One of the primary concerns all shelters, humane societies and rescues face is the quality of home that a pet ends up in.  If it’s a great home we can almost be assured that the pet will live out his or her life in a great environment.  All too often this is not the case.  Be it for lack of education or lack of communication, dogs often end up returned to shelters and rescues, and some fare even worse.

Bound Angels has created a free handout that can be co-branded with your organization; there is a space on the back of each handout where you can stamp your logo or place a sticker with your organization’s info.

This handout, which is available in both English and Spanish contains simple training tips including: housebreaking, training, crate training as well as some of the basics of responsible pet ownership.

If your rescue or shelter would like some of these beautiful handouts, please contact us by clicking here and we’ll get a batch right out to you.

With so much political correctness surrounding the decision about your new pet, I thought I’d talk very openly about the decision.  It’s not whether you should adopt or buy a dog, but some other things that surround your decision.

To begin with, before you ever decide to get a pet you should ask yourself if you are ready for a long term commitment, one that can last over 10 years.  No matter where you get your pet from, you must understand that it is your responsibility to keep this animals for it’s entire life.  If you’re making your decision on a whim, it’s the wrong decision.  Ask yourself what you will do with the pet if you lose your job, if you have to move, if it gets sick… then ask yourself where you see yourself in 10 years.  Once you’ve answered these questions in a manner consistent with keeping a pet for its entire life, you may be at the right place to consider getting a new best friend.

Now, ask yourself if you will dedicate the time to train, care for and bond with the pet.  Dogs are a bit more work as they need exercise, training and bonding time with their humans.  If you work 10-12 hours a day and think it’s a good idea to have a dog at home waiting for you when you get there, you might consider a big screen TV instead.  A dog needs more attention, and it’s better that you don’t get a dog in the first place than to get one that you won’t care for eventually.  It’s a commitment that you should think about.

When you’ve talked to some friends, trainers and family about your decision, which you should do – you can take the next step.  People who just run out and get a dog are like people who meet someone at a bar and get married the next day.  Believe me it’s true.  It may be easier to get rid of a dog or a cat, but remember, given the work you invest, a pet will last longer than most marriages and give you a lot less aggravation as well.

Your next decision will be where to get your pet: rescue, breeder, friend, petshop, street corner, swap meet, and the list goes on.  I can assure you that the majority of these decisions will come back to bite you in the ass.  Getting a dog from a pet shop or over the internet supports puppy mills which breed poor quality dogs that have no guarantee of health and they promote the suffering of the breeder dogs that live in the cages on the farms where they come from.  It’s the dumbest decision you’ll make.  Dogs that come from street corner sales, swap meets, craigslist and friends are generally the result of accidental or backyard breeders.  Both of these are totally irresponsible breeders who have no clue on what they are doing and supporting them is putting yourself and your new puppy at risk.  People who breed dogs as a hobby or just for fun should be identified as what they are; backyard breeders.  These are the same people that will dump the dogs that they can’t get rid of at the shelter or dump them in a plastic bag in a field when they have no other option.  Which leaves you only 2 choices: breeders and rescue.

If you decide to get your dog from a breeder, you need to be sure that it is a breeder and not just someone who considers themselves a breeder.  Just considering yourself a breeder doesn’t make it so.  I know people who consider themselves singers, but can’t sing for a damn.  True breeders are those that have one sole intention and that is the betterment of the breed.  They understand what is needed to keep the breed strong, healthy and do everything to assure this happens.  They don’t sell to people they don’t know, they ask for references, require applications to be filed and they will be there every step of the way.  A good breeder will fight tooth and nail to get a dog back if they feel that you are not fulfilling your obligation as a parent.  Good breeders work with rescue and good breeders generally don’t have puppies for sale.  Why?  Because good breeders generally have a waiting list, and oftentimes don’t breed until they know what is going on.  If you want to know if someone is a good breeder, do your research.  Ask questions, and I don’t mean only to the breeder, but to people who have gotten puppies from them.  And once you’ve done this, sit back and wait, cause it’s gonna be a little while before they have a litter that you can choose from.  Sometimes 6-12 months is standard.

Once you get that puppy, your work is cut out for you.  Training, housebreaking, sleepless nights and more awaits you for the first 4-6 months, and that doesn’t include what the dog may destroy while he’s learning to teethe and play.  But it is all worth it in the end.

Now, lastly, most importantly and most beneficially is rescue.  Rescue is not for everyone, but it is for the strong majority of people.  Rescuing is easy and very heartwarming.  Every person I’ve ever talked to that has rescued a dog tells me that their rescue dog is different from any dog they’ve ever bought.  They are more appreciative and form a much better bond, because they REALLY DO KNOW that they were rescued.  Their dedication is different than other dogs and the bond that humans form with them is stronger.  Just walk the aisles of your local shelter or humane society and you’ll see hundreds of pets that are ready to just jump into your family today.  Especially the ones that are a little older, they oftentimes make the very best pets.

So, for 90% of people looking for a pet, rescue is the single best option.  And remember, I’m saying a pet.  People want a low-key dog that likes to play, loves taking a walk and is easy around the house.   They want  a dog with fewer health issues and a solid temperament and one that bonds well into their family.  For this, a rescue mutt is about the single best option available.  Pure bred dogs account for a small percentage of shelter dogs, but they are available there as well.  It’s important to note that most inherent health problems become minimized through cross-breeding as well as selective breeding.  But since all but a very few breeders are selective, many breeders breed genetic defects into dogs (I would hope only through ignorance).

It is the rarest of exceptions which would require a person looking for a pet to get a dog from a breeder, but if it does, it’s a very tough decision to make.  I equate it to looking for a surrogate parent for a child.  If you can put that much work into searching for your new pet, happy hunting, and please remember that millions of dogs enter the shelter system every year and are killed there for a lack of responsible people.  PEOPLE, not breeders.  People who dump their dogs in shelters are the blame for the millions of dogs that are killed there.  NO RESPONSIBLE breeder would ever let their dog end up in a shelter, and if it did, they would be the very first ones to get them out.

For those that doubt my words, I challenge you to doubt those that call themselves breeders instead.  If they let this happen, they aren’t.  Let’s focus on a solution to the crisis.  Get your pet from a rescue or a breeder, but learn what you are getting yourself into BEFORE you get the pet.  Education is the key in solving the problem.  If from tomorrow on NO ONE ever dumped another dog, we would stop killing dogs immediately.  See the warning signs of irresponsible pet ownership and strive to fix it.  Enforce leash laws, require pets to be spayed / neutered, teach responsible pet ownership including training of dogs… these are the road to the solution.

If given the option, I sincerely hope that you will choose to adopt and support rescue until there are no more dogs in our shelters.  Furthermore, and most importantly, I hope you will stand up for animals’ rights and be their voice when they don’t have one.

One of the most common problems facing dogs is  lack of understanding from people bringing them home, either for the first time or even seasoned dog owners.  People may have the best intentions, but often fall short and place way too much pressure on the dog, this is a recipe for disaster.  This disaster usually ends with the dog back at the shelter.

After much thought and work, we are proud to introduce our first “adoption handout” that covers so many topics, I can hardly beleive we were able to fit it all into one pamphlet.

The guide starts with 10 Tips for Bringing Home Your New Dog, then moves on to Crate Training, Some simple YES and NO tips for dogs and concludes with a quick glimpse on basic obedience training.  We are making this handout available for shelters, humane organizations and rescues.  There is even a space on the back where you can add your organizations sticker and logo.  This pamphlet is printed on heavy card stock and will be used for many years by adopters.

If you are interested in the handout, check out the link to get more information and contact us for more details.

Some more great news, this guide is also available in Spanish!!!

Please spread the word and join the revolution!

I’m not sure if any of you have seen the two segments that are online from the KTLA Cup O DiCarlo show that featured Bound Angels, but if you missed it, here are the links:
8AM

http://www.ktla.com/videogallery/65779444/News/KTLA-Cup-O-Di-Carlo-Ventura-County-Animal-Shelter-8am

9AM

http://www.ktla.com/videogallery/65779548/News/KTLA–Cup-O¿¿¿-Di-Carlo:-Ventura-County-Animal-Shelter-(9am)

I gotta say Henry DiCarlo is a class act and did a great job featuring our mission on his show. We broadcast from the Ventura County Animal Shelter and featured tips for dog owners, advice to rescues as well as showcasing some really great dogs that needed homes. I do say “needed” because all of the dogs we featured on this mornings broadcasts where adopted or rescued… EVERY ONE!!! Thank you to Henry (and his lovely wife Lisa who helped make this happen) as well as Monica and Donna from VCAS, Sarah, the producer and everyone else who helped – and many thank to all of you who watched and continue to support our life-saving work!

We live in a society where just about everything is disposable including our glass bottles, shoes, clothing and yes – dogs!

I remember days (this makes me sound old) when things were repaired and not thrown away.  I remember taking my shoes to the shoemaker for a new pair of soles, in fact I still do that; and glass bottles in the real old days would go back to the plant and get washed and then refilled.  Not any more.  If it doesn’t work – throw it away!  That’s become out motto and this is carried through to our pets too.  It’s also what’s screwing up our whorl big time!

So many pets that end up in our shelters “just didn’t work out.”  They growled, peed on the floor, were too much energy, got old, didn’t like the new boyfriend / girlfriend or a host of other reasons.  What’s the best we can do with these “things”?  Well, get rid of them of course – and then at some point get another one.  Remember, the new one doesn’t have the same problems as the old one, so it will all work out.

The problem with this logic is that most  dogs didn’t have the “problem” to begin with and the problem, at it’s root, is the animal at the other end of the leash – the human.  When dogs are puppies all the crazy stuff they do like barking, biting, chasing things and lunging at the guests as well as other dogs is cute.  Oftentimes it’s actually encouraged.  Then when the dog weighs 60+ pounds it becomes a problem.  Well a quick visit to a local pet store training or a session with a yellow page dog trainer is about the most effort this dog will receive before he’s dumped at the shelter.

What people don’t see as the problem is that a dog is a living, feeling being.  He is prone to develop according to the environment he lives in.  He doesn’t understand English or Spanish or any other language for that matter, so yelling at him doesn’t get him to understand.  What you taught him is all he knows.  If you choose not to give him any structure whatsoever as a puppy and think that things will change when he gets older, you’re wrong – dead wrong!  And the dead wrong relates to the dog – not you!

Our nation’s shelters are filled with really good dogs that were dumped there because they were doing exactly what they were taught by their humans.  They have done nothing wrong.  Given the structure they require they can be loving, obedient pets.  The problem becomes the humans on their second and third tries.  So many dogs end up with multiple families before they ever turn 18 months old.  This lack of structure or consistency can confuse dogs and lead to behavioral issues that seem alarming.  However when a person finally opts for the structure the dog requires, they will end up with a good dog.  I’ve seen this first hand with countless dogs that I’ve trained privately as well as those that I’ve worked with at the shelters.

The bottom line its that dogs are NOT disposable.  Dogs need structure and need to belong.  Dogs are not there to “teach responsibility to a child” —  they are living beings that can make your life whole and bring the greatest sense of reward to your life if you give them a chance.  If you know someone who is thinking of getting a dog on a whim, talk them out of it.

Dogs are not a lot of work, in fact they’re really easy and require less work than most things in life.  They do require structure and training from early on.  When I say early on, I mean from the time to you get them.  A dog will pick up on the structure of his pack and his leader irrelevant of his age.  Give him guidance and friendship as well as training.  Be consistent, dogs unlike most people thrive on consistency.  If you aren’t gonna hike your dog three times a week next year, don’t do it this year.  Allow your dog to fit into your family and be certain that he will be there for his entire life.

Robert Cabral
Bound Angels

There are many exciting things on the horizon for Bound Angels, and they all involve helping the dogs cast away by society in our shelters.  It breaks my heart every time I walk through a shelter and see the faces of these former pets, now relegated to living the life of a cast-away being.  They have basically given up or are just about to.

When I walk through the isles I see them, I feel their pain and often times I can give them another chance.   That happened last week.

I met Forest a shut down yellow lab mix sitting in the corner of his cage at the Yavapai Humane Society.  I was told by staff and volunteers of Forest’s nature and that he can be a bit dog reactive and hard (if not impossible) to get out of the kennel.  Most shelters would probably have little choice but to put a dog like Forest down.  YHS has taken the stand that a dog with behavioral challenges deserves the same chance as a dog with health issues – for this I applaud them.  A doctor can figure out and cure most medical issues and a qualified behaviorist should be able to do the same with behavioral issues.

That is what we set out to do with Forest.. and we did.  With a bit of work, Forest came out of his kennel and engaged with me and the on-staff trainer, Kim.  He learned to engage to us through rewards and structure.  He learned that he could be around other dogs and not have to lunge at them or react to them.  He learned these life saving skills quickly and he made it.

Saturday while sitting at a  movie back here in LA, I received a text from Kim that Forest was adopted.  I guess I spent 20 minutes with Forest and then passed the baton over to Kim and the staff and volunteers at YHS.  Apparently they did continue the training and because of that someone will be blessed with a great dog and Forest is blessed with life.  Behavioral work takes time and it takes dedication.  I’ve rehabilitated many dogs that others thought were impossible and each one ended up in a great home.

If you ever want to know what makes life worth living, it’s moments like these.  Thank you to everyone who believes that dogs deserve a second chance and thanks to everyone for your continued support.

Robert Cabral
Bound Angels

Tomorrow I’ll be traveling back to Prescott AZ to visit the Yavapai Humane Society.  This will be my 3rd visit since The new No-Kill ethic has been put into place by Ed Boks and the results are staggering.  The kill rates at this small shelter are among the lowest in the country.  This is due to the hard work of staff and volunteers and the leadership steering the way.  The number have tumbled in double digits over the last year and are something everyone should look to emulate.

When I first visited YHS we had a list of dogs awaiting their fate, but none were to be killed until their behavior could be properly evaluated.  Needless to say, not one of those dogs ever saw the needle, and since then it is the very rare exception that dogs with behavioral issues are killed.  In fact, I don’t know of any.

No-kill is not easy to achieve, especially when dealing with a shelter.  There are some big organizations that boast no-kill, however they do not have intake from public and don’t take in dogs that they don’t think they can place.  They also have millions of dollars to do their marketing.  That’s the easy way.  The hard work comes in when you deal with a history of killing and now you want to change it.  I admire those shelters and humane organizations that focus on creative ideas and hard work to save those that most need to be saved.

Last month I worked with the Ventura County Animal Control as well as The Heigl Foundation.  These are organizations that are open to the new ideas and are fed up with the old way.

Bella was a pit-bull at VCAS that had some behavioral issues.  However, I knew they could be addressed and resolved.  Shelter management was committed to helping Bella.  With this help and a Shelter Angel Video, Bella is now in rescue and training and will be placed in a new home very soon.  Click here to watch Bella’s Video.

It’s time to “join the revolution!”  Killing dogs at shelters should be a thing of the past.

It’s also time to address those that abuse animals.  We know that the people who abuse children don’t fare well in the prison system, perhaps we need to create a system where people who abuse animals don’t fare well on our streets.  A place where compassion resides for all of creation is a place where I’d like to live and a world that I imagine.

Best,

Robert Cabral

Puppymills are one of the cruelest operations that are allowed and to make it worse, they are even permitted by our government.  It angers me that they exist and I have fought against them for years – and will continue to do so.  The difference between puppy mills and respectable breeders is similar to a person working a 9-5 job vs slave labor.  There is nothing positive to be said about puppy mills and the sooner we can put and end to this misery, the better.

This Saturday, September 17th is puppy mill awareness day and here in LA I will be a presenter at the Get Your Licks on Route 66 event. This event is sponsored by Bark Avenue LA and there are a host of great speakers that will be there as well as great food, entertainment and of course lots of dogs to adopt.  I’m really looking forward to being there and I hope you’ll stop by and say hello.

Here is a link to the event and all the great stuff that will be there:  http://www.barkavela.com/route-66.asp

All the best to you.

Robert

Today I read an article about a local mall in Orange County that will not lease to stores that sell puppies, dogs, kittens or cats.  I can see absolutely no benefit to stores that sell pets.  And, before anyone lectures me on free enterprise, I’d like to state that there are some moral implications at play here.  Just like we don’t want to (or shouldn’t want to) buy things made by slave or child labor, we should not want animals to suffer so that some pet store owner can make a living.  Pet store pets are the result of misery; the misery of their parents, their siblings as well as their new parents when they get the vet bills from their congenital health and behavioral issues.

Paramount to these issues, I’d like to stress that getting a dog or cat is not an impulse item.  It is a commitment for 10 or more years, and if you feel like you can make that commitment after a walk through a pet store, you might just be the most unstable person I know.  Understanding what it takes to give a good life to a dog is imperative to living a balanced life with your new pet.  I never encourage people to buy or even adopt impulsively.  And, this is where good rescues come in, they give potential adopters the chance to meet the pet and then decide.

For those who compare pet shops to ethical breeders, you have another issue to deal with as well.  As I’ve learned over the years, ethical breeders are among the rarest people on earth.  They care for their pets and are as stringent, if not more so, than the best rescue groups when placing their dogs.  They do serious checking into the new parents, homes, as well as the right match of human to dog.  Furthermore, their primary goal is the health and happiness of their puppies.  They don’t make a lot of money on their dogs and offer a lifetime of support as well as taking the dog back if the owners can’t keep them.  A good breeder will NEVER allow their dogs to end up in the shelter.  This is primarily done by microchipping their dogs and keeping track if their dog ever gets lost by the new parents.  This is a system that is also closely followed by good rescue groups.  The alternate contact info on a dogs microchip should be registered to the rescue group or breeder.

Puppies should never EVER be removed from their parents before a minimum of 7-8 weeks, yet puppy-mills do it all the time so that the pet shop can have an 8 week old puppy, most puppy mills dogs are shipped cross country in small crates for days at a time.  Anyone who puts an 8 week old puppy into a cage with no interaction and allows anyone to handle it obviously doesn’t have the best interest of the puppy in mind.  Pet shop dogs are rarely socialized before they arrive at the pet shop and are never temperament tested to see their inherent traits, nor are they seen by a vet.  Their vaccinations are given to them by a kennel attendant.

What person, who cares about animals, would put a young puppy (or all of the young puppies they are selling) into a container and ship them off – sight unseen to someone they’ve never met.  NO ONE!  EVER.  If you are this type of person, you do NOT care about animals.  Also, reputable breeders do not operate over the internet.  Yes, they may have websites, but they don’t email you a picture and then send you a puppy once your paypal payment clears.  These are either backyard breeders or puppy-mills, and every state has their share of them.  Local animal control agencies need to take the lead in  cracking down on back yard breeders because they are merely small versions of puppy mills.

When a puppy-mill or retail pet store that sells puppy-mill dogs goes out of business, all animals lovers should jump for joy.  There is NO ONE who loves animals that can pose a good argument for selling dogs at a mall or in a pet shop.  NO ONE…  Remember, petshops NEVER buy from puppy mills – at least that is what they tell you.  Puppy mills will never refer to themselves as puppy mills…  NEVER!  Admitting it is never an option – so if you ask and they deny, you might be on to the truth.

As most people know, I am not one to run from controversy or conflict.  My background in eastern studies have taught me that one must face the enemy head on in order to win, and one should fight with honor.  I have lived by my honor my entire life and fought for what I believe in  even when the odds seem insurmountable.

This was the case recently when I weighed in on the Best Friends Animal Society deal with Los Angeles Animal Services.  In short, LAAS considers giving Best Friends (BF) a $14 million dollar state of the art facility.  On the surface this seemed like a great idea to me.  After all, BF is a $50 million a year empire, imagine how much good they could do for the pets.  Well, looking a little deeper, my fears were realized.  In general I’ve learned that if something is too good to be true, it usually is.  That would be the case here.

There are a couple of objections that I, as well as others offered (although they were never addressed by BF or LAAS).

1. Why would BF not take in any strays, animal surrenders or at risk animals from the neighborhood?  That is after all the most important service a “shelter” must provide.
2. Why would BF be able to operate the shelter as an adoption facility and spay neuter clinic, this in a facility that was built to be an animal control center, i.e. shelter?
3. Why would LAAS offer this facility at a $1.00 a year lease to BF and not to a local LA based rescue group?

On top of this a major concern, actually my primary concern is: How will this help the animals at risk in LA Shelters and in LA in general?

There is a simple issue at stake, many animals in shelters are considered less adoptable than others.  Those working in rescue understand that shelters are overrun with certain breeds, colors and temperaments.  Sprinkled in among these pets are the cute, sweet, young and friendly dogs.  The only saving grace the less adoptable animals have is that someone may fall in love with, and see the amazing potential of a dog that, on the surface, seems un-adoptable.  In reality these animals are often much better pets at their core than the cute, fluffy ones that people rush to the shelter to see.  The  greatest hope these dogs have is that someone will stumble upon them while looking for someone else.

This hope is ripped away when rescue organizations “cherry-pick” the “fluffies and leave behind the needy.  Rescue groups come in two varieties, the opportunistic and those doing the hard work of rescue.  Those doing the hard work despise those that rush the shelters, pick up the cute puppies for $50 and then “sell” them at adoptions for $500.  Adoption fees are supposed to be there to supplement rescues for the exorbitant expenses involved in rescuing truly “at risk” animals – not to turn a healthy profit for the “non-profit.”  But there are those who operate this way.

I’m not saying that BF will take this stance at this new facility, but there is no language to prevent this.  It is up to Best Friends to pick their dogs from LAAS Shelters, and since it is the goal of BF to adopt out dogs, I find it hard to imagine that they would choose un-adoptable animals.  After all, after a BF adoption event, those animals not adopted out don’t get transferred to BF in Utah, the local rescue is left trying to board, foster or ship the dog to get them a home.

If it were the goal of a multimillion dollar organization to help, it’s quite easy to do.  Look at the Heigl Foundation, they partner with rescue group and donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to help animals at-risk.  With large sums of money, transports can be paid for, training set up for dogs, spay/neuter for inner city residents with mobile spay/neuter vans, and the list goes on.  None of these were offered in this proposal.  Furthermore, try to find one of these big organizations in a smaller community, for example the inland empire here in LA.  This area consists of Riverside, San Bernardino, Lake Arrowhead, etc.  This area is killing tens of thousands of animals because no help is available.  These areas don’t receive the media attention that West LA, Downtown LA or the San Fernando valley receive.  Yet there are rescuers busting their asses trying their best to save animals at risk there.

As a rescue, behaviorist and animal rights activist, I have visited some of the best shelters and several of the worst.  My heart goes out to animals at risk everywhere, but in particular to those who have ZERO chance of adoption – those that get locked into shelters in areas where there is no funding, and no one coming to help them.  These areas need help!  They don’t need a fancy magazine or new adoption centers…  they need someone to step up and help.

So, I ask you, when it comes time to make donations, please consider the hard work of the groups that are busting their asses to save animals in places you don’t want to go, consider those that are functioning on a shoe string.  These groups don’t receive any help from the big money organizations that send you the fancy mail and have celebrity spokespeople.  Just think about it.  Think about what is best for the animals.  The big organizations that pop into your mind first are not at your local shelters saving animals.  Even though you see their t-shirts at the photo ops, don’t kid yourself into thinking that they are there long after the photo has been snapped.  I know!