Samantha Redline, a vet tech at Shanderin Kennels in Rowland Heights, is pictured with a Labrador Retriever pit bull-mix named Milo on Monday, March 4, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“Lucky” the hound canine caught a break.
He was certainly one of 32 dogs — largely from Orange County Animal Care — that had been deserted by the Woofy Acres animal rescue at a Rowland Heights kennel.
Lucky and 7 others have not too long ago been placed and 5 extra are within the adoption pipeline. Most of the dogs, nevertheless, are nonetheless stranded, which worries staffers on the Shanderin Kennels. Some of the dogs have been there for 2 years, however Woofy Acres of Porter Ranch stopped paying for his or her board and care in October. The dogs had been alleged to be on the kennel on a brief foundation.
“We’re just heartbroken that someone was able to give up on so many dogs,” mentioned Samantha Redline, a vet tech at Shanderin Kennels.
Redline mentioned the kennel has been unable to succeed in Woofy Acres President Dianne Bedford for months. Meanwhile, the prices proceed to mount, with the rescue now owing $40,000 to the kennel. Besides boarding prices, the dogs eat 40 kilos of meals a day.
“We were in panic mode because we didn’t know what to do,” Redline mentioned.
Without assist, the kennel must ship the dogs — like Apache, Milo and Rascal — to the already crowded Los Angeles County animal shelter in Baldwin Park.
“We’re upset, trying to do whatever it takes to get them taken care of,” she mentioned.
Especially troubling to animal activists is that Orange County Animal Care has launched 128 dogs to Woofy Acres since 2019, in line with county information compiled by activist Michael Mavrovouniotis.
“The Orange County shelter just takes the view that we don’t care who takes the animals as long as we get them off our books,” Mavrovouniotis mentioned. “We have reason to be worried.”
He believes Orange County Animal Care ought to do a greater job of screening animal rescues and following up on placements.
“It’s part of (Orange County’s) reliance on rescues,” Mavrovouniotis mentioned. “The shelter is not doing enough to make adoptions easier and their safety valve is to push as many animals as possible … to rescues.”
Of the 32 dogs stranded by Woofy Acres at Shanderin Kennels, 15 got here from Orange County Animal Care whereas the others got here from shelters round Southern California, in line with Mavrovouniotis.
Alexa Pratt, a spokesperson for Orange County Animal Care, mentioned the company was unaware of any issues with Woofy Acres when it launched dogs to the rescue, the final ones getting in early January. Pratt added that Woofy Acres isn’t legally required to update Orange County Animal Care on what it does with the rescue dogs.
“While fortunately not common, OCAC has and retains the right not to do business with rescues who have been convicted of an animal crime,” she mentioned. “OCAC will continue to monitor the situation in L.A. County for ongoing developments regarding Woofy Acres.”
Since May, Woofy Acres has been “delinquent” in submitting the required papers to retain its standing as a state charity, in line with the California Registry of Charitable Trusts.
In 2021, Woofy Acres completed the yr with a deficit of $25,164, in line with its tax submitting with the Internal Revenue Service. They listed revenues at $478,243, with bills at $503,407. Woofy Acres spent $259,332 on boarding prices alone that yr. Bedford and different officers didn’t accumulate any pay for his or her work, in line with their submitting.
Tax paperwork present Woofy Acres has raised $880,489 since 2018.
