Live Love Animal Rescue: COVID-19 Operation Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
Grant funds supported the purchase of supplies and food for dogs placed in emergency foster homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds specifically supported the purchase of martingale collars, “Adopt Me” leashes, “Needs Space” leash covers, food for dogs in emergency foster homes, and training treats to help prepare dogs for adoption. This increased our capacity to place dogs in foster homes.
When our local animal shelter drastically reduced in-person operations in order to keep their staff and volunteers safe, this left the animals at risk of greatly reduced care. With the shelter closed to the public, this also resulted in fewer adoption prospects for dogs who remained on-site. From mid-March until mid-May, Live Love Animal Rescue placed every single adoptable dog from Long Beach Animal Care Services into emergency foster homes. With an outpouring of support from the community, we had enough volunteers on hand to help.
Petfinder Foundation grant funds helped us purchase much-needed supplies, which allowed us to place dozens of dogs in foster homes on short notice. With your assistance, we kept these animals safe during a time when their lives were at risk. Without this grant, we would not have had the supplies needed to place 85 dogs in emergency foster care. To date, 67 of these dogs have found permanent adoptive homes (or in a few cases, hospice homes). We are so grateful for your support, which empowered us to help more dogs than we otherwise could have assisted during this time.
How many pets did this grant help?
Grant funds helped 85 dogs placed in emergency foster homes.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Meet Saffron (first three photos)! A Long Beach woman found this beautiful Lab/pit bull mix wandering the neighborhood. It was clear that Saffron had recently given birth. She was engorged with milk, but the puppies were nowhere to be found. The woman who found her was a single mother, and her heart broke for Saffron when it was clear that she was on her own without her puppies.
The woman brought Saffron to Long Beach Animal Care Services for help. Serendipitously, Emily Peters was there that day too. Emily is the founder and Executive Director of Live Love Animal Rescue, and she is a mother as well. She saw the tears in the woman’s eyes as she explained how she had found Saffron wandering alone. Emily promised to help Saffron if no family came looking for her.
As soon as it was clear that no family was coming to reclaim her, Saffron entered a Live Love Animal Rescue foster home that was fully stocked with supplies thanks to a COVID-19 Operation Grant provided by the Petfinder Foundation. Saffron received the medical care and love she needed to heal from giving birth and losing her puppies too soon. Recently she was adopted by a family that shows her the security and love she deserves. In her adoptive home, Saffron takes on a maternal role with the family felines. She grooms the cats and treats them like the babies that she lost. It is touching to see her thriving in a loving home.
Photos of Saffron, Esmeralda (fourth photo), and Apple (fifth photo) are courtesy of Blockhead Brigade. The sixth photo shows Crickey.
