H.A.L.O. Rescue Service for Forsaken Pets

by Andrea Stuart
Photos by Brad Shifflett

Our East County is a great place to live and work, full of natural beauty and wonderful people. Nevertheless, for years tragic and senseless events have regularly taken place that tear the heart-strings of every sensitive person who becomes aware of the problem, even if for a moment.

I'm talking about the destruction of unwanted pets. Some vicious animals need to be destroyed, of course. But I'm referring to absolutely wonderful and loving creatures — big gentle labs, warm-hearted little Doxies, intelligent Shepherds, bouncing and loveable mutts, cute little kittens, gentle tabbies....

I'm talking about dogs and cats of all breeds and descriptions — most of them anxious for any opportunity to show some kind owner how much they have to give. And how loyal and affectionate they could be if someone would just provide an outlet for them to express their love!

But every year these wonderful creatures, in a grim unending parade, are led to small chambers where their little lives are snuffed out years before their abilities to love, amuse, and even to console might naturally have ended.

Some of us can't stand the thought of the miniature holocaust that continually takes place in our midst and have joined together to do something to put an end to it. Or at least to slow it down.

H.A.L.O. is the easy way of saying East Contra Costa County Homeless Animals' Lifeline Organization. That's a whopping big name for a big-hearted organization.

Ongoing Tragedies of Unfulfilled Obligations
H.A.L.O. provides intervention for situations that wouldn't occur in a world populated by better people. Pet owners have a moral responsibility for animals that come to live in their homes. Owners should never abandon their animals. Not only is this illegal, punishable by a $1,000 fine, but it is morally reprehensible.

The act of irresponsibly discarding a dog or cat for any reason debases the person who does such a thing and provides an example for watching family members that, we believe, often serves to harden them, and to diminish their sensitivity and capacity for compassion.

Nobody can prove that there are any cause-and-effect relationships in such things, but I'm convinced that brutal and heartless acts establish all kinds of dysfunctional and unbreakable connections between generations.

We know by the assured results of research that there's a link between animal abuse and domestic violence in other forms. We learned of one case in which a small kitten was thrown out of the window of a moving automobile while the kitten's young owner screamed in horror. The perpetrator of the criminal activity was confronted and a police report was made. End of story. Except we know that the story, as it exists in the mind and heart of that little girl, is still going on and isn't close to reaching any kind of a conclusion.

What is really required to curb such behavior is education, rather than sending people to jail. Effective materials have been developed for raising the consciousness of people concerning their behavior towards pets, and towards animals of all kind. We're planning to do something in this area as soon as resources become available.

We're hoping eventually to put into place an effective program of training and awareness. The problem of animal abuse should be addressed at the grade school level. Every dollar we spend raising the sensitivity of kids at that age might save many dollars over the subsequent decades through the interventions and remedies that government agencies and organizations like H.A.L.O. will no longer be required to make.

H.A.L.O.'s Beginnings
H.A.L.O. was started three years ago by Karen Kops. She had run her own business for five years and was continually frustrated by her inability to perform community service during those years because of the demands on her time.

After getting out of her business, Karen began working in 1988 for the community as a volunteer with the Friends of Animal Services shelter program in Martinez. Karen said that during that time she received so many calls for help from people in East County communities that it became clear something needed to be started in our area. Karen led a group of people in a program to respond to the need for an all-breed dog and rescue service.

The business got started with a bang when the fledgling group conducted adoptions at the Pittsburg PetSmart. A woman came in and dropped off 13 puppies. "I'll be back at 4 p.m." she said. However, it turned out that the name, address, and phone number she dropped off were all bogus. Maybe the woman is still coming back, but it's been three years and she's not back yet.

Thirteen puppies on almost our first day of operation was a big problem for our tiny organization. But we rose to the challenge. Every puppy was finally neutered or spayed and successfully adopted. One of the original foster moms says that from time-to-time she still sees the dog from that litter that she took care of and reports that it is a beautiful animal.

Managing and Promoting H.A.L.O. Growth
From five members three years ago, H.A.L.O. has grown to a total of 90 volunteers, more than 50 of whom are active on a weekly — in some cases daily — basis. Our territory covers the extended East County area, from Bay Point to Discovery Bay. Our influence occasionally extends even beyond those boundaries, since we have rescued animals from around the state.

Since the first days of operation H.A.L.O. has had no trouble finding abandoned pets. What we are always looking for is more sponsors to provide supplies and services that are required to bridge the time from an animal being in a cage somewhere or beside a deserted road to being in a place in his own home.

My own association with H.A.L.O. began more than a year ago after I saw a picture of Joyce Sanderson, the H.A.L.O. Dog Manager, with a little doggie that was so cute it touched the cords of my heart. The text by the picture told how to join the organization if a person was interested in working for animal rescue.

So I jumped right in with both feet, since I had spent three years looking for a rescue service that actually did what they said they would do, and H.A.L.O. filled the bill completely.

I'm in charge of advertising the H.A.L.O. program and finding people and businesses to aid us in our efforts. We've had some wonderful success in finding help in the past. For example, PetSmart Charities has given us a $10,000 grant to assist our spay and neuter program especially for dogs that weigh 20 pounds or more.

We are trying to extend the spaying and neutering program to assist people with limited incomes in getting their pets altered no matter the pet's size. About 70 percent of all dogs and cats that pass through our program requires neutering or spaying.

Finding, Allocating, and Conserving Resources
Companies donate all kinds of supplies to us. Pet Food Express is at the top of our Valentine Card list, since they've become real sweethearts by including a major ad for our services along with their own information in their monthly advertisement. Clorox gives us litter; Safeway donates dog and cat food.

We're running H.A.L.O. lean and mean. All of us, including Karen, our president, work for no pay. We spend little on advertising, but have been blessed with newspaper coverage, which is tremendously effective in attracting volunteers and adopters.

We spend one hundred percent of our budget on minor office expenses, vet expanses, and support for our foster care homes. We cut as many expenses as we can. Our volunteers do things like pick up supplies and equipment they find in garage sales, etc. Some of our foster families pay for the food that the animals they are providing a temporary home for need, but we don't expect them to do this.

We plan to keep the H.A.L.O. organization simple. We work hard to maximize the manpower and money required to follow through with the problems. We're not going to expand geographically. Our mission is to remain in East County and to continue focussing on the problems in this area.

Now About Those Cats....
As if the dog and cat rescue program isn't enough (and it is!) H.A.L.O. is also getting into the feral cat business. People have been calling us continually about situations such as feral kittens in their back yard. In fact, we logged 185 calls in nine months, which averages out to about one per business day. Some of the calls, of course, are about multiple numbers of kittens that need rescuing.

We simply can't go through another summer telling people that we can't help them; that the kittens and cats simply have to be discarded or destroyed. We're planning to do something about this tragedy. People feel isolated and overwhelmed. I know that the callers are caring, sensitive people — or else they wouldn't bother phoning us. They simply lack resources to respond to the pitiful animal that is mewling in their back yard or on the other side of their fence.

We are forming a Feral Cat Network, which will operate as though a subsidiary of H.A.L.O. in order to bring together people interested in this problem.

Some of us live with H.A.L.O. whether awake or asleep. Karen and I both dream at night about the animals in our program.

How We Do What We Do
Our process when we acquire an animal is to conduct the preliminary medical things (required shots, spaying or neutering, etc.) and then place it in a foster home to await adoption. We never warehouse a single animal; we put them all into foster homes, ultimately to be adopted.

Sometimes the process breaks down at this point. Foster families get first dibs at adopting when the time comes for this to happen. We call them "foster failures" if they actually adopt one of the animals that come into their home. Foster failures are common. I've been a foster failure myself.

We try to maintain appropriate control of the process when locating permanent homes for our pets. We attempt to screen adopters in order to place the animals into suitable environments. We follow up with these, doing such things as conducting homechecks.

We're really pleased by the success that H.A.L.O. has enjoyed in carrying out its mission. All our animals end up being adopted, except for a few that have major problems such as terminal illness or uncontrollable aggression. We once had a cat stay with us for seven months until the right family finally came through the door. Such a length of time is unusual. A few days to several weeks is the average.

To date we have successfully placed more than 870 dogs and cats. In 2003 alone we adopted out 400 animals. Since Joyce Sanderson joined the organization, our adoption rate has doubled. As I write this we have about 15 cats in foster care, eight of which are probably hiding under beds. Karen has two under the bed at her own house right now.

A Girl and Her Dog
The major focus of our activities is on the animals that would otherwise be doomed to destruction. However, some of the best rushes we get are from people whose lives are touched by our animals.

A little girl named Shayanne, for example, has spent the first years of her young life with serious medical problems, including congenital hip displasia and severely clubbed feet. Little Shayanne was less than a year old when she had to undergo her first surgery and recently had to endure major hip surgery at age six.

Little Shayanne was in traction for six to eight weeks and in a body cast for four months. While immobilized in her body cast Shayanne told Brenda, her mom, "I want a dog." Shayanne and her mom met Joyce, who was so touched that she offered a puppy free-of-charge. A Chihuahua/Jack Russell Terrier mix was going to have puppies and Joyce promised Shayanne the pick of the litter.

Shayanne picked out her new puppy and named it Angel. H.A.L.O. donated the puppy, and had it spayed, free of charge.

Brenda reports that Shayanne is doing fine. She currently is taking a few steps without her walker. She is being homeschooled, taking swimming lessons, and undergoing physical therapy three days a week.

Brenda says that Angel, the dog, has given the child encouragement and confidence. "You have to help take care of the dog," she told Shayanne.

"When I told her that," Brenda said, "Shayanne's eyes lit up." She has a good time taking care of her pet, though sometimes it isn't clear who is taking care of whom.

Bentley the Chihuahua Wonder Dog
A little doggie named Bently once came to us from a pet hospital. The little Chiuaua had broken his leg jumping off a bed within hours after his caregiver, a kind-hearted woman, had given a temporary home to him and his brother after their owner had left for college.

The owner had a five-year-old who had to undergo an expensive operation and the poor woman couldn't afford vet services. The emergency vet wrapped the puppy's leg then, in an act of wonderful generosity said, "If you can find someone to foster this dog during its recovery, we will pay for vet care, even if the leg has to be amputated."

When Joyce learned about this she immediately agreed, since she's the kind of person who could never say ‘no' to such a thing. Joyce herself became the foster parent for the dog until the healing was complete and the dog could be adopted.

Bently was typical of a lot of members of the Chiuaua breed. Inside the five-pound puppy-size exterior lurked a proud 200-pound fighting machine. That dog was fearless. We used to laugh watching him strut around waving his cast like it was a badge of honor.

Joyce once held Bently in her arms while filling up her gas tank. The cast suddenly fell right off Bently's leg. She called us in panic, "It fell off! It fell off!" she shouted over and over. Karen thought she meant the dog's leg had fallen off. Even though Joyce was frightened by the experience, we really laughed when we found out it was just the cast.

The story has a wonderful ending from Bently's point of view. He now spends months every year vacationing with his new owner in sunny Chile. When his owner comes back to the East County he sometimes brings Bently to us for a visit.

It is great to see the little doggy riding on a cushion in the passenger seat of his owner's Jaguar. Bently sticks his head up in the air like he deserves his place in that Jag. We're not fooled by his act however. We remember when he came to us looking like a long-haired rat.

Partners in H.A.L.O. and in Life
Since we draw no pay from the organization, most of us managing H.A.L.O. are only able to participate through the help and support of our husbands. We're sure glad that we have them supporting us and paying all the bills so we can donate our time to do what we really love doing.

The H.A.L.O. program is great fun. It is rewarding; I really don't want to be paid. We run this program like we were a family. We watch out for each other. We've got each other's backs, as they say.

I started working with H.A.L.O. over my husband's loud protests. "You can't do this!" he said. "You say you will do it by yourself, but I don't believe you! You'll suck me in."

Finally, when he saw how much I wanted to be part of H.A.L.O. he said, "All right, you can do this, but you can't ever talk about it to me. I don't want to hear one word about your animals. You have to keep the whole thing to yourself!"

I guess he knew what he was talking about when he said "You'll suck me in." A month after I joined the staff my husband became foster owner to one of H.A.L.O.'s dogs. Now he's as passionate about our work as I am. He comes with me to our board meetings. He keeps coming up with ideas.

Ramble 'Round the Reservoir
Every year we sponsor a Ramble Around the Reservoir at Contra Loma Park, in Antioch. This is our sixth year for doing this. We volunteers set up tables early in the morning. People register their animals and then walk around the reservoir, which is a distance of 2.6 miles.

This year the Ramble will be held June 13. At 11:30 we begin activites, which include testing, training for pets as well as demonstrations by the K-9 core. The Australian Shepherds team will be demonstrating agility on a course having hoops and bars. Afterwards, owners can test the agility of their own pets.

Micro-chipping will be available at the Ramble for a 15 dollar fee. There will be face painting and demonstrations by ECHO, which is the East County Horseman's Organization.

The entrance fee is a $20 donation and all proceeds go to the work of H.A.L.O.

Andrea Stuart

Come ramble 'round the reservoir with us this year and see what's going on. Have some fun in the sun with us and with your pet. And be sure to stop by the table and say "Hi!"

I'm Andrea Stuart. I'll have a nametag on, but you'll be able to tell me by the big grin I'll have on my face all day long.

After all, working for an organization I admire, enjoying the sunshine, looking at the beautiful scenery in that lovely place, and meeting other people who love animals like I do. Who wouldn't smile about an experience like that?

So c'mon by and, say hello, and we'll smile together for a few minutes. It will be nice. I promise.

"June 13, Contra Loma Park." Mark it down right now before you forget.

Contact H.A.L.O. at 925-473-4642
(eccchaol@earthlink.net & www.eccceccchalo.org)
H.A.L.O.
P.O. Box 2011
Antioch, CA 94531