Declare independence from FRAUD this 4th!

The July 4th holidays often result in an increase of pets, disoriented and scared by fireworks, becoming lost on the streets and hopefully ending up safely in a shelter. It is also an opportunity for FAKE RESCUES to pick up these pets and deprive both the pets and their humans of a happy reunion. I am already seeing Facebook posts of found pets, some with unregistered microchips begging for funds - for what - to help them with these pets - to do what?

Don't enable this crime by donating, thereby making you a crime victim of fraud as well.

If you find a loose pet it is the law to turn that pet into a shelter unless you have an arrangement of notifying and sending photos to your shelter in lieu of actually relinquishing the pet. This is so the pets' family, who could one day be you, can find him or her.

The existence of an unregistered microchip or lack of a tag does not mean the pet has no family who is frantically searching but rather could mean that the dog got out of his home where he does not wear his collar or is a new pet whose chip has not been registered, or a new owner does not know there is a chip, or someone did not fully understand the way the chips work. The bottom line is that these nefarious "rescuers" might be holding your dog, in substandard conditions, and by violating the law deprives you of an ability to find him. They are not well meaning people but rather con artists who use your pet to raise funds for themselves.

The problem is so bad that the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office issued a FRAUD ALERT about these scammers. They raise funds ostensibly to help care for a pet or to help a shelter care for the pet. Neither is true. The funds are their income!

The best thing that you can do is to safeguard your pets as best as you can, report those you discover on social media to local law enforcement, the IRS and your state Attorney General, and spread the word about this situation that can condemn a pet to cruel treatment, deprive both pet and family of each other, and steal precious funds that are much needed to protect animals. Also - check with your local authorities before donating to determine the legitimacy of the group. Don't enable these criminals.

Finally, in the internet world in which we live, impulse donations to a Facebook post creates many victims - a pet who truly needs help, a shelter whose survival depends on donations, a family who will never see their pet again, and YOU. 

Juveniles Sentenced to spcaLA for Violence "Cure"

Your spcaLA and the Juvenile Division of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office have united to bring spcaLA’s award winning  violence prevention program to the Los Angeles juvenile system. This mandated, alternative sentencing program,  jTLC™.works by re-instilling empathy into teens with the aim of "curing" violence.

In a  two-day, court-mandated course, teens are paired with shelter dogs and offered intensive sessions designed to help at-risk youth identify and break the cycle of violence.  The jTLC™ candidates are carefully selected by the District Attorney’s Office along with the Juvenile Court judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys. 


These children learn coping and anger management skills and gain self-esteem with the help of our shelter dogs. We instill in them compassion and empathy – which steers them into a more positive direction.


For the last two years, spcaLA has pilot-tested the jTLC™ program with juvenile offenders from communities like Long Beach and Sylmar.   80% of the offenders have avoided trouble and have not, to date,  re-offended.  jTLC™ is unique to spcaLA and Los Angeles County.  Other communities, like New York City, have inquired about the program and how they can introduce it into their own juvenile systems.


“As an animal lover, retired Police Sergeant and currently Los Angeles County District Attorney Juvenile Offender Intervention Program (J.O.I.N.) hearing officer, I knew from experience and studies that the direct correlation between animal cruelty and domestic violence, child abuse, bullying and school fights is factual,” said Lianne Osendorf.  “The cycle of abuse will continue unless there is intervention to break the cycle. The collaboration of the LA DA and spcaLA to bring awareness and intervention to these minors is a major step in doing just that. Thanks to Melanie Wagner, Director of Humane Education, and her staff and some very caring District Attorneys the program has been a phenomenal success.  With few exceptions the minors that participate come away from the experience with new found respect for animals and people. The weekend class focuses on teaching minors how damaging abuse can be not only to animals and people but also to the person inflicting the abuse.”


jTLC™ attendees range from teenage girls who were convicted of bullying to an animal abuse offender who, at 8 years old, was bullied by his brother to injure a rabbit.  Now at 14 years old, he was sentenced to jTLC™ for hitting a dog in the head with a brick. 


Just as violent offenders learn how to desensitize their natural feelings of empathy by abusing animals, we can turn the tables and put it right back in!


People always ask me why do I spend my time insisting that we be kind to animals when there is so much violence against people in the world. My response is that articulated in the 1870s by George T. Angell - "I am working at the root of the problem."