Angel City Pit Bulls - Volunteer

Volunteer Appreciation

jenny — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:56:20 +0000

Monday, April 23, 2012 - 11:56am

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At the twilight of Volunteer Appreciation Week, we at Angel City Pit Bulls want to stop and take a very important moment to acknowledge our volunteers. It humbles and inspires us to have such a dedicated team of bright, motivated, passionate and driven individuals who are willing to give their precious time to our cause. While many organizations measure and reflect upon their successes in terms of a product they sell, or a specific milestone they achieve - we do not have a product, nor do we have a specific milestone in mind. We measure our success by looking around at our village of volunteers, and acknowledging the growth of our mission as a result.

There are so many people that have joined this village of ours over the past few years, it would be impossible to name them all.

To our adoption event volunteers, who roll up their sleeves and come to event after event, watching over our dogs and carrying out the many small chores essential to a successful day - we thank you.

To our transportation team, who take to the streets of Los Angeles, providing taxi-like service for our dogs - taking them back and forth from foster homes, adoption events, and veterinary appointments - we thank you.

To our core volunteer staff at the helm - who, day after day, each serve a critical role to streamlining our operations and maximizing our ability to succeed in our mission, especially as we continue to grow - we thank you.

To our volunteer Board, who bring their expert skills and knowledge to the table to help guide us in a direction that best ensures our success - we thank you.

To our foster families - one of our most precious assets of all. You are the life savers, who open your homes and hearts to taking in the dogs who need us. You nurture them, care for them, and teach them about the good that exists in this world, just by your example. We cannot ever thank you enough.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
~ Margaret Meade

And that's exactly what we are doing, and what we are able to do - because of you. We're changing the world. We're making the future better for pit bulls, together.

To every single one of you ... whether it is walking dogs, answering phone calls and emails, picking up prescriptions, visiting shelters, scheduling home checks, processing applications, filling water bowls, writing blogs, taking photographs, transporting dogs around town, or some combination thereof ... from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.

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Why I Volunteer

jenny — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:59:40 +0000

Monday, February 27, 2012 - 11:59am

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Volunteer

Foster

I’m fairly new to the world of pit bulls. I rescued my first pit bulls about 2 years ago when I came into the care of a litter of 10 very young pups. I had no idea when I jumped at the opportunity to help them that I would be forever sucked in by the charming, devoted, goofy, loving and special personalities that make pit bulls so amazing (I mean really, I didn’t stand a chance!).

After bottle feedings, sleepless nights, constant phone calls to my veterinarian, and struggling to find homes for the puppies, I was dumbfounded by how difficult it proved to be to find good homes for a bunch of adorable puppies. They were just puppies. Why didn’t anyone want them? I was literally giving away puppies! I just asked their prospective parents for a few things: feed them, walk them, and most importantly, love them. It was just that simple.

(Two of them somehow snuck their way into MY home, which is a completely different story. Dozer and Theresa are featured in the photo above.)

I did find homes for the rest of them eventually, but it bothered me why it was so hard. A quick Google search showed clearly the issues of the “pit bull”. I felt compelled to learn more. The struggles I faced finding homes for all those cute puppies weren’t because there was something really wrong with them; the trouble that I faced was the misconception that so many people have about pit bulls. Those puppies were just a few of the countless wonderful dogs with the name "pit bull" attached to them that are found abused, neglected, feared, forgotten and left behind throughout our city shelters here in Los Angeles.

There had to be something I could do. And then I found Angel City Pit Bulls.

Not only did I find a group of people who are just as passionate as I am, who would do just about anything to help some dogs in need, but I found an entire greater community who cared about the same issues and changes that I was seeking.

As a newbie to the world of rescue it can be daunting to hear all the horrible stories that some of these animals have gone through. At first it felt like there was no end to a HUGE problem that is so far out of my reach. How could little ole me possibly make a difference? As an animal lover I went through a range of emotions that at first broke my heart, enraged me to no end, then had me questioning humanity, broke my heart again, and finally made me realize that there are places and organizations like Angel City Pit Bulls where I could stop watching and listening to the misconceptions and problems and do something about it. I started to volunteer my time not only to learn more about my own newly adopted pit bulls, but to learn about the issues that I wanted to change.

When I tell people that on my free time I volunteer for a pit bull advocacy group there are a list of questions that I usually face (mostly surrounding money) – “why, yes I give up parts of my days and don’t get paid a penny”, “No, I’m not always donating money”, “I just hang out with some dogs all day”, and “no, they don’t always ask me to give them money.”And at the end of all the questions about giving up time I could be getting paid there is always the number one thing that everyone can’t seem to understand - “why do you do it?!”

I volunteer because I love dogs, pit bulls and animals. I volunteer because I think that the dogs who find themselves in shelters deserve a second chance (and a third, and a fourth). I volunteer because I honestly believe that it will make a difference to the seemingly endless problem we have of overcrowding in our city shelters. I volunteer because I want to learn and be able to educate others on the reasons why we should care so much about the welfare and health of all our pets.

I’ve found that by volunteering, little ole me can make a huge difference in this big world of animal welfare.

My role may be small but it’s important. There are many ways beyond donating money that help bring light to the dim view of pit bulls; gifting an afternoon of a nice walk with a new doggy friend, providing a foster home, giving a ride to a training class, or simply sharing an “Adopt Me” video with your Facebook friends, to name a few…

Every little bit counts and every little bit is needed for these amazing dogs who at the end of the day just ask to be fed, walked, and loved. It really is that simple.

Alyss
Assistant Foster Coordinator
Devoted Volunteer

To find out about volunteer opportunities with Angel City Pit Bulls, please visit our Volunteer Page

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ACPB Volunteers At The South LA Shelter Vaccination Clinic

Tracy — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:03:49 +0000

Wednesday, February 8, 2012 - 10:03am

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Vaccinate

spay/neuter

Volunteer

On Saturday, January 28th Angel City Pit Bulls gathered at the South Los Angeles Shelter to help with its very FIRST Vaccination Clinic! All dog owners in the 90018 were eligible for a FREE Spay/Neuter and Vaccines for their furry friends. Unfortunately, many dog owners do not have the proper information or resources about how paramount these procedures can be, and even more often they just don't have the means. This clinic was a fantastic way to educate residents in the area about the importance of preventing additional pregnancies and the spread of disease.

The event was held nearby the clinic at Denker Recreation Center. Though the day started off a little slow (hey it was 7:30am!) we and our incredible volunteers helped about 35 locals fix and vaccinate their dogs! Perhaps traffic picked up when one of our volunteers (who is surprisingly fluent in Spanish) announced that we were giving out "vacaciones para gratis" which translates to free vacations! We quickly corrected her and informed the crowd that they were not actually on their way to Cabo!

The most rewarding part of our day was witnessing the many responsible pet owners who came to get their dogs fixed, vaccinated and licensed! We also enjoyed strolling the neighborhood and meeting the locals and their dogs (many who were already fixed and licensed YAY!)

We will be participating in THREE additional vax clinics (same time, same place) including one THIS SATURDAY. If you are interested in volunteering, please email us at volunteer@angelcitypits.org. We'd love to see you there!

Tracy
Alumni Coordinator & Rockstar Volunteer

February 11 * February 25 * March 10
Denker Recreation Center
1550 W. 35th Place, Los Angeles 90018

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