the Pixie Project, and just asked her whether I could borrow the rescue’s  SUV for a long weekend.
It was a long shot and I held my breath, hoping, but really thinking she’d laugh me off telling, me “nice try, but I’m not giving you my car to drive it 1400 miles across state lines“.
Well, Amy did not only call me back right away, she contacted a fellow rescuer in town who immediately offered to take 5-7 dogs in addition to the ones Let’s Adopt! was about to rescue. It took some scheduling and wiggling the details, but in the end we sorted it all out.

leaving Portland for San Francisco

I started my trip from Portland to San Francisco on Saturday, July 10th at sunrise. A SUV packed with empty cages and kennels and a whole lot of hope and arrived in the Bay Area late afternoon, managed to reconnect with some old rescue friends from my time of living in SF. I learned the shelter wouldn’t be open until Tuesday, so I had time to connect and touch bases about the current status of animal rescue and welfare in the Bay Area.

…And it doesn’t look good at all. I spoke to one of the managers of the SF Animal Care & Control who described in despair how the city is shaving dollar after dollar off their budget, that could potentially safe lives. Yet the city uses funds to create silly projects like some “Good Samaritan fund” that rewards people who did the right or a good thing.
We’re now “bribing” people to do what’s right?
What a world.
This deserves its own blog. Stay tuned for an interview with a SF AC&C official.

Sunday: I receive the euthanasia list from the shelter.Pages after pages … Chihuahuas, Poodle Mix, Pit bulls, Pomeranian mix, King Charles Spaniel – another spaniel mix… the list was overwhelming to go through, but I had to. I needed to choose, who I could save. I had five to seven spots. That was it. Now many of you are already questioning the following: HOW DO YOU CHOOSE?
How does one choose?
I don’t know. At some point you have to put emotions past you and look at it from a rational point of view. As rational as one can be in a situation such as this. You look for temperament, adopt ability. I knew I couldn’t bring any Pits or Pit X, because I didn’t have a foster for one, and the other rescues can’t take them due to liability issues. Both rescues run day-cares and the prejudice against this breed is alive and well…..Something we will have to discuss another time.

With Pit bulls excluded, I made a list of 12 dogs and rearranged it from there. When I got to the shelter on Tuesday, there were already a lot of people in line. Some to adopt, others to claim their animals and then there were those that were waiting to surrender their pets. I was greeted by Annie, who held yet another more recent kill list in her hands. We compared notes and just rushed inside to look at as many dogs as we possibly could, knowing “they” are starting the killings in just a few moments. We had 5 dogs in no time, added another 2 – that was it!!
Or was it?

Annie + Lori doing the paperwork

While we checked out the first dogs with the help of Lori of Good Newz Pittie Pups Rescue,  Annie, presented me with 3 wire crates another person donated to the mission. I had dividers in them!!!By taking some of my larger kennels out and using those crates, I had more room. We pulled an older Aussie Shepherd, who we since named Jester.

More about this boy later. He is a special needs boy, who happened to bite me on the way back home,during one of the breaks. It’s not an aggression issue, he did that out of fear, stress, pain combined, when I tried to get him back into the car after a potty break.

Aaaanyway:

While I was outside arranging the crates and animals, I realized that I had more space. So I called Annie on her cell inside the shelter: “I’ve got room for two more, Annie….!!!”.

She zoomed into the euthanesia room, and snatched two dogs straight out from under the needles.

Safe! Pulled with minutes perhaps even seconds to spare!

safe! one has already been adopted!

safe! sweet, skinny little Pom mix

On the Road again....Portland here we come

After getting everyone settled in the car, sorted out the paperwork, we hugged and I went on my way back to Portland.
Because of time “lost” at the shelter and during some potty breaks with the dogs, I arrived back in Portland at 2:30 AM on Wednesday morning.
Theresa from DogStar waited for me, keeping herself entertained by doing some much needed bookkeeping. We unloaded the car, put everyone in a kennel, gave them some food/water and kisses, and went home. Mission accomplished – ten dogs save – alive!
Got home at about 3:30AM, Ouzo greeted me with kisses and hugs. I snuck upstairs, kissed Al “hello”. Ouzo squeezed in between us snuggling with me, licking my bite wounds…. I fell asleep thinking….What a trip!

Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY – ANYTIME!

All started with a small idea and the desire to help. It takes a community to do this. I still need fosters – everywhere. When I sent out a call for local fosters, Donde Buckowski stepped up immediately, and offered her home to one of the rescues.

Safe! Sophia (foreground) is available for adoption with LA!USA

Little “Sophia” is a Chihuahua mix with cow markings. Great with dogs, loves kitties, full of energy. Sophia has already a solid interest – after only few days.

safe! ESPERRRANZA, available for adoption via Let's Adopt!USA

I have little “Esperrranza”, a Chi( MinPin?) mix, who was going down for behavioral. “TIMID” her card said. I found her shivering in the back of her kennel, low to the ground, the noise level in her unit was unbearable – impossible to talk. Can you imagine a little dog in there for 2-3 weeks? I would be TIMID too. As soon as she knew she was safe – she gave kisses and one could just see the big sigh of relief in her entire body language. “Esperrranza” is available for adoption as well. There is some interest for her, but we’re still accepting applications for both of these dogs.

The standard Let’s Adopt! Adoption requirements apply:

• Must have another animal dog

• will be part of the family, not live in the garage, basement, or ever be left on a tie out or unsupervised in the yard.

• We are supporters of a species appropriate diet and all Let’s Adopt! animals are being fed a raw diet. (see http://www.rawlearning.com for more info).

• Adopter has to sign up with Facebook and create a photo album to share with the Let’s Adopt! community that shows the animal’s progress. (Or adopter can send pictures to me and I’ll set up the album for them)

We do not apply an adoption fee. Adopting one of our animals is a privilege not mercy. One can’t put a price tag on any of our animals.

Even if you can’t adopt, but would like to support our mission and rescue operations such as this, please contributing to the Let’s Adopt! Simba Fund

Many thanks to the following rescuers and agencies for their support and collaboration.

Annie Wong – Big Dawgs Rescue

Lori Wilson – Good Newz Pittie Pups Rescue

Melody Chen – FB cross poster and rescuer for the Contra Costa County Shelters.

Amy Sacks – Pixie Project

Theresa Shire – DogStar

and of course thanks to Billie+ David for housing and feeding me “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVID!”, as well as “Matela” for sharing HER sofa with a human.

BE The Change -

it is not THAT difficult if you just put your mind to it.

~Misha

Dear Friends,
last month I asked whether, we as a community could save 100 animals this summer.

What has happened since…

I’ve met Mary Ann, a wonderful lady from NC.She saved several cats from a property, who’s owner threatened repeatedly

Using cats for target practice for procreating? An oxymoronic situation considering who's doing the shootin'

to just use the cats  for target practice.
Mary Ann and her patient husband set up traps, and over the course of a week were able to catch all of them.

trapped kitty - ready to be spayed

All have been altered, vaccinated and an older kitty is being treated for a couple of fighting wounds.
Stay tuned for Mary Ann’s story…..

a new lease on life instead of a never ending cycle of kittens

Then there is Daniela, who literally took us up on our challenge the very next day. She lives in Atlanta, went to a high kill shelter in Rome, GA and saved a beautiful English shepherd mix from death row.

Daniela named him Borgo, after a district in Rome.

Borgo on Death Row at the Rome, GA animal pound

Within days Borgo came down with the kennel cough. Daniela spent hours taking him to the vet, treating him, comforting him.

After several baths, a trip to the groomer, lots of love, vaccinations and finally getting neutered – Borgo is ready to move to his new home, which is already waiting for him in Indiana.
Unfortunately, Daniela is a poor student, with a minimum wage job on the side and has exhausted her resources.

She needs help with transport and/or shipping Borgo to Indiana. Please contact Daniela if you can help. dragomirovad@yahoo.com

What about the challenge?

We are a community of over 2000 members in the US. I think we can do better. Daniela, a student, with a minimum wage job, living in a small apartment has proven that there’s always a way to save a life.

Borgo and his personal angel, Daniela

Every life is worth saving. No matter how old or broken an animal is. We owe it to them to make things right.
If we don’t intervene, who will?
What can WE – as a community, as individuals do this coming month?

Step ONE: sign up as a volunteer with us.
if you can’t volunteer please consider supporting us via the Simba Fund.
100 cents of each dollar go to the care of our animals, and funding of special rescue operations. Let’s Adopt! does not have any overhead, because we are ALL volunteers.
This sets us apart from any other big organization.

• Send me your stories and pictures of the animals you saved.
• Sign up to volunteer for us. We are looking for volunteers in ALL 50 States and also in Canada RIGHT NOW.

Shoot me an email with your information:

• Name
• Location
• Volunteer Interest

Let’s make this summer one to remember…

Let's Adopt! Summer Of Luuuuv 2010

The summer we saved 100 animals - TOGETHER!

BE The Change
~Misha

Whenever you visit our blogs, you might have noticed
the Let’s Adopt Community Map to the lower right of your screen.

Put yourself on the map and start saving lives.

What is it all about?
Very simple – The Map connects YOU to the rest of the Let’s Adopt! Network worldwide!

This is the place to put your marker on the map, tell us a little about yourself or copy the code to of your Facebook badge and let us know in what capacity you can support us.
For example: foster, transport, flight volunteer, action calls, etc).

Misha Dee

Create Your Badge

SAVE THE MAP and you’re all done.

Need a step-by-step?

:. sign in or register with Google
.:. Go to the map at
http://bit.ly/LetsAdopt-Network-Map to add your pin to the map.
.:. zoom the map,
.:. click the blue pin and drag it to your location.
.:. add your information, and be sure to SAVE the map when you’re done.

Easy – Yet such an important step to connect with others.

Share the map and invite all your fellow animal activists, rescuers, and volunteer friends and family, so we can truly build a tight network and react fast in any sort of emergency rescue situation.

Become part of the solution.  Join Let’s Adopt! USA today.

BE The Change!

Misha

Please SHARE/RT

You’re reading this because you’re probably a member of Let’s Adopt!
I applaud you for joining our networks.

Now I want to ask you to join our tribe, by becoming an active member of our operations, to join our tribe!
We are of course animal lovers, but we are activists first. Which means, that we love all the cute pictures of pups and kitties. However, there are too many cute pups and kitties dying in our so-called shelters and by the hands of abusers and breeders every single day.
We must act – NOW!

I am often disillusioned by what I see, especially on the web.
Horrendous abuse, crush videos, starved animals, scared animals going crazy in their kennels at the pound.
I have seen many of these cases in my work as an activist and rescuer. The 1-day-old kittens I raised with an eyedropper or feeding tube, just to see them succumb to a simple upper respiratory infection. The kittens that were exposed to FIP, and ultimately died because their intestines and organs literally liquefied inside of them.

However there were hundreds that were a joy to foster and raised to be strong enough to be adopted. There are many, many success stories, which by far outweigh the bad experiences.
Now I want YOU to experience the feeling of saving a life and what an impact you alone can make in your community.
I want YOU to reach out to your local pound and rescue a dog or a cat.

Rescue an animal from death row - TODAY!

Become its caretaker and angel.
We will then rally as a network to adopt the animal into a new home.

adopting an animal will complete any family

Our adoption criteria are strict, yet very simple.

• the adopter has at least one other animal

• the animal will live indoors only! Not in the yard, not on a tie-out, not in a garage, or a barn. It will live indoors as part of the adopters family.

• the animal will be fed a raw diet only. Your animal will be healthier, you will be happier, and you’ll save money in the long run, on cost of food and vet bills. More info can be found at http://rawlearning.com

• We do not apply an adoption fee. One can’t buy any Let’s Adopt! dog or cat.

• We believe that adopting an animal is a privilege, not mercy.

• The adopter will create a Facebook album with photos of the animal with its new family and updates.

These are our adoption rules in a nutshell.
Do you think you can handle it?
Have you been thinking of how in the world can you make a difference at these overcrowded pounds? Well, here is your chance to put your action where your heart is.

• Pull an animal.

• Then take it home, let it settle in,

let the dog or cat settle down for a few days

• take pictures and post it on the Let’s Adopt! USA page,

• Include all details you have about the animal:
• Age, temper, likes, dislikes, history (stray, dumped by owner, etc)

• We’ll campaign to get the animals adopted.

Do you realize that you will be saving TWO lives at once.
Not only will you be taking the one dog off death row, but another one will have a better chance, because there’s new cage space. And hopefully, you’ll inspire friends and family to do the same all over the country.
Perhaps concentrate on high kill facilities such as many municipal facilities in the South, from Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas – some pounds have a 90 (that’s NINETY) % kill rate.
Here’s where you can make a big difference.
There are many small groups that are willing to help you pull an animal and organize transport.
I will be listing some of these groups and links soon.
For now – please search your heart and decide whether you can open your home to a rescue this summer. I know you can and want to.

Let us help you figure out how and make it a reality. For the animals and for you.

We can potentially save hundreds of animals this summer. Are you with us?

Got Foster Dog?

Let’s start saving lives – one dog, one cat at the time.

BE The Change
Misha Dee

Read more »

See a bit of yourself in this video?

Welcome Home!

Join the Let’s Adopt! USA network on Facebook

add yourself to the regional volunteer/activist network
in the discussion area:  http://bit.ly/LA_volunteer

Invite/Share/RT – we need to grow as an organization to be ready to cover the US.

Invite/Share/RT...it only takes a few clicks

Donate a couple of clicks to this great cause, and share this post on your FB/Twitter pages.

BE The Change

~Misha

MYTH: “My pet will get fat and lazy.”

The truth is that most pets get fat and lazy because their owners feed them too much junk food (canned or dry) and treats loaded with HFCS, and don’t give them enough exercise. A run around the yard is NOT exercise.  Consider switching our animals to a raw diet, which will keep them healthy, happy, lean and your visits to the vet at a minimum.

Read Viktor’s blog about why Let’s Adopt insists feeding our animals a raw diet.

MYTH: “It’s better to have one litter first.”

Actually,  science indicates just the opposite!!!
In fact, evidence shows that females spayed before their first heat are typically healthier. The best time to spay your female dog or cat is before her first heat. Early spaying greatly reduces the incidences of mammary cancer.
Both pregnancy and birth can be very stressful for the animal.
Animals giving birth sometimes die from complications.
Many veterinarians now sterilize dogs and cats as young as eight weeks of age.

MYTH: “I’ll find good homes for all the puppies and kittens.”

You may find homes for all of your pet’s litter. But each home you find means one less home for the dogs and cats in shelters who need good homes. Also, in less than one year’s time, each of your pet’s offspring may have his/her own litter, adding even more animals to the population. The original problem of crowded kill-shelters is created by just one litter at a time. 

"FREE to good home"... the "wonders of birth" come at a high price for the animals AND our communities

There’s no need to breed – PERIOD!
This must stop!

I once had a lady from Jehovah’s Witnesses knock on my door to tell me about her vision of doomsday and all….while we were chatting, two of my five foster kittens jumped on the window sill and played in the sun.

orphaned kittens under the age of three weeks are euthanized on arrival at a shelter near you.... too much work, too little resources.

I told her that these kittens were born in my house to a rescued homeless cat, who was barely a year old herself.
The lady was so excited seeing the kittens, that she didn’t listen to a word I was saying beyond “babies”.
Said the following: “I want to get a cat for my children so they can witness the wonder of birth”.
I explained to her how this was exactly part of the problem, and asked her to take her children to a city shelter to show them hell on earth first.

Perhaps consider fostering for a local rescue like myself, and not only show the kids the wonders of birth, but also educate them (and obviously herself) about the consequences.
She said she couldn’t do that. Foster pets and then give them away…. “I don’t know how you do it”, she said.
“I get joy out of seeing them united with their adoptive home, and there’s always a never ending supply new fosters…”
The lady walked away, on to the next home to tell them about doomsday, not realizing that her thinking perpetuates the ultimate doomsday vision for every pet out there.

MYTH: “But my pet is purebred.”

So is at least one out of every four pets brought to animal shelters around the country. There are just too many dogs and cats; mixed breed and purebred.
Your purebred’s testes aren’t any more valuable than those of a mixed breed. They’ll contribute to the same problem.

MYTH: “I want my dog to be protective.”

S/N does not affect a dog’s natural instinct to protect home and family. A dog’s personality is formed more by genetics and environment than by sex hormones. The only changes in behavior you’ll see are positive ones.
Tom cats tend to reduce their territorial spraying depending upon the age they are neutered. If neutered young enough, before they begin spraying, they may never develop the behavior.
Neutered male cats and dogs fight less, resulting in fewer battle scars, contagious diseases such as Feline Leukemia and horrible abscesses.
And since they aren’t interested in pursuing females in heat, they also wander less, greatly reducing their chances of being hit by a car or getting lost.

MYTH: “I don’t want my male dog or cat to feel like less of a male.”

Pets don’t have any concept of sexual identity or ego – HUMANS DO!
He doesn’t suffer any kind of emotional reaction or identity crisis when neutered – HUMANS project that onto them.
If your dog’s balls mean so much to YOU, and you have the resources to spend, consider Neuticles. </sarcasm>
However, you might consider getting a larger pair for yourself, and give your dog a break!
When I worked with a city shelter in the San Francisco Bay Area, I witnessed a young man trying to pick up his lost dog from the pound.

It was an intact pit. Very sweet – his owner not so much. He was informed that they wouldn’t release an un-neutered pit, and that by claiming the dog, he had to get the animal neutered within a certain time frame. He made a huge scene about how his beloved dog can’t be neutered. He couldn’t have his “baby’s balls cut off….”

The argument went on for a while.

Pitbulls are likely one of the most misunderstood and most abused breed in our society.

He finally said – “F*ck it – keep the stupid dog!!” - and stomped out.

Left his beloved dog, his baby there, on death row. Now jumped from “stray” up the death row chart to “owner surrender”. Needless to say – this once beloved baby was destroyed.
Why did I not do anything. Because our rescue was already over capacity, boarding dogs because foster homes were full and I personally had a house full of orphaned “wonders of birth”-kittens to foster.

neo natal orphaned kitten - death by ignorance of humans. Kittens like these are euthanized by default if no rescue will take them. And most won't/can't because of the lack of volunteers..

There are no resources.

Volunteers are hard to come by, and the ones shelters and rescues are so very lucky to have are exhausted!

MYTH: “It’s too expensive to have my pet spayed or neutered.”

The cost of spaying or neutering depends on the sex, size, and age of the pet, your veterinarian’s fees, and a number of other variables.

But whatever the actual price, spay or neuter surgery is a one-time cost; a relatively small cost when compared to all the benefits.

It’s a bargain compared to the cost of having a litter and ensuring the health of the mother and litter; two months of pregnancy and another two months until the litter is weaned can add up to significant veterinary bills and food costs if complications develop. Most important, it’s a very small price to pay for the health of your pet and the prevention of the births of more unwanted pets.

Many counties offer free or low cost spay/neuter clinics or vouchers.
Yesterday, I posted a list of low/no cost spay/neuter resources.

Contact your local HS or SPCA for more information. If it turns out that there are no resources in your area, consider getting involved in you community, and help organize a yearly event. Thanks to social networking it is getting easier and easier setting up events and get the word out.
Use this tool!
Remember to BE THE CHANGE – don’t wait for others to do it for you!

Fix your pets, educate your friends and family, and don’t forget to you join us on Facebook, so we can network and delegate the resources each of us has to offer.

~Misha

After 15 years in animal welfare as a rescuer, full-time volunteer, foster, mentor, and trustee of a grassroots rescue group in Berkeley, CA, volunteering for big established shelters, smaller shelters, no kill/kill…
I just had enough of turning in circles.
Here I was 15 years later, deeply disappointed by the lack of understanding of volunteer and shelter management by the last shelter I volunteered for the past 6 years.

I wanted change!

Each year we’d wait for the first litter to hit the shelters, and within weeks, there was mayhem, kittens/puppies everywhere. People “miraculously” found them under their porches, in their garages, no idea how they got there, but they always knew exactly how old they were
I was tired of listening to the excuses from people. It was always the animal’s fault, well if you didn’t count the allergies, baby on the way, boy/girlfriend moving in.
People are treating animals like a piece of furniture, the latest fad. Once out of fashion, they’re discarded.
Latest bold example are the little toy breeds, filling up the shelters all over the country right now. Thanks to Hollywood bimbos clutching them in front of cameras like purses – their airhead fans want to be like them, so instead of a frontal lobotomy they get a chihuahua or a pug or other little cutie.
These might be small animals, but they still need attention, affection, exercise, and yes, they live 10 years or longer. Cats can live over 20 years.
Are people not realizing that? Why is that?
Is it that the cute puppy or kitty is too tempting and they’ll agree to anything just to take the cutie home TODAY?!
I’ve held hundreds of adoption counseling sessions, and am still amazed how people setting themselves up to fail as responsible guardians.

So, what makes Let’s Adopt different?
Let’s Adopt is about awareness and holding humans accountable.
We are not in the business to build yet another shelter.We are here to change the system.Saving lives by educating humans, changing legislature, building local communities of animal lovers from the inside out.
Each of you can contribute to our mission by joining our network on Facebook and help us grow.
We want to connect a rescuer with a foster home, and get the animal directly into its new home.
Our adoption rules are a little different than the standard “fill out application- be approved-pay & good bye- whew“.(rescuers out there, you know exactly what I mean!)
We want to educate the adopter, and ensure that s/he understands beforehand the responsibility and the gift each animal coming through Let’s Adopt! is.We want to find forever homes. Nothing less will be good enough, and we have no issue turning applicants down. Our history in other countries prove that we’re on to something. Check out the Turkey based main page at blog.myletsadopt.com
Let’s Adopt! is not about moving a large number of animals, but about finding quality homes, educating communities and saving lives not even born yet.

The city I currently live in has it’s municipal shelter about 30 minutes from downtown.The Humane Society is a 10 minute drive.

Guess where prospective adopters will go browse for animals.
Guess where most animals are dying just days after arrival.
This needs to change!!!
I am tired of hiding the city’s dirty little secret with my tax dollars, while charity is sucking dry the donation pool. Easy, with 6 figure marketing budget.
Animal Rescue is big business.

When I went to a workshop at a Humane Society, the person leading the workshop started the day by saying… “Hello, my name is XXXXX XXXXXX, and our mission is to put us out of business….” >
Well, needless to say that after 7 years they are still up & running and probably still using the same line.
What has changed in the area? Nothing!
The municipal shelters are still overwhelmed and underfunded. The HS does good work, I don’t want to take that away from them.

However, 40 thousand animals are being killed in my metro area each year.

This is an outrage.

Which leads me back to the answer of the original question.

Why I am with Let’s Adopt!?
Because we’re here to change the game. To make to officials a bit more uncomfortable, ask tough questions and ultimately bring change. True change.
You can do this as well.
I will soon post some resources I am currently collecting for YOU to use in your community. How to start petitions, get measures on your local ballots, start a spay/neuter program… just to name a few.
So, stay tuned for that!
Meanwhile don’t forget to join the US network on Facebook.

Feel free to introduce yourself in the discussion section and share some of your local issues. Start a dialog with our virtual community…

Here’s to real change – for the animals!

One Love!
Misha