SINGLE-HANDEDLY SAVING DOGS' LIVES | FT. LAUREN, THE ANIMAL PAD
My Solo Road: S2 Ep 8 | Single-Handedly Saving Dogs' Lives ft. Lauren, The Animal Pad
Today I’m joined by Lauren from “The Animal Pad” to talk all things animal rescue! We get into rescue stories, dealing with compassion fatigue, what you can do to help, and spotting red flags with breeders and rescues!
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INTRODUCTION
Today Lauren from “The Animal Pad” is giving us a peek into her world of animal rescue! The passion that this woman has for animal rescue pours out of her, as you’ll see in this episode! She shares with us some first hand stories about dog rescues in Baja, Mexico, her experience with compassion fatigue, how you can help, and the red flags you need to look out for if you’re going to buy from a breeder or a rescue (she spills the tea on this since she just rescued 111 dogs from a breeder!). Animal rescue is an intense yet very rewarding operation and we shined the light on both!
HOW SHE GOT STARTED WITH ANIMAL RESCUE
- She was in the Bernie Sanders campaign and was putting in a lot of volunteer hours. Things didn’t go the way she was expecting so she wanted to look for a tangible way that she could help make an impact on the world.
- She decided to foster a dog and reached out to places in San Diego. The Animal Pad reached back out within hours.
- She fostered a dog that had been living in a rural area and got shot with a BB-Gun. He was very scared but she took him home and posted to her social media and in a few days she had someone that wanted to adopt him.
- Then she joined the team as a volunteer foster coordinator. After that she got the volunteer director job for 5 years while she was working full time.
- The Animal Pad is completely donation and volunteer based! After 5 years, someone donated a salary for her to work there full time! She feels grateful and also feels some guilt around being the only paid employee.
- It’s important to her to hold everyone at a certain standard because there are a lot of rescues that give it a bad name.
THE NEED FOR DOG RESCUE IN BAJA MEXICO
- The Animal Pad mostly works in Baja but if someone is willing to get a dog from mainland Mexico to Baja, they can help from there.
- Van friends who go down to Baja: If you can bring a dog from Mexico into the US (it’s really easy) and get it to the animal pad please do! They don’t have the manpower to go all over the place.
- And if you don’t have the money or resources to rescue dogs and you’re going down to Baja, make sure to bring bags of dog food for the dogs on the streets! Put a tortilla down and dog food on top of it!
HOW WE MET LAUREN
- Henry asked his community on Instagram for a place to donate to. A lot of people said The Animal Pad. And when we went down to Mexico, we reached out because we wanted to work with someone trustworthy.
- We met all the beach dogs (taco,belly, turkey, lupita, lucy, & star) which is also when we were introduced to Pris from Los Adoptables.
- When you meet someone and you feel that connection and it’s built off of transparency & trust, then it’s a relationship that’s going to work out.
THE ANIMAL PAD & LOS ADOPTABLES
- Team Finn has donated enough to Los Adoptables to improve the entire facility. They have more kennels, so less dogs have to be in each one, the enrichment areas are nicer, and the dogs are so much more calm and relaxed.
- There is no measure that Lauren and Pris won’t take to get a dog because every dog matters to them.
- Unfortunately they don’t have time to build a relationship with the dogs. It would be ideal but they aren’t going to be there the next time they go. Which means that they have to sometimes scare the dogs to give them a better life.
- They take in dogs that are physically and emotionally broken. They always break through the emotional trauma.
- Simba was a dog that was in foster care for a year and a half before he got adopted. They never gave up on him!
- They have partner vets that will work with them for a lower cost but they are still in need of donations!
HER EXPERIENCE WITH COMPASSION FATIGUE
- When you always see devastating things, it takes a toll on your mental health. A lot of times people have to step away from volunteer work. But Lauren feels like stepping away would be more of a stressor for her.
- She recently bought a compassion fatigue course for her and her team and is going to prioritize her mental health.
- There are a lot of mixed emotions in this work. You are happy because you helped the dogs but you also think of the other ones that didn’t get the help that they needed.
RED FLAGS WITH BREEDERS & RESCUES
- Make sure you know the breeder that you are getting your dog from! Get past reviews, see how the dogs are living, and connect with the people. There are steps that you can take to responsibly get a dog!
- Lauren recently rescued 111 dogs from a breeder in Baja (do NOT buy from Baja Doodles! The lady changes her alias time and time again and often sells on puppyfind.com)
- And just because you adopt a dog from a rescue doesn’t always mean it’s a good rescue!!
- Rescues in the USA are held more accountable than in Mexico so it’s worth knowing who you are donating to and rescuing from!
- Do NOT donate to “Ellos Son La Razon”. The money does not go to the dogs no matter what they post on social media. They aren’t invested in the health and wellness of the dog.
THE MOST IMPROVED DOG, FLORENCE
- There have been so many dogs that Lauren didn’t think were going to make it.
- Sometimes dogs need to struggle and suffer a little bit for them to make a big turn around and Florence was one of these dogs.
- She came from Mexicali, with a large tumor on her head and she was the skinniest dog Lauren has ever seen.
- She started to gain weight and is now a diva. You’d never know what she went through, her spirit completely changed!
- The Animal Pad will fight for the dog and its health as long as the dog wants to.
THE SPIRIT OF BAJA DOGS
- The dogs that are rescued in Baja have such gratefulness.They are always in complete awe that this is their life and it never goes away. So many of these dogs change peoples lives too.
- In America, we have a very different perception about dogs. The second a dog is roaming the streets people are stopping for it and looking for its owner. It’s not like that in Mexico which is why they need the most help.
- Lauren has a soft spot for distemper dogs (a contagious disease) because they are the most resilient. They are the ones who look sickness and death in the face and still fight on. They have a warrior spirit.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Make sure to spay, neuter and vax your dogs! If you are looking to rescue or buy a dog from a breeder, make sure to do your due diligence. Just because they are a rescue doesn’t mean that they have the dogs’ best interest at heart. Ask if you can tour the facility, talk to people that have gotten their dogs there, and trust your instincts. If you are in San Diego and want to volunteer, you can reach out to “The Animal Pad”. There are also remote opportunities for volunteers. If you are within 2 hours of San Diego you can foster a dog! They also appreciate donations in any way whether that’s through the website, venmo & paypal @theanimal pad, or through the amazon wishlist! And donations are tax deductible.
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