This is the type of stuff that you never want to hear. The good and optimistic side of you struggles with the notion that crap like this actually goes on, but alas, it does. This time at the Rancho Cucamonga shelter and at the behest of their fairly new director, Veronica Fincher…

I first came across this situation back in September when someone sent me a video of a dog named Rosalinda. This video is literally one of the saddest things that you will ever see and serves as a prime example of how the reality for some of these shelter dogs is simply devastating. The uploading of this video onto YouTube apparently really pissed some of the staff there off and since that time they have illegally terminated 4 of their best and most experienced volunteers. Those axed from their freely donated positions for simply speaking out include a “Grand Volunteer of the City” award winner and the former coordinator for their 2011 Pit Bull grant from Best Friends Animal Society. Not that the shelter staff needs reminding, because they absolutely know, but retaliation against volunteers is unconstitutional. I sincerely hope that those affected do indeed take the appropriate legal actions.

I’ve personally spoken to a few of those in the know and they want the public to know about what is going on here. About how the essential programs are being cut and phased out. About how the playgroups are being stopped. About how offered help from volunteers is being ignored. About how volunteers are no longer “allowed” to take pictures or video at the shelter. About how certain dogs are never seeing the adoption floor. About how certain dogs spend over 23+ hours a day in travel crates in the hallway. And about how labels are being used to justify killing and to create false adoption numbers. Please take note! And also look for much more information coming soon…

In the mean time, if you’d like to let the Rancho Cucamonga City Council hear your voices please email: council@cityofrc.us

Godspeed to Rosalinda, Luna, Pam and the many others…

What are the no-brainers? Publicly displaying the kennel cards and allowing a volunteer program. Devore does neither.

If you have a problem with this then please contact:

Trudy Raymundo, Acting Director of the Public Health Dept.
Email: traymundo@dph.sbcounty.gov
Phone: 909-387-9146
Fax: 909-387-6228

Greg Beck, Program Manager for Animal Care and Control
Email: gbeck@dph.sbcounty.gov

During the month of December I’m going to try and do a rather large online fundraiser for this cause, for giving these shelter animals a more constant presence, for expanding what I’m personally capable of, for providing better everything. I need help, and after 2 years I’m going to be asking for it… Not for a dog, not for a specific “rescue,” but for me personally. It’s easier for a big rescue to do something like this, or a 501c3, because they are essential organizations that do wonderful things. But I’ve purposefully opted not to become a 501c3 so that my opinion can be totally unchained, not beholden to anyone or anything.

There’s so much that I want SwayLove.org to do, and so much more that I know SwayLove.org can do for Pit Bulls, for shelter dogs. I’ve thought a lot about it. While recognizing all of this in my own head, I’m finding it hard to go to the next level because I just lack both time and money. Everything I’ve ever given is my own time and my own money, much of which has been debt.

I want to do this MORE. I want to do this BETTER. SwayLove.org can be way better, more hardcore, more expansive in media and more consistently on the ground at more shelters. I want this, want it bad. If the fundraiser turns out not to work out, it won’t change anything. My heart is in this for a reason, and I will continue giving all that I can, all that I have going forward. But it doesn’t hurt to ask, to map out goals and try to obtain them, to get creative with putting the shelters on blast. This site has thankfully obtained an awesome and engaged and powerful group of people. What I do doesn’t go anywhere without people to hear it, people to see it, people to share it, people to be effected by it. I’ve thankfully got so many wonderful people that support this website. It’s awesome. I’m sorry that I have to lean on you a little bit. Hopefully you’ll agree with me. Here is my hope, followed by my many ideas for 2013…

I’d love to raise $10,000 over the next month. As I type this I have 8,894 people that have “liked” my Facebook page. Just for comparisons sake: That means that if everyone who has liked my page donated $1.12 we’d get to that amount. Now obviously the majority of people that make up the 8,894 will probably never even see this post, so that’s certainly a pie in the sky way of getting to $10,000. But I think it’s attainable with the generosity of so many great people, and I’d hope that after reading my many ideas for the $, that you’d consider it a worthy way of giving a donation.

1) The requesting of very thorough public records requests from every major shelter in southern California… L.A. County (Agoura, Baldwin Park, Carson, Castaic, Downey, Lancaster), L.A. City (North Central, South L.A., East Valley, West Valley, West L.A., Harbor), Santa Monica, Hawthorne, Long Beach, Orange County, Devore, San Bernardino City, Redlands, Pasadena, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, Blythe, Coachella Valley, San Jacinto, Animal Friends of the Valleys, Corona. I’d want 5 year results and I’ll be smarter in approach than I was with my first go-around with Carson. This will likely be very costly (although it shouldn’t), as each location request will be a separate attempt. Not to mention the time and tedious effort it will take for me to go through the responses and re-organize them, breaking them down into new documents. I mention it “shouldn’t” be costly, being that it’s certainly within our legal rights to see these documents, but alas, these shelters like to jerk you around and it ended up costing me $48 for 1 lousy sheet of paper regarding the Carson shelter records that I requested from earlier this year.

2) The purchasing of domain names (.com addresses) which will house separate websites: The 1st to specifically target L.A. County directer, Marcia Mayeda’s track record. The 2nd to specifically target the Carson shelter, which will consistently make public their kill numbers and since I have most of my experiences at this facility. And the 3rd to be a multimedia publishing-hub that’s used to show the kill numbers (as well as all other performance categories) for every southern California shelter, based from the public records requests that I am aiming to obtain from each shelter. Why websites? The internet is by far and away the best tool that exists. These will be simple and to the point websites that will have a cleanly designed layout that is heavy on informational access. The website names will be catchy and blunt, easily picked up by Google and all other search engines, and a way to forever attach the amount of death with the people and places who are presiding over it.

3) The looking into doing 1 major newspaper advertisement centered around the bringing of awareness to the routine shelter killings that are happening in Los Angeles, or multiple advertisements with the same goal put out in smaller publications. The major newspapers can be extremely expensive when trying to place a decent-sized ad within, but there also may be a hookup out there to be found. I don’t know.

4) The creation of a Pit Bull-specific informational multi-page zine that will include facts, stats, myths, questions and resources within. It will be designed by me, purposely printed in black and white and able to be copied on any copy machine with little loss of quality. I’d shoot to get at least 1,000 of these physically printed and out into circulation around the area, plus I’d make it downloadable from my website for others to do the same.

5) The creation of a few large SwayLove.org vinyl banners for booth publicity if I’m ever to branch out and start attending a few community events, which I’d actually like to…

6) The purchasing of much needed equipment:
Panasonic HC-V100 HD handheld camera, $300.
GoPro Hero2, $300.
Zoom H2 table microphone, $280.
Azden WMS-Pro wireless microphone system, $200.
Possibly a new lens for my SLR camera.
This will help me tremendously in being able to continue striving to create interesting, high quality pieces of media (photographs, video) for both the networking of shelter dogs and for Pit Bull education and commentary.

7) The focusing on creating numerous high quality educational videos, online short-docs centered on discrimination, media sensationalism, use of force by police, true kill shelter realities, true bite statistics, odds of dying, mentality of fear in society, exposés of hatemongers, examination of Breed-discriminatory legislation, as well as showing the true nature of the Pit Bull, promoting common sense, individual basis reaction vs. group punishment reaction, a shelter photography how-to, promotional videos with audience (and dog) participation, those kinds of things… Not to mention that I want to meet and interview many awesome people for these pieces and for others.

8) The ordering of some wholesale bumper stickers, business cards, the designing of further shirts, the creating of a selling mechanism that allows some of my shelter prints to be ordered online.

9) Help with covering any potential travel I may consider doing to do aforementioned interviews, possibly attend another big conference, maybe visit an out of state shelter or two (I’d love to visit Austin, TX or one of the high-kill shelters in New York City).

These are just some of the ideas that I have right now for the upcoming year. I’m also planning on revamping and very much expanding my website, writing more, as well as possibly creating a video podcasting channel where people could Skype in and communicate about whatever they choose to. But the main and overriding plus for me is that this would give me more time and financial flexibility to do what I genuinely love to do. It would be a drastic help, which would in turn be (I’d hope) a drastic help to some dogs as well. I honestly can’t overstate how helpful it would be for me. I’m just a regular person who pays everything from a $5 dog collar to a $500 camera lens out of my own pocket. When I visit a shelter and shoot photographs of their Pit Bulls, well, I’m usually then up for the next 12 hours or so editing the pictures. I honestly don’t want to be pulled away from this kind of stuff for another job. Instead, I’d ideally want to make this more and more of my “job” going forward. I really want more time to dedicate to making these things a genuine reality. With appropriated money not only comes more options, but more time. Some slight flexibility goes a long way. Thank you so much for reading, and for potentially helping.

Josh

You can see some of my photography here, and here, and here, and here, and here. You can see some of my videos here.

These are many of the faces that were impounded at the Devore kill shelter while I was there on 11/15/12. Please understand that under present sheltering conditions the majority of these dogs will not make it out alive. They will instead be killed, be lost, to a system that is happier doing the bare minimum and then putting their failures aside while they put the blame onto the dogs themselves. There is reform to be had here and within most shelters. Have the courage to call for it. Please rescue or adopt your next pet.

I was in Glendale earlier today and saw a road sign for the “Animal Shelter,” so we went to try and visit their dogs and it ended up being the local Humane Society. Upon entering we started talking to the lady behind the counter and found out that they self-labeled their facility a “No Kill” shelter. That was great, so I was curious to see if they were a legitimate No Kill shelter or one that poses as one, yet fails to follow the true essence of what one is supposed to represent. Right off the bat, they wouldn’t let us see the dogs, instead pointing us to a book that was on the desk. They only had about 20 dogs and were not an open intake shelter. They didn’t have any Pit Bulls and explained that the reason they didn’t is because they “don’t do well when kenneled.” I certainly commend this facility for what they are doing, and the lives that they are saving, but they are definitely not a No Kill shelter and actually serve to discredit that actual movement by calling themselves one. There are indeed real No Kill shelters in this country that have open admission and succeed in a number of programs that lead to 90+% save-rates. I don’t make this post to complain about Glendale, but you are either a No Kill shelter or you are not. It shouldn’t be something that is an advertising schtick or a trendy way to promote yourself. Every shelter SHOULD strive to be one, but by not being genuine in approach you make it much harder for the ones that are actually walking the walk. You also confuse the people (i.e. L.A.) and disingenuously lead them on, when all that good will and energy could actually be put to use doing it the proven way. This is a problem because there’s a huge misconception out there that there isn’t any such thing as a true No Kill shelter (and smear campaigns protecting systemic killers), and those people saying such things, believing such things, will gladly jump to use examples such as Glendale’s closed admission shelter, self-recognizing themselves as No Kill, as their “proof.” That’s a shame.

These beautiful dogs are currently at the Devore shelter and will not be kept alive very long. If you can help them in any way then please call 909-386-9820. The shelter is located at 19777 Shelter Way in San Bernardino, CA 92407.

Joey #A449043
Jill #A449044
Zippy #A449045
Louie #A449047
Kalani #A449048
Susie #A449049
Andrew #A449050
Angel #AA449051

This decision was apparently made because someone on the staff said that they had giardia, a non-threatening and easily treatable parasite that causes diarrhea. These were 2-month-old Pit Bull-mixes and, according to many, had numerous people trying to rescue them. Carson, instead of opting to take part in a communication, took part in a repeatable string of lethal injections.

If you have a problem with this, like I do, then please contact these 3 individuals and let them know how you feel…
Gil Moreno = gmoreno@animalcare.lacounty.gov
Aaron Reyes = areyes@animalcare.lacounty.gov
Marcia Mayeda = mmayeda@animalcare.lacounty.gov

I was recently back home in Ohio, and while there decided to visit the Miami County shelter which is located fairly close to where I grew up. There’s 2 experiences that immediately come to mind that involve this shelter, and neither is pleasant. One thing that I was happy to see is that they are now at least allowing the Pit Bulls to be put up for adoption… This video shows Duke, Knuckles, Lila, Toddy, Chloe & Ace, in that order.

Duke ~ ID#0623d, M, 2yr
Knuckles ~ ID#0648d, M, 6mo
Lila ~ ID#0675d, F, 3yr
Toddy ~ ID#0659d, M, 1yr
Chloe ~ ID#0658d, F, 3yr
Ace ~ ID#0677d, M, 2yr

If you are interested in adopting any one of these dogs and making them a part of your family then please don’t hesitate to call the shelter at 937-332-6919. You can also see pictures of many of the dogs over in the album on my Facebook page.

Okay. I am asking for courage now. I know that this is a difficult situation, but the bottom line is, we know that everything isn’t always on the “up and up” with the many different sheltering systems. I want to know what you know. I am reaching out. Attn: Shelter staff, volunteers, rescuers, animal control officers, knowledgeable advocates… Please consider what I have to say. I intend to begin doing video exposés centered around some of the horrific things that many of us hear, and that many more of us have no clue about. If YOU, on the inside, see something that you cannot live with then please consider sending your claims (and preferably whatever will document your claims) to whistleblowers@swaylove.org.

Depending on the response I’ll either just start putting together a list of the worst monthly claims and publishing them in a straight forward fashion, or if I receive enough corresponding documentation, will create media serving to reveal whatever it is that’s potentially happening. Long term, many of these things may be used and/or discussed in future video projects put out by me. I’ll likely not publish everything, so don’t feel as though you’re getting ignored if there’s no response from the actual email address. It’s just acting as a dumping station for complaints, and the most awful will be put out there. Preferably I’m looking for documentation or first person accounts regarding treatment of animals, processes, breed discrimination, body rendering information, staff moral, etc.

I absolutely, positively WILL NOT divulge who you are to anyone publicly, unless of course you note that you don’t give a damn. In that case, I salute you harder. But just to address the elephant in the room… I fully understand the dynamics behind why many of you feel as though you cannot speak out. I see the vindictiveness of many of the shelter bosses, or many on the staff, and these realities handcuff good people who genuinely love animals and have immense compassion. If you are a staff member, well, you’re likely in fear of your job. If you are a volunteer, well, you’re likely in fear of your access to the dogs that you love. If you are a rescuer, well, you’re likely in fear of your pull rights being taken away. This list goes on and on. Some of these shelters will aim to do massive harm in order to not have their practices examined by a public who is, for the most part, unaware. Let’s change that together.

Dear world, meet your kill shelter. Meet your bullshit justifications for easy killing. They sound just like this video… “She’s really sick,” or, “She’s aggressive.” Right. They’re then killed, that bullshit is marked into their computer file, and their life is erased from the planet with usually no evidence to the outside world that they ever existed at all. Actions that have been spitting on the graves of shelter animals since God knows when. This is the system that corrodes our decent core. This is the kind of stuff that silently breaks my heart late at night, in quiet thoughts, while driving, while pausing during editing, while showering, while staring at the ceiling prior to going to sleep. This is the kind of stuff that does it. Watch it.