The power of one can save lives

In the past few months, local animal welfare organizations have increased public awareness about the plight of shelter animals by posting “last chance” lists, pictures and other time-sensitive information on social and traditional media.

Interest and concern for homeless animals is definitely on the rise. Yet, while they express frustration at the situation and sympathy for the animals, many Baton Rouge animal lovers hesitate to volunteer with the local non-profits who desperately need the community’s help to save lives.

Some potential volunteers question whether a single person’s efforts can make a significant difference in dealing with such a vast deep-seated, community-wide problem. Others explain they’d love to help but simply lack the time for shelter work, funds to make a sizable contribution and the space to foster.

However, one grad student’s determination to help shelter animals find homes overcame all those obstacles. As she finished a clinical externship and made plans for a cross-country drive home, fourth-year veterinary student Laura Talaga found the time and resources to save the lives of six shelter dogs.

“The motivation for the project was to transport highly adoptable dogs away from here [Baton Rouge], where they have a small chance of being adopted,” says Talaga. “In Pennsylvania, we have a very high adoption rate for young highly adoptable dogs; so, it is super easy to find homes for them.”

Formally enrolled at Ross University on the island on St. Kitts, Talaga spent a year at LSU School of Veterinary Medicine’s teaching hospital to gain the clinical experience required to graduate.

“The original idea was to pull animals from various area shelters that needed help,” explains Talaga. “But it quickly became clear East Baton Rouge Animal Control was the perfect place to make the biggest impact.”

So, a month before returning to her Pennsylvania home, Talaga vetted her idea with local shelter management and began selecting the lucky dogs who would embark upon a new life.

After being vaccinated, dewormed heartworm and temperament tested, the dogs went to foster homes both to bolster their health and learn house manners.

“The stress of the shelter causes these animals to be extremely immunosuppressed,” explains Talaga. “Even common pathogens that do not normally cause clinical disease can become a serious issue because of the fragile state of these dogs. It is so important that they have time to get better for the ride north and their new homes.”

During their month in foster care, the dogs received vaccination boosters and were spayed/ neutered by LSU fourth-year surgery students and faculty.

With the completion of her externship in October, Talaga loaded her three dogs plus the six rescues in her car and began the 22-hour haul across the South and up the East Coast.

Talaga planned to place the pups through her local shelter. However, by the time she arrived, more than half the dogs had been adopted out by her network of family and friends. Because they were already spayed/neutered and vaccinated, they were ready to go straight into their new owners’ homes.

“Without the generous help of [the Baton Rouge] volunteers, these wonderful dogs would not be the healthy, happy, well-adjusted pets they are,” says Talaga.

So, by employing some ingenuity and a little creative packing, Laura Talaga incorporated animal rescue in her existing plans. Consequently, she decreased the number of animals euthanized by the city and saved the lives of:

• Cooper, an adolescent chocolate/tan mixed breed;

• Jeeba an adult Chihuahua;

• Dice, an adolescent border collie/Catahoula mix

• Lola, an adolescent lab/hound mix;

• Rasta, a pit bull mix; and,

• Charlie, an adolescent Catahoula cur, who is now Talaga’s pet.

Granted, Talaga’s veterinary background provided advanced skills for handling a large number of adolescent pups for a two-day trek. Still, there are many opportunities for one person to make a difference without ever leaving the Capitol City.

Companion Animal Alliance Volunteer Director Cathy Coates welcomes anyone eager to help on a sporadic or regular basis.

And, these days, volunteering has evolved far beyond just cleaning cages and scooping poop. For example, CAA constantly seeking volunteers to:

• foster shelter pets

• walk/exercise dogs

• socialize felines (more commonly known as playing with cats and kittens)

• photograph adoptable animals

• enter forms and data in the computer system

• answer and return phone calls and greet the public in the front office

• work on- or off-site adoption events

• receive animal arrivals in the intake area

• tend to the cats in our Luv-a-Pet program at PetSmart and/or

• assist in the trap-neuter-release program for feral cats.

For information about volunteering at CAA, email [email protected] or call 774-7700.

For a complete list of local rescues seeking volunteers, click here for this week’s City Lynx.

For a sample of CAA’s animals available for adoption or fostering, click here for Creature Feature.