Three sweet dogs

These three dogs never stood a chance.

This Chow Chow girl (A3768333)
was the subject of an email because her photo was taken while she was restrained by the come-along pole covered by the towel in the photo. I knew that she would not be walking out of the Carson shelter when her stray hold period is up when the photo on the Carson website for her never changed. In the past, when an email is sent out, a new photo of the dog would be taken and put up on the website. When her photo remained the same, I knew they would kill her.

This poor dog was impounded on new year's eve. I met her in person on Saturday 1/5. She was very sweet and friendly when I came to her cage. She walked right up to the front with her tail wagging and a smile on her face. I spent some time with her, I told her I am sorry that I couldn't help her get out of there. A3768333 was killed on Tuesday 1/8/08.


This wonderful, sweet boy (A3768163) was also impounded on new year's eve. His sad, worried eyes instantly captured my heart when I first saw this shelter mug of him on Carson's Lost & Found page. I went to meet him on Saturday 1/5, the same day I went to meet the Chow Chow girl. He was kenneled right across from Cooper's cage. He watched me when I was sitting outside Cooper's cage. He wanted to get my attention so he would not stop barking until I came over and sat outside his cage. He pressed his entire body as close to the cage door so I can pet him. His eyes didn't look so sad and worried when I was there with him. He was just happy to get some attention so his tail was wagging non-stop. I fell in love with him right there and then.

He was a great dog. At just a little over a year old, he must have lived somewhere before he ended up at Carson. He looked like he was well-cared for by someone, but for whatever reasons, no one came to look for him at Carson. If my rescue status was not suspended, if my ability to adopt as a private citizen was not illegally and unethically taken away from me - I would have been able to buy this dog some times. Instead, I found myself asking for his forgiveness. I asked him to forgive me for not being able to make a promise to get him out of there. I think he understood, because he sat down and licked my hand through the cage door.

A3768163 was killed on Tuesday 1/8/08 along with the Chow Chow girl.


A3763894 was turned in to the Carson shelter by her family on 12/18/07. She was very sad when I met her on 1/5. It was as if she knew that the chance of being adopted into a good home would not be hers. She was as quiet as her eyes in this shelter photo.

Dogs are wise beings. I read somewhere that "dogs know what we know and they also know what we don't know". It's very true. This darling girl knew I love her; she knew that if I could help her, I would. She knew that I couldn't help her that day, but she was just grateful for the time I spent sitting outside her cage. She knew I would have to leave her there but that I would never forget about her. The bond we formed that day will be with me always.

She too, met her unfortunate ending on Tuesday 1/8/08.

These three dogs' lives were cut short at the Carson shelter. They were not killed for irremediable suffering and definitely not for lack of spaces. There are empty cages at Carson and these three dogs could have been given more time. The reason they were killed? to keep the Carson shelter at a "manageable" level. It is one of the ways administration devised to keep the Carson shelter looking "clean" and "presentable" to the public after the media firestorm that resulted from the tragic death of Zephyr.

The LA County Department of Animal Care and Control is in dire need to acquire the "care" part to support its name. This definitely is not possible under the current leadership.

Meet Cooper (A3764901)

He arrived as a stray on 12/21/07.

He was supposed to leave Carson on 1/7/08 but when his guardian angel showed up to pick him up, she was told that he needs to be SAFER tested since he is of an "aggressive breed". He is to be SAFER tested in the morning - by someone who supposedly failed the class on SAFER assessment.

Does this look like the face and eyes of an aggressive dog?

You decide. Cooper is one of many dogs who are wrongly labeled as aggressive. Cooper's life is still in danger as we do not know what will happen in the morning when the staff takes him out to evaluate his temperament.

Justin's cremain

I was given Justin's cremain today. Along with the beautiful box that his ashes came in, there was also a clay impression of his paw print.

It is sad that all that is left of the beautiful puppy is in the wooden box. Justin was cheated out of the chance to be adopted into a good loving home. The only comfort that I can take is the fact that Justin's ending was not like that of Zephyr's. He went knowing love and human kindness from the staff at the hospital where he was taken to after we got him out of the Carson shelter. He got to experience the wonderful feeling of walking out of the Carson shelter through the front gate then jumping into my rescue partner's car where he enjoyed the ride immensely. Justin was able to live the last few days of his short life being cared for by compassionate people who loved him.

Their eyes

"Oh! you poor thing! I wish I can take you home with me! I wish I can take all of you home with me!" is what I hear most often when I am at any shelter - even the nice, private animal care facilities where the difference is night and day compare to the public shelter like the ones in the LA County shelter system. I understand completely this heartfelt desire to be able to help each and all of the dogs sitting in the kennel. This poor Rottweiler (A3764901) came in on December 21, 2007, wearing this chain and padlock. He is affectionate and friendly despite the word "Caution" written on his kennel card, despite being just skin and bone and severely neglected - he is still friendly and trusting. Are we as a race, that worthy of such unyielding devotion and loyalty?

It's in their eyes. Their eyes have the ability to form instantaneous, unbreakable bonds. All it takes is a single glance lasting no more than a nanosecond and I would find myself forever connected to the being peering out at me from behind the cage door.

It matters not the breed or mix of the dogs. They can and often express their emotional state through their eyes with a certain rare innocence and candor.

A3768163 came to the Carson shelter on new year's eve. I wonder if his family is out looking for him. I hope that he has a good family with people who loves him and are out there looking for him. Because if he has people who loves him, he still has the hope of going home again.

A3763282 strayed on December 15, 2007. She has been at the Carson shelter for a while now. She sits in her kennel hopeful and waiting. She has long since passed the legal holding period so now her life is likely in danger. Like the sentiment most often expressed by visitors at the shelter, I wish I can take her home. I wish I can help give her another chance to become a member of someone's family.


A3763253 is truly an unlucky girl. Not only is she homeless in a very high-kill shelter, she happened to be born as the most persecuted breed of dogs in history. As young (just a year old) and cute as she is, her chance of making it out of the Carson shelter alive is slim to none. Hers is a breed that has been abused, victimized, and wrongly branded with a reputation so terrible that any time a dog shows up at the shelter bearing a far removed resemblance to her breed, he or she will be relegated to certain death. Hers is a breed that has been betrayed over and over by a society that has long decided to turn and look the other way.

A3767669 will likely share the same fate as A3763253. He was relinquished and signed over to the shelter on December 28,2007. The look in his eyes tells me that he knows the fate he has been handed and even though it is very sad, he has resigned himself to accept it.


A3766326 can tell his story with this photo taken in the rolling crate at the Carson shelter.




A3753295 is a three-year old Husky mix girl abandoned at the Carson shelter by her family on November 17th, 2007. She has been there nearly two months on borrowed time. I wonder if she will make it out of there. I hope she does.


A3764494 should be able to go to his breed specific rescue group, but likely he is still at Carson because the groups are maxed out beyond their capacity. He must wait. He is not of a breed that has been shunned and deemed vicious by society so he still has a chance of catching a special person's eye and win over this person's heart. It is his only ticket out of the Carson shelter.

This wee pup of a girl arrived yesterday as a stray. At just two and a half months of age, A3769073 has the cute puppy factor working in her favor and as long as she stays healthy she will make it out of Carson. My hope is that she will be adopted by a family who will make the lifetime commitment of loving her, caring for her. providing and protecting her for the rest of her life.

I fall in love often. Each and every time I am at the shelter, my heart swells with love for them. I look into their eyes and we form an unbreakable bond. The promise I've made to them is reinforced and they know that no matter how tough it will get; how painful the heartbreak - I will never give up on helping them.

The Unwanted

It is a common sight to see the line of people out the door with animals in tow when one visits an LA County shelter. The dogs either sit quietly as if they understand what is about to happen to them or they would pace back and forth in distress and fear, every once in a while, they'd look up with the hope of catching their person's eyes. It is an extremely difficult and heartbreaking sight for anyone who knows the dog's capacity for unconditional love.

These dogs are the unfortunate victims of a disposable society. No longer wanted by their families, they are about to be disposed of at the shelter. Some are young, rambunctious; some are middle-aged and mellow. The absolute heartbreakers are the senior dogs.


A3764020 is an 11-year old male German Shepherd mix who lost his home on December 18, 2007. Despite his age and bad luck of being turned in at the Carson shelter, this wonderful dog still managed to look dignified in this shelter mug. He knows that his chance of making it out of the Carson shelter alive is slim. His family no longer wanted him because he is an old dog. It would take a very special person to see what a special gem he truly is.


A3765757 is a 13-year old male Shih Tzu who lost his home the day after Christmas.
They turned him in with his sweater. When I saw him three days later, he was curled up fast asleep on the plastic raise in his kennel. He was still wearing his sweater.
Despite all the commotions and barking around him, this sweet dog slept as if determined to shorten the hours he would have to be in fear and sadness because the Carson shelter is not the home he has known for the last 13 years of his life.


A3766777 is a 14-year old male Jindo who became homeless on December 27, 2007. The confusion and fear shown in this photo taken while he was still being held in the rolling crate never left him. He was found laying on the cold concrete on the outside part of the kennel still shaking with fright two days later when we came and met him. Those sad eyes are even sadder in person. He was curled up into a small little ball in the corner of the kennel.


A3767817 is the oldest of the bunch. At 15 years of age, this Labrador boy was dumped the morning we were at the shelter. It was the morning of December 29,2007. He is a gentle, wise, and well-mannered dog. He was put into the rolling crate and forgotten for over four hours.

He sat in the small rolling crate just patiently watching people passing by, waiting for someone to notice him sitting there. Not once did he bark or made any fuss from the cramp space he was in.

He was still sitting there as we were leaving the shelter. Just waiting.

The sight of the people standing in line waiting to turn over their dogs always hit the hardest at my heart. I have decided to stop asking the question "why?" a long time ago. It comes down to being able to dispose of responsibility without any second thought. The over abundance of everything in society have resulted in the ease of disposability - of practically almost any and everything including innocent lives.

These four sweet, sad and homeless senior dogs likely will not walk out of the Carson shelter alive. They are just four of many, many dogs who will meet their unnatural, untimely end at the hands of people they don't know; people who likely have been made apathetic and callous because it is part of the job to extinguish the lives that have become an inconvenience in a busy disposable world.

Westchester (A896771)

Westchester is about three years old. He has been at the West LA shelter (part of the LA City Shelter system) since August 27, 2007. He must be an exceptionally great boy to still be at the shelter for over four months.

I came across his photo on the last afternoon of 2007. His eyes expressed such a forlorn and profound sadness that they instantly brought tears to mine. They summed up the plight of the homeless animals sitting in shelters everywhere waiting for the chance to become a beloved member of a family; waiting for the opportunity to experience human kindness and to know what it is like to be truly loved back in return for all the unconditional love they have bursting in their hearts to give. Some quietly wait - even if it is for the inevitable end to come - they still wait, suspended in a state of perpetual hopelessness.

May the new year bring Westchester a great home where he will be an adored and cherished member of the family; where he will be loved and well-cared for by compassionate people who will be worthy of his unconditional love in return.